May 23, 2013
Devotion
Maccabi Electra legend: Mickey Berkowitz
Mickey BerkowitzIf the title of Mr. Basketball goes to anyone in Israel, it has to be Mickey Berkowitz. Widely considered to be the country's best player ever, Berkowitz did more than anyone to make Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel's favorite team and a force in Europe. He was the star of Maccabi's first two Euroleague titles in 1977 and 1981 and helped the club make four other appearances in the title game. In addition, he won 19 Israeli League championships, 17 Israeli Cups and led the Israeli national team to a historic silver medal at EuroBasket 1979. In its 2008 list of the 60 greatest Israeli sporting heroes of the last 60 years, The Jerusalem Post ranked Berkowitz first, saying that he played "with a panache and excitement which summed up all that is good about Israel."

A shooting guard, Berkowitz joined Maccabi's senior team in 1971 at the age of 17, playing behind the biggest star at the time, Tal Brody, who helped groom him for a starting role. Five years later, Berkowitz took over as Maccabi's top gun. In 1977, on his 23rd birthday, he scored 23 points to lead Maccabi over mighty CSKA Moscow in a Euroleague semifinal, setting up the title game against Varese. Berkowitz came up big again in that final, with 17 points in a 78-77 victory, the first of Maccabi's five European championships. In the summer of 1979, he carried the Israeli national team to the EuroBasket final before bowing to the Soviet Union. That result, the country's best ever, made Berkowitz a national hero. Try as opposing teams did to stop him, Berkowitz regularly topped the 30-point mark in big games – once netting 40 against Virtus Bologna. His biggest win against Bologna came in the 1981 Euroleague final in Strasbourg, France, with a game-deciding layup that is one of the most famous baskets in Israeli basketball history. Berkowitz also helped Maccabi to Euroleague finals in 1980 and 1982. After the 1987-88 season, which culminated in a second straight loss to Olimpia Milano in the Euroleague final, Berkowitz left Maccabi as the club's all-time leading scorer with 3,588 career points in European play.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Euroleague.net
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FINAL FOUR TEAMS

FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE
SEMIFINALS - FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011
3RD PLACE - SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2011
FINAL - SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2011

2011 FINAL FOUR TV COVERAGE

DEVOTION

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All-Euroleague team 2010-11

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Panathinaikos celebrates!
Dimitris Diamantidis MVP
Final: Maccabi vs. Panathinaikos
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Semifinal: Panathinaikos vs. Siena