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50 Years interview: Zarko Varajic, KK Bosna
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It took Bosna Sarajevo a record-breaking performance to beat heavy favourite Varese in the 1979 Euroleague final. Zarko Varajic had 45 points in the title game to make Bosna beat Varese 96-93 against all odds. He and Bosnian basketball legend Mirza Delibasic combined for 75 points in that game. One of 100 player nominees as Half-Century Heroes in the ongoing 50 Years of European Club Basketball Competitions celebration this season,  Varajic remembers all about that night in Grenoble, France, in which Bosna was crowned as the first Euroleague champion coming from former Yugoslavia. "Varese played a lot of zone that night, and it helped us a lot, because we were shooting well, especially Mirza Delibasic and me," Varajic told Euroleague.net. "It was one of the those days shooters sometimes have when they know it's their time, when you almost can't miss."
Hello Zarko. First of all, you are still the top scorer ever in a single-game Euroleague final. Which are your memories of that night when Bosna lifted its only Euroleague title in 1979?
"I have a lot of memories of that magnificent year of 1979, and not only about the final. People remember it as an unexpected triumph, but we players know what it cost us to reach the last game. For example, our first game in our semifinals group was against Real Madrid in Sarajevo. We won by 114-110 in overtime, after regulation time had ended 100-100, an offensive show by both teams. Then we went to Tel Aviv with a lot of hopes, but Maccabi was up by 22 at halftime and their lead got as high as 30 before we were left with a humiliating 97-70 loss. As we left Tel Aviv in the middle of that night, going to Dubrovnik with a stop in Athens, no one spoke with anyone else. In the bus from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, the same: silence, disappointment, sadness...We had to stop in a village to eat and our team delegate at the time, Vukasin-Vule Vukajlovic, tried to console us, saying something like: 'Well, boys, it's not the end of the world. They are much better than us.' And that only hurt our pride even more."
What happened after that?
"In the third game, we beat Joventut of Badalona just barely, by a single point, but it was exactly what we needed to get back our self-confidence. Despite another big loss in Varese against Emerson, we were moving in the right direction. Against Maccabi in Sarajevoc, with 8,500 fans, I was on the bench the first 16 minutes. Then, Coach Tanjevic called my name and I played the last 24 minutes....scoring 41 points!"
What was the key game to qualify?
"In Badalona, against Joventut and (Zoran) Moka Slavnic. He hung around with us for a couple days, but on the court, as it must be, it was like he didn't know us. He almost beat us by himself, but in the end we won by 94-98 and that qualified us for the final in Grenoble."
What was the atmosphere in Grenoble?
"In the end, everything worked out well, but the game had its pre-story. We stayed at a hotel in the city center, which allowed the thousands of Varese fans, who had come to Grenoble expecting a victory by their team, to bother us all the time with their screams, chants, trumpets... We were uncomfortable because Grenoble was known as more of a winter sports city, due to the Olympics held there, the ski runs. It had almost no relation to basketball. The night before the final, we trained in an enormous arena that almost scared us. We didn't shoot well in that practice, either."
You had no clue that you would score 45 points, still the most by any player in a final?
"None at all, honestly. But, by the time of the game, the atmosphere was different. With the stands full, even though the majority of the fans were with our opponents, at least the atmosphere had the look of a big basketball event, and we felt a lot better."
Was there a special game plan?
"The teams knew each other well. They had beaten us in Varese, but we were better in Sarajevo. The plan was to try to limit Bob Morse, who in my opinion was one of the best Americans of all time to play in Europe, and to also limit Dino Meneghin and Charlie Yelverton, the three best players of their team. It was impossible to stop them completely, but our idea was to make them suffer for every point, to not let them make comfortable or easy shots. At different times, I guarded Morse, and he scored 28 points on me."
But you scored 45?
"Yeah, but he wasn't the only player defending me. Varese played a lot of zone that night, and it helped us a lot, because we were shooting well, especially Mirza Delibasic and me. He scored 30 and I had 45, so that was 75 of the team's 96 points, more than 78 percent ... and without three-pointers! After making my first two baskets, I felt real sure of myself. It was one of the those days shooters sometimes have when they know it's their time, when you almost can't miss. By the way, as you can see in pictures, we didn't lift the original trophy, as Varese forgot to carry it with them! The organization had to buy a different trophy to give in the post-game ceremony. We got the original trophy with a little delay."
What role did Delibasic, Kicanovic, Dalipagic, Cosic and the others from that generation in ex-Yugoslavia have?
"Huge. With their talent and showmanship, they opened the door for thousands who wanted to play basketball after seeing those guys, their idols. They were the top stars, the players who did everything with great ease. It may seem that there's nothing easier than making a shot or an assist, but we know that in sports, what seems simplest is often the most difficult."
Each era has its own characteristics, but comparisons are inevitable. Compare basketball then and now?
"What I miss today is creativity, imagination, personality among the aces. The basketball played now is much more physical, with better defenses, but at the technical level and above all in terms of imagination, the players today are not superior to those of my generation."
Back to Bosna. Yours was the first team from Yugoslavia to win Europe's top cup. Was it a big surprise, or not so much so?
"Yes, it was a surprise, above all because we were a rookie club in the competition, even though we had international experience. The previous season we lost the Korac Cup in Banjaluika against Partizan after three overtimes! But considering that in 1972, Bosna was playing in the Yugoslav second division and six-and-a-half years later was European champion, yes it was a surprise, as well as a prize for a generation with lots of talent and for team directors and coaches who lifted the club to those heights. The victory of Bosna opened the doors from Cibona in 1985 and 1986, for Jugoplastika in 1989, 1990 and 1991, and for Partizan in 1992. Seven titles in 13 years and without foreigners, except for one on Jugoplastika in 1990-91. What an era!"
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Thursday, December 27, 2007
Vladimir Stankovic, Barcelona
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