101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
timeters and few kilos, a difference that is normally
not recommended for basketball players. Standing at
2.15 meters, it was just natural that he played against
big men. But weighing in at 80 kilos or 90 later (he
never reached 100), Fucka was a coveted target for big
centers. As such, he had to find his place between the
small and power forward positions. Tanjevic worked a
lot on Fucka’s long-range shot, and it paid off. Fucka got
out of the paint and shot from mid or long range, but
by the time that opponents took note of the danger, it
was already too late. That or Fucka simply changed his
position and got closer to the rim. He was also good
with assists, and it was not rare at all to see him driving
the ball like a point guard. In other words, he was a
versatile player who could play at several positions and
always, or almost always, play at a similar level. In his 14
seasons in Italy, only in his first one, when he was very
young, and his last two, at 37 and 38 years old, did his
scoring average fall below 10 points. His total averages
in 490 Italian League games reflect his profile: 27.1 minutes,
12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds. His best season was
1996-97 with Trieste, when he put up 18.7 points and
7.5 rebounds per game.
Three lost finals
In the summer of 1991, listening to the advice of his
friend, Zadar sports director Kresimir Cosic, Tanjevic
signed another Yugoslav star, Dejan Bodiroga of Serbia.
Bodiroga arrived from Zadar, a team he had ended up
with when his talent slipped under the radar of Partizan
and Crvena Zvezda scouts, but not from under Cosic’s.
The start of the war in Yugoslavia forced Bodiroga to
leave his team, but Cosic convinced Tanjevic to sign the
18-year-old, who became the youngest foreigner ever
in the Italian League.
Due to bureaucratic problems, Bodiroga could not
play in 1991-92, but he became a star the following
season with 21.2 points per game. Aside from Tanjevic,
his host in Trieste would be Gregor Fucka. The
Slovenian spoke fluent Serbian and helped Bodiroga
in his adaptation to everything. Their friendship would
get stronger and would culminate 10 years later in
Barcelona.
However, before enjoying basketball glory, both had
to endure bittersweet moments with their clubs and
national teams. For instance, Trieste lost three straight
Korac Cup finals, a trophy that the three protagonists
in this story – Fucka, Bodiroga and Tanjevic – wanted
to win for personal reasons. Tanjevic played at OKK
Belgrade with Radivoj Korac, while for any kid from Yugoslavia,
the name of Korac and his friend Ivo Daneu
simply meant basketball. In the 1994 two-game final,
Trieste fell to PAOK Thessaloniki; in 1995 it lost to ALBA
Berlin; and in 1996 – now playing as Stefanel Milano –
the three saw their dream dashed by Efes Pilsen. Those
were three big disappointments, but Bodiroga found
some consolation in 1995 with Yugoslavia winning EuroBasket
1995 in Athens. In 1996, Stefanel Milano won
the Italian League and Italian Cup with the two friends
being a key part of that success. Those were their first
two titles after so many years of hard work and sacrifice.
Bodiroga completed a great season with a silver
medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, but at the 1997
EuroBasket in Barcelona, Fucka and Bodiroga became
rivals. Italy beat Yugoslavia 74-69 in the group stage,
but Yugoslavia got the ultimate revenge, beating the
Italians 61-49 in the final. Bodiroga, who was already
playing with Real Madrid, scored 14 points and his
friend Fucka 12. The following year, at the 1998 World
Cup in Athens, Yugoslavia won the gold medal but lost
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