101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
resentative of the Chamber of Commerce of Bulgaria.
Golomeev studied at the prestigious McGill College,
founded in 1821, and he quickly earned a reputation as
the best player on the basketball team.
“They called me last year,” Golomeev recalled a few
years ago from Torremolinos, Spain, where he spends
his winters playing golf. “On April 12, they wanted to
celebrate something because some of my records are
still standing after 35 years! My average of 37.5 points
is still untouchable, as well as the 57 points I scored
in a game that we played as visitors. Such a shame I
couldn’t make it, but I am happy that they still remember
me.”
His games at McGill caught the attention of several
NBA teams, specifically New York, who was seriously
interested in signing the Bulgarian player. But the idea
of becoming a professional basketball player never,
ever crossed Golomeev’s mind. Interestingly, another
Bulgarian, Georgi Glouchkov, became the first European
player ever in the NBA, in 1986. But that’s another
story. It was almost impossible for Golomeev due to
the nature of his father’s job and because of the rules
back then. The Bulgarian federation would never have
granted him permission to play in the NBA because
that would have meant that Golomeev could no longer
participate in the national team.
He chose to go back home, but this time he signed
for Akademik. In the 1969-70 EuroLeague season, the
Spanish giants Real Madrid saw his potential in their
quarterfinals duel. Madrid won at home, 97-83, and
Golomeev scored 19 points, but lost the duel against
Luyk (34). However, one week later, his revenge was
complete as Akademik won 101-86 and Golomeev
nailed 38 points!
“The only thing I remember from that game was the
helplessness of my players in trying to stop Golomeev,”
Pedro Ferrandiz, the legendary Real Madrid coach, told
me once. “He scored when and how he wanted. He beat
us by himself. He was a false five, he lacked height, but
he had great technique and great shooting. Yes, he was
a great player.”
After six years with Akademik, from 1970 to 1976,
Golomeev signed for Levski-Spartak, where he played
until 1981. In a game against Slavia Sofia, he scored 63
points, the standing record in Bulgaria. He was a fighter
willing to battle against anybody to win. He had the reputation
of having a bad attitude because of his constant
replies to referees on the court, and he was called for
many technical fouls. But outside the court Golomeev
was kind and well-mannered. At 34 years old, he entered
the Bulgarian history books as the first player ever with
legal permission to play abroad. He signed for Adana of
Turkey, who had just won the second division. Of course,
he was the best scorer in the league, and teams like
Efes Pilsen, Fenerbahce and Besiktas lost in Adana that
season. There is no reliable data about his averages,
but Golomeev says that he hardly ever scored less than
30 points. It was just not fair that such a great player as
Golomeev never had the chance to play for a great European
club. But life isn’t always fair.
After his great performance at the 1973 EuroBasket
in Barcelona, rumor had it that Golomeev had an offer
to play in Spain. In an interview published in “Rebote”
magazine in Barcelona after the tourney, Golomeev
himself said that “two Spanish teams wanted to sign
me”. He said he could not reveal the names, but that
“one was from Catalonia”. Many years later, with a smile
on his lips, he confirmed everything:
“Yes, Barcelona had new directors and they wanted to
136
137