101 Greats of European Basketball

A three-point
professional
If an elite sportsman has a dream, it probably revolves
around scoring the last goal, the last shot
or the last point so that his team wins an important
title. Alberto Herreros was lucky enough to live
that moment. It was June 26, 2005, and the finals
of the Spanish League playoffs between Real Madrid
and Tau Ceramica had reached the fifth and final
game. Both finalists had won a road game in the series,
but Game 5 was being played in Vitoria because
Tau had the home-court advantage. The Tau Ceramica
fans were expecting the win and the title. In the final
minute, with their team ahead 69-61, they started to
celebrate.
A three-pointer for the ages
It was then that one of those miracles that only can
happen in basketball occurred. Without any apparent
reason, the hosts started committing mistakes: Luis
Scola and Jose Manuel Calderon missed free throws;
Pablo Prigioni and Tiago Splitter turned the ball over.
Real Madrid got within 2 points, 67-69, but the title was
still in Tau’s hands. Herreros didn’t play much in the
series, but after a disappointing performance by Louis
Bullock, the best scorer for Madrid then (he fouled out
with 11 points after making just 2 of 9 three-pointers),
head coach Boza Maljkovic decided to go with the experience
of Herreros. His only shot during the 3 minutes
he was on the court happened 6 seconds before the
final buzzer. Herreros got the ball in the right corner,
his favorite position. He pulled up, took the shot and
hit nothing but net. It was the 1,233rd triple of his
Spanish League career, a difficult-to-beat record. But
this three-pointer meant a title for his team, Real Madrid.
Officially, Herreros didn’t know it would be his last
game. But at 36 years old and with a basket like this, he
could not find a better way to say farewell to the courts
after 17 seasons in the elite, with 654 games and 9,759
points, the most ever scored in the Spanish League.
Basketball had been fair to Herreros, a great scorer and
a modern forward with a privileged shooting hand. In
just a moment, basketball gave it all back to him after
so many years.
From Estudiantes to Real
Alberto Herreros, who was born on April 20, 1969,
in Madrid, started playing for local club Estudiantes.
But like many others (Fernando and Antonio Martin,
Alfonso and Felipe Reyes, Juan Antonio Orenga and
Jose Miguel Antunez) he moved on to Real Madrid. His
only trophy with Estudiantes was a Spanish King’s Cup
in 1992. Estudiantes had last won that trophy 29 years
earlier. In the quarterfinals, Estudiantes eliminated
Real Madrid 82-80 as Herreros scored 19 points. In
the semis, they beat Joventut Badalona 78-77 with 13
points from Herreros. In the final game, Estu defeated
CAI Zaragoza 61-56 as Herreros and Rickie Winslow
had 16 points apiece and John Pinone was named
MVP in his eighth season with the team.
In 1996, after eight years with Estudiantes, Herreros
made the decision to switch teams in the Spanish
capital. The Estudiantes fans never forgave him for
that, but it was a rightful ambition on his part: to
evolve and win titles, a great player needed to be on
a big team. With Real Madrid, he won two league titles
101 greats of european basketball
Alberto Herreros
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