101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
At the 1997 EuroBasket in Barcelona, Israel fell in the
eighth-finals against Russia, 87-69, but Kattash ended
up as the top scorer with 22.0 points, ahead of Ainars
Bagatskis of Latvia (21.8 ppg.), Nenad Markovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(21.4) and Arturas Karnisovas of Lithuania
(20.7). Kattash was hardly off the floor, as he averaged
38.4 minutes of play. After three great years in Maccabi,
Kattash was on the agenda of the big clubs of Europe and
also several NBA teams tried to sign him. The New York
Knicks were fastest and, in the summer of 1998, Kattash
was about to become the first Israeli ever in the NBA.
However, the NBA season did not open on time due to the
lockout, no signings were allowed, and there was even
talk of the season being canceled. Kattash grew tired of
waiting and returned to Maccabi. He finished the season
with averages of 16.1 points, 5 assists and 2.3 rebounds.
His next stop would be Athens, where Panathinaikos
signed him along with new coach Zeljko Obradovic.
The Greens started the 1999-2000 season strong.
They finished first in the group stage with a 9-1 record,
the only loss coming at home to ALBA Berlin, 72-70. In
the second phase, Panathinaikos also ended up on top
(13-3 overall). In the eighth-finals, the Greens eliminated
Buducnost 2-1 and got rid of Cibona in the quarterfinals,
2-0. The first goal was accomplished: the team
was on its way to the Final Four in Thessaloniki. It wasn’t
home, but almost.
Unforgettable Thessaloniki
In the semifinal against Efes Pilsen, Panathinaikos
won 81-71, but Kattash probably played his worst
game of the season. He only scored 5 points with
awful shooting percentages: 0 of 3 two-pointers, 1 of
4 threes and 2 of 2 free throws plus 2 rebounds and
3 assists. However, Obradovic kept him on the court
for 21 minutes. Dejan Bodiroga (22 points) and Zeljko
Rebraca (15) saved the day for Panathinaikos that night.
Maccabi Tel Aviv was waiting in the title game.
Zeljko Obradovic has told me many times: “On the
eve of the final, Oded told me ‘Coach, I did not play well
against Efes, but the final will be my game. I know them
very well and I know they cannot stop me. We will win.
For sure.’ I have never seen a player so convinced that
victory could not slip away from him.”
I was in Thessaloniki and I remember the final well.
Maccabi was winning 36-29 before the break, but a
7-0 run by the Greens allowed them to tie the score at
intermission, 36-36. A great start to the second half
by Panathinaikos, led by Antonis Fotsis and Kattash,
allowed them to build an 11-point margin, 57-46. In
money time, when Maccabi pulled within 3 points, one
of their own, Kattash, broke the game open in favor of
Panathinaikos. He replied with a three-pointer to give
his team some air, and then he made 4 of 6 free throws.
He finished the game with 17 points (0 of 1 twos, 2 of
3 threes and 11 of 14 free throws). His famous penetrations
could only be stopped with fouls by Maccabi’s
players, and Kattash had a good night from the stripe.
What I did not remember, because I had not seen it,
was what Yarone Arbel relates: “The scenes from the
ceremony were amazing. The TV caught him right after
the buzzer. All he said to the camera was ‘It’s the happiest
and the saddest day of my basketball career.’ All the
Maccabi fans were hugging him. He didn’t really know
how to celebrate. He looked so confused.”
The following day, Yarone was also a privileged witness
to a scene in the Thessaloniki airport: “I was lucky
to be there. Panathinaikos arrived at the Thessaloniki
airport to take the flight back to Athens. In the airport
were already thousands of Maccabi fans waiting for
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