101 Greats of European Basketball

Saint Nikola
If someone were to ask me who were the best
players ever from Zagreb, my answer would be Nikola
Plecas (PLEH-chash), Mihovil Nakic and Zoran
Cutura – in that order. Surprised? Where is Drazen
Petrovic? And I would agree with you, but the catch
is I am talking about players who left a big mark
and were born or raised in Zagreb. Plecas was born
on January 10, 1948 in Bruvno and arrived in Zagreb
at age 6. He started his brilliant career there and, in
fact, he still lives there, even if he is not very involved
in basketball anymore. He’s from my generation and
I admit a certain subjectivity towards him, but I do
believe that the facts, numbers and witnesses justify
his presence among the great players of the past.
To introduce Plecas to the youngsters who were not
lucky enough to see him in action, let me tell you a story
about the first Korac Cup final in the 1971-72 season. FI-
BA had established this competition to honor the great
Serbian scorer Radivoj Korac, who passed way in a car
crash on June 2, 1969. Only eight teams signed up: two
from Spain (Manresa and Picadero JC), two from France
(Olympique Antibes and Caen), two from Yugoslavia
(Lokomotiva Zagreb and OKK Belgrade, Korac’s club of
origin), and one each from Germany (USC Munich) and
Belgium (Standard Liege). The first final featured the two
Yugoslav teams, and the format was a home-and-away
two-game series. I was at the game played in the old
Sports Palace of New Belgrade on February 29, 1972.
OKK won 83-71 despite 29 points scored by Plecas for
Lokomotiva Zagreb, the guests. On March 7, the second
game was played in Zagreb. At the break, OKK was
ahead, 48-40, which added up to a 20-point aggregate
advantage with the 12 from the first game. Basketball is a
collective sport, but that game turned into evidence that
a single player can win a game by himself. Lokomotiva
ended up winning the game, 94-73 (54-25 in the second
half) and took the trophy! Plecas finished the game with
40 points, most of them in the second half.
Pero Zlatar, a prestigious Croatian journalist and
president of Lokomotiva in the 1970s – before the
club changed its name to Cibona, by the way – was the
man who set the foundations of what would be one of
the great clubs in Europe in the following years. Zlatar
wrote an article about Plecas in which he said:
“At the break in the final against OKK Belgrade,
aside from trailing by 8 points, Lokomotiva was about
to fall into the abyss because Plecas already had four
fouls. Despite all that, he stepped on the court like a lion
and in just a few minutes, Lokomotiva scored 21 points,
most of them by Plecas, and allowed only 1. Plecas
made each and every shot, from every position. It was
unforgettable.”
Zlatar also assures us that during the 1970s, Nikola
Plecas was the most popular sportsman in Zagreb, ahead
of the aces from other sports – football included. He was
an idol for the fans, who dubbed him “Saint Nikola”.
Duo with Solman
There may have been no humbler club in the world
than Mladost of Zagreb, which produced two world
champions and an Olympic champion, who also won
several European titles at the club and national team
levels. I am referring to Mihovil Nakic, Damir Solman
and Nikola Plecas. The latter two played together there,
as they were the same age, and together they caught
the attention of the big clubs.
101 greats of european basketball
Nikola Plecas
P