101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
ford Kings of England in their first game, which ended
in a 72-72 tie, although at home Limoges was better
(71-57) and advanced to the eighth-finals group.
There, the team finished second at 7-5 behind PAOK
Thessaloniki (8-4), but ahead of Scavolini Pesaro (also
7-5), Knorr Bologna and Joventut Badalona (6-6),
Cibona Zagreb (5-7) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (3-9). In the
quarterfinals, in three close games, Limoges got rid
of Olympiacos. After losing 70-67 in Greece, Limoges
won at home 59-53 and 60-58. Michael Young shined:
35 points against Maccabi, 31 and 30 against Joventut,
27 against Cibona, 26 against Scavolini... But in
the first game against Olympiacos, he scored just 8
points, his worst mark of the season and his only one
below 10 points. However, at home, he repaid the
Reds with interest: 20 points in Game 2 and 30 in the
decisive third and final game.
Two miracles in Athens
Limoges had a ticket to Athens, home of the Final
Four that year, but competing against Real Madrid,
Benetton Treviso and PAOK, its chances of success
were completely discarded. In the semifinals, Limoges
surprised Benetton 59-55 with brilliant defense plus
18 points and 7 rebounds by Young. Toni Kukoc was
playing his fourth Final Four but it was the first time he
lost a game in the tournament. Terry Teagle, an NBA
alum, scored 19 points for Benetton, but his shooting
was not perfect. Despite that victory, Limoges was considered
an outsider also against Real Madrid in the title
game. Madrid had Arvydas Sabonis, Chechu Biriukov,
Antonio Martin, Ismael Santos, Jose Lasa, Jose Miguel
Antunez, Ricky Brown...an imposing lineup that was a
heavy favorite. But the final result was 62-52 for the
“miners” – as Maljkovic used to call his players for their
hard-working nature. And it was, until then, the biggest
upset ever in a Euroleague title game.
Many people criticized the Limoges playing style,
with its slow tempo and ball control, but Maljkovic
simply applied one of the basic theories of this sport:
you have to adapt the system to the players you have
at your disposal. His team was not made to score 100
points, to run or to score on fastbreaks. They were a
team made for defense, for working for every point,
and for giving the ball to Michael Young. In the title
game, he scored 20 of his team’s 62 points and pulled
down 7 rebounds. That was more than enough to be
chosen MVP of the 1993 Final Four in Athens. After so
much suffering and being underestimated, Young had
his recognition at the highest level.
“He was a great player who devoted 100 percent of
his attention to three things: family, basketball and fishing,”
Maljkovic remembered. “When he set foot in the
opponent’s half of the court, he was already a threat.
He was a great shooter, but also a rebounder, and one
of the best players and men I ever coached in my career.
He is the only player for whom, when our collaboration
ended, I bought him a gold coin. He still keeps it and
showed it to me when we went to Limoges to celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the title we won.”
Young stayed with Limoges for two more seasons
and also played in the 1995 Final Four in Zaragoza, but
his biggest moment was in 1993 in Athens. His French
League averages in 1994 and 1995 were 23.5 and 20.1
points, respectively, with almost 5 rebounds per game.
In the EuroLeague, his personal record is the 47 points
he poured in against Benetton on December 9, 1994.
After Limoges, he played one season in Lyon (27.4
points) and was back to Italy, but to the second division
(Fabriano, 22.8 points). In 1998, he put an end to his
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