The 1979 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in São Paulo, Brazil, meant that supporters of Esporte Clube Sírio could see their team possibly clinching the title on home soil. Indeed, over the course of the following days, the Brazilian side would make it to the Finals.
However, during the tournament's last game against KK Bosna Meridianbet, the fear of losing in their own country evidently became too much for some Sírio players—most notably, their superstar, Oscar Schmidt .
"Bosna, my team, led for almost 35 minutes, and Oscar [Schmidt] was crying for real because he thought that the world champion title was slipping away from him in front of his fans," KK Bosna's head coach Bogdan Tanjevic told KOS magazin .
Schmidt desperately wanted to win at home
The Intercontinental Cup has historically aimed to bring together the world's top basketball clubs to officially determine the world champion. Two Hall of Famers, Lithuanian Arvydas Sabonis, and Brazilian Schmidt, are among the legends who have excelled in this competition.
Based on Tanjevic's remarks, one surely wouldn't expect that 'The Holy Hand' would go on to deliver one of his most spectacular performances in that Finals game , which had started so poorly for Sírio.
However, first some background is needed to understand Schmidt's emotional reaction to his side initially trailing. The former 6'9" forward was famously devoted to his local team and country, which is why winning in Brazil was an ultimate dream. Naturally, when that goal appeared to be slipping away and a Finals blowout loss loomed, 'The Holy Hand' seemingly couldn't contain himself.
Related: Jeff Teague on who’s better between Larry Bird vs. Kevin Durant: “At one point, I thought he was better than Bron”
An unforgettable comeback
However, Schmidt wouldn't be one of the greatest international basketball players ever if he couldn't channel those feelings to eventually bounce back. And that's precisely what he did. Brazil would go on to make an astounding comeback, with Tanjevic remembering Oscar's crucial role in it, stating that "he forced overtime and single-handedly beat us in the extra period."
The South American basketball icon ended the night with an impressive 42 points, leading Sirio to a narrow 100-98 victory and their first-ever FIBA International Cup title. While undoubtedly a bitter loss for Bosna, Schmidt's outstanding performance earned high praise from their head coach at the time.
"Never before or since in my entire life did I see a player who played a great game even though he couldn't stop crying," the Montenegrin remarked. "His talent was beyond all doubt, and those tears of his proved his winning mentality."
'The Holy Hand' demolishing Bosna marked another significant turning point, as it was the precise moment when Tanjevic made a certain promise to himself.
"If I ever coached a team outside Yugoslavia, he [Schmidt] would be one of my foreign players," Bogdan claimed.
Staying true to his word, when the coach took over Indesit Caserta in 1982, he indeed brought in Schmidt, and they went on to enjoy four successful years together. In retrospect, it was a silver lining for the now 77-year-old—if Schmidt hadn't performed the way he did in 1978, the two likely wouldn't have crossed paths later on.
Related: "That's very sad for me" - Oscar Schmidt on players not committing to their countries
Most Popular
Comments / 0