Farewell to Dalipagic, who scored 70 points against Virtus

Farewell to Dalipagic, one of the greatest players of Yugoslavia, capable of winning gold at the Moscow Games in 1980 and scoring 70 points against Virtus, with the shirt of of Reyer Venezia. Drazen Dalipagic, known as Praja, was 73 years old, had been ill for some time. But he remained and remains a basketball legend. There are a thousand and more stories that tie him to Italy, to the NBA, to Bologna and even to Dino Meneghin, with whom there was a sort of bet on who would retire later. Praja, a deadly shooter, was born in Mostar on November 27, 1951. He started with handball, then played stopper in Velez and, the nickname Praja, he carries with him precisely because it is the (soccer) player who inspires him. Yes, because one of the greatest basketball players of all time, picks up a basketball when he is already 19 years old. In Italy, for this reason, they wouldn't even have taken him into consideration. He trains - 600 shots a day, alone, after finishing work with his teammates - and becomes a deadly shooter.

In Belgrade, where he started, almost by chance, he averaged 49,2 points for a season. What is the peculiarity? We are talking about the early 25s: the three-point shot, at least in Europe, does not exist. On January 1987 (the same day of his death) 70 he scored XNUMX points in Virtus Bologna. At the Arsenal, as at the Azteca in Mexico City, there is a plaque commemorating the feat.

Sandro Gamba, coach of Virtus, defense theoretician, desperately alternates four scorers on him: 40 points at halftime, 70 at the end with 18/23 from two, 5/9 from three and 19/19 from free throws. "I had to mark Villalta - Praja will say - this one charged me up". Maybe he wanted to avenge that time in Belgrade when Jimmone Mc Millian scored 45, on one ankle (the other was swollen like a melon) limiting him.

A phenomenon with a big moustache and slumped shoulders. Dressed in civilian clothes (he is almost two meters tall), like another basketball legend, Kresimir Cosic, he seems like the 'mezzemaniche' next door. With a ball in his hands he is an artist, an absolute genius. Moreover, he is loved by his rivals, because Praja is a phenomenon, but he never lets it be seen as a burden. And for this he will always scold Drazen Petrovic, a basketball genius, but often irreverent towards his opponents.

In 1977 he is one step away from the Boston Celtics. Red Auerbach is thinking of a big deal, but he, Praja, who had recently become the father of Davorin, doesn't feel like leaving. He goes to Venice, comes close to winning the Korac Cup. He has fun even if his idiosyncrasy towards vaporetti remains when he has to travel. A season at Real Madrid, after Partizan and then the Italian experiences with Venice, Udine and Verona. Top scorer titles in succession.

All he needs is to reach the Virtus. Praja was fascinated by the black V and the lawyer Porelli, whom his great friend Kresimir Cosic had told him about. "I would like to play for Virtus - he repeated - so I could win the championship". For Bologna he remains a dream and a rival. But an opponent to applaud always and in any case. Unmarkable on the field, Praja was a gentleman, a man of great moral strength, once the games were over.