Miki Berkovich
Encyclopedia
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) is a retired Israeli basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. He was a 6' 4" shooting guard.
Career
Berkovich is recognized by many Israelis as the best Israeli basketball player who ever played. Berkovich joined Maccabi Tel AvivMaccabi Tel Aviv (basketball)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv B.C. is a professional Israeli basketball club based in Tel Aviv. The team plays in three leagues: the Euroleague, the Israeli Basketball Super League, and the Adriatic League....
basketball club's junior team in 1965, and adult team in 1971. With Maccabi, he won 19 national championship
Ligat Winner
Ligat HaAl , or the Israeli Basketball Super League, is the top tier of league basketball competition in Israeli basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball competition. For sponsorship reasons, the league is also referred to as Ligat Loto , lit...
titles and 17 national cups.
In 1974 took young NT to the fourth place in European Championship and was the leading scorer of the tournament.
In 1975 played for UNLV in the United States, but returned to Maccabi after just one year.
In 1977 helped Maccabi to win its first European Championship
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
, defeating Mobilgirgi Varese 78:77 in the final held in Pionir Hall
Pionir Hall
Pionir Hall, or Pionir Arena is a sports arena in Belgrade, Serbia, located in the Belgrade's municipality of Palilula...
, Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and CSKA Moscow
PBC CSKA Moscow
PBC CSKA Moscow is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Moscow, Russia. The club is a member of the VTB United League. It is often referred to in the West as "Red Army" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army. CSKA has won two titles between 2006 and 2009 in Europe's...
91:79 in semifinal group game held in Virton
Virton
Virton is the most southerly town in Belgium and the administrative centre of a Walloon municipality and district of the same name, located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg...
, Belgium , an achievement that produced Tal Brody
Tal Brody
Tal Brody is an American-Israeli former basketball player, and current Goodwill Ambassador of Israel, who lives in Israel. Brody was drafted # 12 in the National Basketball Association draft, but chose to pass up an NBA career to instead play basketball in Israel...
's famous sentence "We are on the map, not only in basketball".
In 1979
EuroBasket 1979
The 1979 European Basketball Championship, and in short Eurobasket 1979, was the 21st regional championship held by FIBA Europe. Twelve national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation entered the competition. The competition was hosted by Italy...
Berkovich was part of the Israeli national team
Israel national basketball team
The Israeli national basketball team is the basketball team that represents Israel in international competition.The Israeli team has participated 25 times in the European championship tournament. Their best achievements were a silver medal in Eurobasket 1979, and 5th place in 1953 and 1977...
which finished second (behind the Soviet national team
Soviet Union national basketball team
The Soviet national basketball team was the basketball side that represented the Soviet Union in international competitions. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the successor countries all set up their own national teams...
) at the European Championship
Eurobasket
The EuroBasket, also referred to as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935 and...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. Berkovich was named tournament MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. Even though he received offers from the New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
from the NBA after the tournament, Maccabi management insisted that he stayed in the team, and so he did.
In 1981 the second European Championship for Maccabi, against another Italian team, Sinudyne Bologna
Virtus Bologna
-Notable players: Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89 Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81 Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83 Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80 Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78 Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76 Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77...
. Berkovich scored the winning basket from Moti Aroesti's assist, setting the score to 80:77. There were no three point shots back then so the Italian could only score a two point basket and Maccabi won 80:79.
Berkovich's career in Maccabi came to the end in 1988, when he and Aroesti joined Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Maccabi Rishon LeZion is a sport club in Rishon LeZion, Israel.The professional teams associated with it include:*Maccabi Rishon LeZion *Maccabi Rishon LeZion *Maccabi Rishon LeZion...
. Later he played for Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem (basketball)
Hapoel 'Migdal' Jerusalem is a professional basketball team that is based in Jerusalem, Israel. The club currently plays in the Eurocup, Israeli Super League , and the Israeli State Cup.-History:...
and Hapoel Tel Aviv
Hapoel Tel Aviv (basketball)
Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C. is an Israeli basketball club. The second most successful side in Israeli basketball, The club Owned by Hapoel Tel Aviv Supporters Trust and is currently in Liga Leumit, the Second tier.-History:...
.
Berkovich retired from basketball in 1995, after he retired from basketball he wrote an autobiography book called "Born to Win". He went on to become the owner of the Ramat HaSharon
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
basketball team, and both of his sons played for the team at the time. Later he became the Director of Basketball Operations of Ironi Naharia, but left the team after just one year.
In 2005, he was voted the 35th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
In February 2008, he was named as one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors
50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors
The 50 Greatest Contributors in Euroleague History were chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the FIBA European Champions Cup, officially recognized as the predecessor to today's Euroleague.The list was made up of the...
by a select panel. He was honored at this season's Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
Final Four in Madrid.