The '70s, Varese-Meneghin Dynasty
After the Soviet and Madrid dynasties, the '70s were, without any doubt, the decade of Varese.
The Italian League champions found a way, year after year, to reach the final game of the competition. Indeed, Varese played the 10 finals in the '70s, winning five of them. Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, the enthusiastic Bosna Sarajevo, and the up-and-coming Maccabi Tel-Aviv, were the other champions of the decade.
At the time, Varese was led by the legendary center, Dino Meneghin, whom was surrounded by players such as, one of the best scorers in Italian League history, Bob Morse, Mexican shooter Manuel Raga, Ottorino Flaborea, John Fultz, Ivan Bisson, etc.
In 1971, CSKA won its last European title, until they won it again in the year 2006. They beat Varese, thanks to Sergei Belov's 24 points. Varese, after a tough win in the championship game against Split in 1972, won the championship one more time, against CSKA in 1973. This was despite the play of Sergei Belov. Belov, was once again the dominant scorer, with 36 points in the 1973 championship game.
In the 1974 final, Varese, after almost securing the win, was upset by Real Madrid, on an unbelievable late surge, led by Wayne Brabender and Carmelo Cabrera.
In 1977, the Israelis of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, whose leaders Jim Boatwright and Miki Berkovich, combined for 43 points against Varese, won the first of their five European crowns. A big surprise to the world of European basketball. At last, in 1979, the Yugoslavian League school of basketball began to dazzle Europe. Bosna Sarajevo, led by a young coach (32 years old) named Bogdan Tanjević, beat Varese in Grenoble, France. The great performances of its shooters, Žarko Varajić (45 points), and Mirza Delibašić (30 points), offered its first European crown to Yugoslavia.
Read more about this topic: FIBA European Champions Cup And Euroleague History