Doron Jamchy

A permanent rival of Aris during those magical Thursdays of the Champions Cup, Maccabi—armed with the fortress of their "Yad Eliyahu" home court and bolstered by Americans like Kevin Magee and Ken Barlow, as well as American-Israelis like Mercer and Sims—played in three consecutive finals. However, they failed to repeat the triumphs of 1977 and 1981.

In '87, the trophy was lost due to a won jump ball by Meneghin against Magee and a desperate, buzzer-beating shot by Jamchy. In 1988, the veterans of Tracer (Milano) blocked their path again, while in '89, they fell victim to the incredible kids of Jugoplastika. Another attempt was made in Paris in 1991 against a Barcelona team that had been running on no brakes all year, dropping 34 points on the Israelis' heads in the semifinal.

In 1993, Maccabi—with a streak of 23 consecutive championships—lost their crown to Hapoel Galil Elyon, during Jamchy's worst scoring year up to that point, as he averaged fewer than 15 points for the first time after ten seasons. Maccabi returned to their familiar first-place spot the following year, but Jamchy did not reach the usual standards of the previous decade again until 1996.

He had to move to Maccabi Rishon to remind everyone of the old Doron, who, like fine wine, grew better with age. There was no greater proof of this than him becoming the league's top scorer in 1999 at the impressive age of 38. Maccabi called him back for an honorable retirement, and Jamchy got one last chance in Thessaloniki against Panathinaikos in April 2000 for Europe's greatest trophy. However, his compatriot Oded Kattash hurt him, just as he did the entire "People's Team," leaving him empty-handed.

Those hands—and to be precise, his right hand—made the (in every way Philhellene 😁) Doron Jamchy one of the hottest gunslingers on European courts, gifting us great battles between him and the legendary scorers of his era.

He is an iconic figure from the golden eras of basketball on the Old Continent, and his name might just have been a deliberate divine intervention for Israeli basketball...

By Antreas Tsemperlidis

     His name in the Hebrew language means "gift from God". And the truth is that for Israeli basketball, Doron Jamchy was truly heaven-sent.

He was one of the most authentic scorers on European hardwood during the '80s and early '90s, and a legend for the "People's Team," the great Maccabi. Although he linked his career with the Tel Aviv club, Jamchy first wore the yellow jersey with the number 12 in 1985, arriving from Ramat Gan.

At that club, Doron—born in July 1st 1961—started making a name for himself in Israeli basketball, scoring profusely and earning his call-up to the national team. Decorated as the league's top scorer and the leading scorer of EuroBasket 1985, he walked through the doors of Yad Eliyahu to form a backcourt duo with the great Miki Berkovich.Jamchy's relationship with the star of Israel's permanent champions was difficult from the start, as Zvi Sherf and Ralph Klein inevitably had to split up the scoring duties.

With Berkovich's departure in 1988 for Maccabi Rishon, the keys to the team were handed to Jamchy, who was recognized as its de facto leader. The championships kept coming to Tel Aviv, and the next big goal was the top of Europe.

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