Dušan Šakota

Dušan Šakota
Ντούσαν Σάκοτα

Šakota with Panathinaikos
Position	Power forward Small forward
Height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Weight	230 lb (100 kg)
League	Belgian League
Team	Telenet Oostende
Born	April 22, 1986 (1986-04-22) (age 25) Belgrade, Serbia
Nationality	Serbian / Greek
Pro career	2003–present
Career history	Panathinaikos (2003–09) →Panionios (loan, 2007–08) Scavolini Pesaro (2009–10) Telenet Oostende (2011–)
Awards	Greek All Star Game 3 Point Shootout Champion 2006

Dušan Šakota (Serbian: Душан Шакота, Greek: Ντούσαν Σάκοτα, born April 22, 1986 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia) is a Greek professional basketball player of Serbian descent, the son of former player and coach Dragan Šakota.

A cornerman who possesses the height of a center (2.11 m, 6 ft 11 in) and the shooting ability of a guard, Šakota has enjoyed two triple crowns despite his relatively young age. He currently plays in the Belgian League for Telenet Oostende.

Career

Dusan was born in Belgrade but moved along with his family to Greece at the age of 4, when his father was given the head coaching job with PAOK Thessaloniki. In the early 00's he played in junior competitions for AEK, his father's club at the time.

Panathinaikos - Panionios

In 2003 he signed his first professional contract with Željko Obradović's Panathinaikos. A bench player because of his very young age, Šakota played for the Athenian powerhouse until 2007 and lifted every possible trophy, including the prestigious triple crown in his last year: 4 Greek Championships (2003-04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), 3 Greek Cups (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) and 1 Euroleague title (2006-07). He was also selected to the All-World Team Roster at the 2005 Nike Hoop Summit.

In 2007 he was loaned for the whole 2007-08 season to the league minors Panionios in order to gain more first-team experience. He was instrumental in helping the club finishing 3rd in the playoffs, thus qualifying for a place in the Euroleague; the first time in 12 years that Panionios had qualified for the top European basketball competition.

In 2008 he returned to Panathinaikos for his second triple crown. Again as bench player, but this time with a more active role in the rotation, he made 22 appearances in the Greek League averaging 5.3 points per game. He also appeared in 9 Euroleague matches during the early stages of the competition, with an average of 8:08 min and 3.2 points; in the Berlin Final Four he was a member of the squad, but finished both matches as an unused substitute.

Scavolini Pesaro and the accident

In 2009 he joined Scavolini Pesaro of the Italian Serie A, seeking a more important role in the play,.

Unfortunately, his career in Italy ended some matches before the conclusion of the 2009-10 season in a shocking way. On 25 April 2010, Šakota suffered a superficially light injury during a match versus Teramo. Following a wrong initial medical diagnosis which led to an equally wrong surgery the next day, he fell into a coma caused by septicæmia. Finally the doctors managed to save his life, but he had to pull out of action for a long period.

Telenet Oostende

In 2011, after a whole year of recovery, Šakota joined the Belgian League club Telenet Oostende.

Greek National Team

Medal record
Men’s basketball
Competitor for  Greece
FIBA U19 World Championship
Bronze	2003 Thessaloniki	National team

Šakota holds dual citizenship; Serbian (former Yugoslav) by birth, and Greek because he 's been permanently living in the country since his childhood. In 2003 he declared his eligibility for the Greece national team, although (according to the press) his father preferred to see him with Serbia & Montenegro.

Between 2003-2006 he represented Greece at junior level in a total of 59 matches averaging 13.5 ppg. He was a member of the squad that won the bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

He hasn't played with the Men's National Team yet.

Awards and achievements

• Won the bronze medal at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship (2003)
• Won 5 Greek Championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
• Won 4 Greek Cups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
• Nike Hoop Summit All-World Team (2005)
• Won the Greek All Star Game 3 Point Shootout Contest (2006)
• Won 2 Euroleague Championships (2007, 2009)
• Won 2 Triple Crowns (2007, 2009)
• Won the World Military Basketball Championship (2009)

External links

• Euroleague.net Profile
• Pesarosport.com Profile
• Panathinaikos BC Profile
• Eurobasket.com Profile
• NBA.com NBA Draft Profile
• NBADraft.net Profile
• Draftexpress.com Profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• Οutrageous refusal from Dusan Sakota (in Greek), newspaper Eleftherotypia, 11th Feb 2003.

Persondata
Name	Sakota, Dusan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 22, 1986
Place of birth	Belgrade, Serbia
Date of death
Place of death