Going Vertical

Some victories change the course of history: victories of human spirit, of entire nations, of humanity. The legendary ‘three-second’ victory of the Soviet basketball team at the 1972 Munich Olympics is one of those triumphs. For the first time in 36 years, the ‘invincible’ US team was defeated. No one could have imagined it was possible to beat the magnificent Americans at the Olympics... no one except for the Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Belarusian and Lithuanian players on the Soviet national basketball team. With their country’s honor at stake and the tensions high in the aftermath of what has come to be known as the ‘Munich massacre’, the Soviet coach did everything in his power to help his charges shatter the American myth of an unsinkable dream team. He knew he had built the planet’s strongest team. First, he made his players believe in it. Then, he proved it to the world. (Moscow International Film Festival)