Elie Mechantaf (; born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

on October 5, 1970) is a retired Lebanese professional basketball player. He started his basketball career in the

Cypriot Basketball League The OPAP Basket League is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format All teams are playing against each othe ...

, before becoming the captain of the Lebanese

Hekmeh BC Sagesse Sports Club (French language , French: '' Club Sportif de la Sagesse''), known as Hekmeh in Arabic, is a Lebanese sports club founded in 1943 and is based in Beirut. The basketball team was established in 1992, as part of the Club Sages ...

(Sagesse) basketball club, winning the Lebanese Championship for 6 consecutive seasons from 1998 to 2004. Mechantaf was also the team captain of the Lebanon National Basketball Team from 2000 to 2006, also taking part in the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was held by the FIBA, International Basketb ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. He retired in 2008. Now Mchantaf is encouraging basketball in Lebanon through founding his own official club M13 (Mchantaf #13 ).

Career

Mechantaf was born in Abra (East Saida), the son of Rafiq and Samia Mechantaf. He studied in the South in Saidoun High School, then moved to

and later to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where he lived a year. After graduation, he returned to Lebanon and became a player in Club Aamal Bikfaya in 1993. In 1994 he became the captain of

(also known as Sagesse) dominating the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

winning FIBA Asia club championships. The FLB (Federation Libanaise de Basketball) formed the

Lebanese National Basketball Team The Lebanon men's national basketball team (; ), controlled by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB), has represented Lebanon in basketball since its inception in 1947. The squad is governed by FIBA, and is part of the FIBA Asia zone. Leba ...

, where Mechantaf started as the captain of the national side. Mechantaf took part in the 2002 Basketball World Cup in Indianapolis. He was excluded from the national team in 2006 World Championship in Japan due to alleged doping. He continued playing with

Hekmeh Hikma (), or other romanisations such as Hikmah and Hekme, may refer to: Education *Al-Hikmah University, a private university in Ilorin, Nigeria *Al-Hikma University (Baghdad), a former university in Baghdad, Iraq *Dar Al-Hekma University, a w ...

until 2007, when he signed with

Champville SC CS Maristes, formerly known as Champville Club SC (), is a Lebanese basketball team from Dik El Mehdi, Lebanon. The team competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. Since its establishment in 1967, the team has been affiliated with the Coll� ...

becoming the captain of the team. He returned to Hekmeh for a final season in 2008 before retiring.

Records and accolades

* 1999 McDonald's World Championship 3rd best scorer and assister * 1996-2002 Lebanese Basketball Championship MVP (most valuable player) * 2000-2003 Lebanon Cup MIP (most improved player) * 1996, 1998, 2000 Best Arab Player * 1999, 2001 FIBA Asian Cup Championship MVP (most valuable player) * 1999 Asian MIP (most improved player) * 2000 Best player in Asia * 1999, 2001 Best Asian Player

External links

Info page on Basket-Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechantaf, Elie 1970 births Basketball players from Beirut Lebanese men's basketball players Living people Notre Dame University–Louaize alumni University of Nicosia alumni 2002 FIBA World Championship players Forwards (basketball) Sagesse SC (basketball) players