Elie Mechantaf ( ar, إيلي مشنتف; born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

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

Cypriot Basketball League The Cypriot Basketball Division A 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 At present, six clubs compete ...

, before becoming the captain of the Lebanese

Hekmeh BC Sagesse Sports Club (), known as Hekmeh ( ar, الحكمة) in Arabic, is a Lebanese sports club based in Beirut. The basketball team was established in 1992, as part of the Club Sagesse established in 1943 with mainly the football (soccer) te ...

(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 Lebanon national basketball team can refer to: * Lebanon men's national basketball team ** Lebanon men's national under-19 basketball team ** Lebanon men's national under-17 basketball team * Lebanon women's national basketball team ** Lebanon wome ...

from 2000 to 2006, also taking part in the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and 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 ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

where he lived a whole year. Back in Beirut, he studied at College CIT for two years. Then he joined

Notre Dame University – Louaize Notre may refer to: *Notre language *André Le Nôtre * See also *Notre Dame (disambiguation) Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * Un ...

(NDU) for one semester, after which he went to Cyprus playing basketball professionally, starting with

EPA Larnaca EPA Larnaca (, ''Enosis Pezoporikou Amol'') was a Cypriot football club based in the city of Larnaca. Founded in 1930 with the merge of two local clubs, Pezoporikos and AMOL, the club was a founding member of Cyprus Football Association and part ...

, Cyprus, in second division, alongside another Lebanese player, Fouad Abou Chacra. He also studied Business Administration at Intercollege Cyprus. After graduation, he returned to Lebanon and became a player in Amal Bikfaya in 1993. In 1994 he became the captain of

(also known as Sagesse) dominating the

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is the top-tier professional men's basketball league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB). Currently, the leagu ...

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

Lebanese National Basketball Team The Lebanon men's national basketball team (; french: Équipe du Liban de basket-ball), controlled by the Lebanese Basketball Federation (FLB), has represented Lebanon in basketball since its inception in 1947. The squad is governed by FIBA, and ...

, 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 ( ar, حكمة), 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 Univ ...

until 2007, when he signed with

Champville SC Champville SC ( ar, نادي الشانفيل الرياضي) is a Lebanese basketball team from Dik El Mehdi, Lebanon, which competes in the Lebanese Basketball League. History In Game 4 of the 2011–2012 Finals, Champville defeated Anibal Zah ...

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 Sportspeople 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