Janos Basa, an important figure in Romanian hockey as a player, coach, and school teacher, passed away on 23 October after a lengthy illness.
On the international level, he played at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble as well as nine World Championships (eight B Pool, one C Pool). Domestically, Basa played for 15 years, winning two national titles. He later coached at the national and international levels for two decades and for much of his adult life he was also a high-school teacher.
Born in Miercurea Ciuc (Csikszereda), Basa dedicated his life to hockey. As a child, he started out as a figure skater but soon fell in love with hockey. He was given his first pair of skates by Istvan Szabo, and Basa grew up playing alongside the likes of Imre Mezey, Tibor Szilagyi, Laszlo Sarkany, Gabor Nagy, Jeno Boda, and Jeno Csaszar.
Basa’s early taste of success came in 1962 when he was part of the first youth national championship-winning ice hockey team from Miercurea Ciuc. Basa scored the tying goal in the dying seconds and many years later recalled the specifics of the goal: "Istvan Szabo, our coach, opted for a tactic that was barely known in Hungary at the time,” he explained. “He sent an extra skater onto the ice in place of our goaltender, and we managed to tie the game with twenty seconds left in the match. It was a great source of satisfaction for me that I scored the goal and, thanks to a better goal difference, we became champions."
Soon after, Basa completed his military service while studying at the College of Physical Education. He also continued to play hockey with Dinamo Bucharest, coached by the legendary Romanian Mihai Flamaropol.
At Dinamo, Basa played alongside several players from Miercurea Ciuc, notably Zoltan Fogarasy, Istvan Texe, Istvan Rigo, Imre Mezey, and Jeno Boda. In 1968, the team won the Romanian championship, defeating the dominant Steaua Bucharest team in the process.
As a member of the Romanian National Team, Basa participated in the 1968 Olympic Winter Games held in Grenoble, France, recording two assists in five games. He also travelled to Canada with the team on its cross-country tour, another memorable event during his career. He completed his studies in 1969, after which he returned to Miercurea Ciuc, where he once again played.
Basa retired from the national team following the 1975 World Championship in Japan. Over the course of the latter part of the 1970s and much of the ‘80s, he spent 12 years coaching the senior hockey team in Miercurea Ciuc, known as Sportklub. In 1990, he moved to Ferencvaros, and in 1991-92 he won both the Hungarian championship and the Hungarian Cup, an impressive double.
At the international level, Basa had success coaching Romania’s U20 team for most of the decade 1985-95, almost always in B Pool.
His career as an educator, however, was just as significant as his playing and coaching careers. For decades he worked at Marton Aron High School in Miercurea Ciuc. As a physical education teacher, he mentored hundreds of young people, fostering in them a love for physical activity and sport but also infusing in them an understanding of discipline, perseverance, and fair play.
On the international level, he played at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble as well as nine World Championships (eight B Pool, one C Pool). Domestically, Basa played for 15 years, winning two national titles. He later coached at the national and international levels for two decades and for much of his adult life he was also a high-school teacher.
Born in Miercurea Ciuc (Csikszereda), Basa dedicated his life to hockey. As a child, he started out as a figure skater but soon fell in love with hockey. He was given his first pair of skates by Istvan Szabo, and Basa grew up playing alongside the likes of Imre Mezey, Tibor Szilagyi, Laszlo Sarkany, Gabor Nagy, Jeno Boda, and Jeno Csaszar.
Basa’s early taste of success came in 1962 when he was part of the first youth national championship-winning ice hockey team from Miercurea Ciuc. Basa scored the tying goal in the dying seconds and many years later recalled the specifics of the goal: "Istvan Szabo, our coach, opted for a tactic that was barely known in Hungary at the time,” he explained. “He sent an extra skater onto the ice in place of our goaltender, and we managed to tie the game with twenty seconds left in the match. It was a great source of satisfaction for me that I scored the goal and, thanks to a better goal difference, we became champions."
Soon after, Basa completed his military service while studying at the College of Physical Education. He also continued to play hockey with Dinamo Bucharest, coached by the legendary Romanian Mihai Flamaropol.
At Dinamo, Basa played alongside several players from Miercurea Ciuc, notably Zoltan Fogarasy, Istvan Texe, Istvan Rigo, Imre Mezey, and Jeno Boda. In 1968, the team won the Romanian championship, defeating the dominant Steaua Bucharest team in the process.
As a member of the Romanian National Team, Basa participated in the 1968 Olympic Winter Games held in Grenoble, France, recording two assists in five games. He also travelled to Canada with the team on its cross-country tour, another memorable event during his career. He completed his studies in 1969, after which he returned to Miercurea Ciuc, where he once again played.
Basa retired from the national team following the 1975 World Championship in Japan. Over the course of the latter part of the 1970s and much of the ‘80s, he spent 12 years coaching the senior hockey team in Miercurea Ciuc, known as Sportklub. In 1990, he moved to Ferencvaros, and in 1991-92 he won both the Hungarian championship and the Hungarian Cup, an impressive double.
At the international level, Basa had success coaching Romania’s U20 team for most of the decade 1985-95, almost always in B Pool.
His career as an educator, however, was just as significant as his playing and coaching careers. For decades he worked at Marton Aron High School in Miercurea Ciuc. As a physical education teacher, he mentored hundreds of young people, fostering in them a love for physical activity and sport but also infusing in them an understanding of discipline, perseverance, and fair play.