Franjo Arapović

Franjo Arapović (born 2 June 1965) is a Croatian former professional basketball player who played as a center. A 7 ft 0.5 in (2.15 m) tall,^[1] he won the silver medal with the Croatia national team at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Four years earlier he was a member of the Yugoslavia national team, that won the silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Franjo Arapović
Member of Parliament
In office 22 December 2003 – 11 January 2008
Parliamentary group	Croatian Democratic Union
Constituency	I electoral district
Personal details
Born	(1965-06-02) 2 June 1965 (age 59) Slipčići, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Height	2.15 m (7 ft 1⁄2 in)
Spouse	Nataly-Suzan Plazibat
Children	Marko Matea
Basketball career
Career information
NBA draft	1987: 7th round, 159th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Position	Center
Career history
1983–1993	Cibona
1993–1994	Croatia Osiguranje
1994–1995	Zrinjevac
1995–1996	Trapani
1996–1998	Žalgiris
1998–1999	Antalya BB
1999–2000	Olimpija Osijek
2000	Hapoel Jerusalem
2000–2001	Krka
2001–2002	Triglav Osiguranje
Career highlights and awards
2× EuroLeague champion (1985, 1986) 2× Saporta Cup (1987, 1998) 2× Yugoslav League champion (1984, 1985) 2× Croatian League champion (1992, 1993) 2× Lithuanian League champion (1997, 1998) 3× Yugoslav Cup winner (1985, 1986, 1988) Croatian Cup winner (1994)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Team World Championship 1986 Spain Team Universiade 1987 Zagreb Team European Championship for Juniors 1984 Sweden Team Representing  Croatia Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Team

Arapović was born in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. In his professional career, he played for KK Lokomotiva Mostar, after which he moved to Croatian clubs Cibona, Croatia Osiguranje Split and Zrinjevac. He then moved to Pallacanestro Trapani in Italy, BC Žalgiris in Lithuania, Krka Telekom in Slovenia, Fenerbahçe in Turkey, Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in Israel, again Žalgiris, and again Zrinjevac, Croatia Osiguranje Split and Cibona.^[2]

One of Arapović's most well-known moments was during the first half of the gold medal game between Croatia and the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics, when Arapović caught a pass from Toni Kukoč while driving toward the basket and made a running two-handed slam dunk to give Croatia a 25–23 lead over the Dream Team. David Robinson was whistled for a foul on the play, and Arapović demonstratively hung on the rim for several moments before giving the cheering crowd several fist-pumps.^[3]

Member of Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Arapović was their MP in the Croatian Parliament from December 2003 until January 2008. His son Marko is also a professional basketball player.

References

1. "Franjo Arapovic". Archived from the original on 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
2. Franjo Arapović Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine at the Croatian Olympic Committee
3. Gold Medal Game Footage, dunk at 7:35 1st half.

External links

• Franjo Arapovic at databaseOlympics.com (archived)
• Franjo Arapović at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• Franjo Arapovic at Olympics.com