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.
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
- ^ "Franjo Arapovic". Archived from the original on 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ Franjo Arapović Archived 2014-05-05 at the Wayback Machine at the Croatian Olympic Committee
- ^ 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
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