By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Goran Sobin died on Sunday after suffering cardiac arrest, Croatian daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija reported Monday. He was 59.
Major highlights of his playing career, the 1989 and 1990 titles in the FIBA European Champions Cup, the predecessor of the modern-day EuroLeague. Playing with Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Dusko Ivanovic, Velimir Perasovic, Zoran Savic, and others, he was among the key players of KK Jugoplastika. A legendary lineup coached by Bozidar Maljkovic.
The Croatian side, now called KK Split, went on to capture the 1991 championship as KK POP 84 despite several players moving to other teams, including Sobin. Championship game wins versus Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv and the next two against FC Barcelona Banca Catalana marked the historic three-peat.
His 1990-91 campaign featured him in Greece playing alongside Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis at Aris. He helped the team based in Thessaloniki win the Greek League for the seventh year in a row, and the tenth and last time in team history.
Back in Croatia, as a member of KK Cibona, he was crowned domestic champion in 1992 and 1993, the first two seasons after the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 1988, 1989, and 1990 he helped Jugoplastika become champion of the Yugoslav League.
Sobin also played for KK Zagreb in 1993-94 and KK Alkar in 1994-95, before opting to wrap up his career playing abroad. He joined Taugres, now called Bitci Baskonia, in 1995-96.
His son, Josip Sobin has been a professional basketball player since 2006. He currently plays in Poland for MKS Dąbrowa Gornicza.
Photo Credit: KK Cibona Twitter