Juan Antonio San Epifanio Ruiz (born 12 June 1959), most commonly known as "Epi",Super Epi, a Spaniard with a Yugoslavian wrist.
/ref> is a Spanish retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He spent all of his

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

career playing with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

. He was named the Mister Europa European Player of the Year in 1984, by the Italian basketball magazine '' Superbasket'', and the Best European Player of the 1980s decade, by the French sports newspaper ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor ...

''. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. At the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games, he was honoured with being the last athlete to carry the

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

, before handing it to the archer,

Antonio Rebollo Antonio Rebollo Liñán (born 19 June 1955, in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish Paralympic archer. During the Opening Ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, he lit the Olympic Cauldron by shooting a flaming arrow over it, igniting the g ...

, who lit the fire in the cauldron, with an arrow. He was named one of the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural sea ...

in 2008. He became a FIBA Hall of Fame player in 2016. He is considered to be one of the greatest

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronge ...

s to ever play in Europe.

Early life and career

San Epifanio, known by almost everyone as simply, "Epi", grew up in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Province of Zaragoza, Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Ara ...

, and began to play the sport of basketball in his native city. In 1973, Epi made his

debut with CN Helios, in the Spanish third division. However, his local club eventually rejected him. In 1974,

signed his older brother, Herminio, to a contract. Herminio then insisted that Epi would also join him at the club, and so the two moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. FC Barcelona's senior men's team head coach,

Ranko Žeravica Ranko Žeravica ( sr-cyr, Ранко Жеравица; 17 November 1929 – 29 October 2015) was a Serbian professional basketball coach. With a career that spanned over 50 years, he is most noted for his work with the senior Yugoslav national t ...

, gave Epi the opportunity to play with the club's youth teams.

Professional career

FC Barcelona

In 1977, Epi joined the senior men's team of

. He quickly became the team's lead player. He would eventually go on to lead FC Barcelona to break the long-lived dominance of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in Spain. During his career with the club, his teammates included

Nacho Solozábal Nachos are a Mexican culinary dish consisting of fried tortilla chips or ''totopos'' covered with melted cheese or cheese sauce, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken ...

, Juan de la Cruz,

Audie Norris Audie James Norris (born December 18, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player and coach. Norris played for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, from 1982 to 1985. His former teammate Mychal Thompson, who is the father of Klay Tho ...

, Andrés Jiménez, and other well-known players. In a total of eighteen seasons with FC Barcelona (1977–78 to 1994–95), he won the top-level Spanish League title seven times, as he won the LEB Primera División (1981, 1983), and the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...

(1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1995). He also won the Spanish King's Cup ten times (1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1991, and 1994), the

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

twice (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

), the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

once (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

), and the

FIBA Club World Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the National Basketball Association, NBA. ...

once (

). Although he reached the FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague)

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

3 times (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

), he never lifted the most important trophy in European-wide

basketball. He was named the MVP of the FIBA Club World Cup's 1987 edition. His 54 points scored in a game against

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

, in

, counts among his most memorable performances. It is the second best single-game scoring total ever in the history of the top-tier level Spanish league (since 1957), and the highest ever single-game scoring mark in the history of the Spanish

(since 1983).

National team career

In 1979, Epi made his first appearance with the senior Spanish national team. With Spain's senior national team, he appeared in a total of 239

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

, over a 15-year long period (1979–1994). He is in second place all-time in senior national team appearances for Spain (behind J. C. Navarro). He was also the first Spanish national team player that took part in four

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, from the ( 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, to the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics). He was a silver Olympic medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist at the

EuroBasket 1983 The 1983 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1983, was the 23rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 26 May to 4 June 1983 in France. Italy defeated Spain in the final ...

. He also won a bronze medal at the EuroBasket 1991.

Post-playing career

San Epifanio concluded his professional basketball playing career on 25 May 1995, as

F.C. Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

won another Spanish League title. Since 2007, he has been a basketball

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

with Canal+ Spain.

References

External links

FIBA ProfileSpanish League Profile

FIBA Hall of Fame ProfileEuroleague.net 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors ProfileSuper Epi, a Spaniard with a Yugoslavian wrist2016 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Juan Antonio San Epifanio
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Epifanio, Juan Antonio 1959 births Living people Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics FC Barcelona Bàsquet players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Liga ACB players Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Spain Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Spain Small forwards Spanish men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players from Barcelona Sportspeople from Zaragoza 1986 FIBA World Championship players 1994 FIBA World Championship players