Anatoly Zourpenko (alternate spellings: Anatoli, Zourmpenko, Zhurbenko; 5 November 1975 – 24 October 2022) was a Greek-Russian professional basketball player. He was 2.12 m (6' 11 ") tall and played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions.

Early life

Zourpenko was born on 5 November 1975, in

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He grew up in Greece, after having moved there as a young child.

Professional career

Zourpenko played with the Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus, from 1995 to 1998. With Olympiacos, he won the coveted Triple Crown title, by winning the Greek League championship, the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

title, and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship, all in the same year, in 1997. He also played at the

1997 McDonald's Championship The 1997 McDonald's Championship took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France. Summary The teams that took part in the 8th edition of the tournament were the Chicago Bulls, Paris Basket Racing (France), Olympiacos Piraeus (Gre ...

Final, against the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. During 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, Zourpenko also played with the Greek clubs

Papagou Papagou ( or Παπάγος ''Papagos'') is a suburban town and municipal unit in the eastern part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. The town is named after Marshal Alexandros Papagos, a general who led the Greek Army ...

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi (), also known as Amarousio (), is a city and a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens urban area, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was '' Athmonon'' () and it r ...

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

Panellinios Panellinios G.S. (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greek multi-sport club that is located in Athens and was founded i ...

, and Ilysiakos.

Personal life and death

Zourpenko died on 24 October 2022 at the age of 47.

References

External links

FIBA EuroLeague ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League Profile

Greek Basket League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zourpenko, Anatoly 1975 births 2022 deaths Sportspeople from Volgograd Centers (basketball) Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Greek people of Russian descent Ilysiakos B.C. players Maroussi B.C. players Naturalized citizens of Greece Near East B.C. players Olympiacos B.C. players Papagou B.C. players Panellinios B.C. players Power forwards Russian men's basketball players Sporting basketball players