Zoltán Horváth (27 September 1979 – 28 December 2009) was a Hungarian professional basketball player. He played for the

Hungarian national basketball team The Hungary men's national basketball team ( hu, Magyar nemzeti kosárlabda-válogatott) represents Hungary in international basketball tournaments. It is governed by the Hungarian Basketball Federation (MKOSZ). Hungary's best period during int ...

from 2005 to 2009. Horváth began his career on senior level in 2003 with the team of the PVSK Panthers from

Pécs Pécs ( , ; hr, Pečuh; german: Fünfkirchen, ; also known by other #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the countr ...

. He soon became the leading rebounder of the team, and in 2005 moved to the Hungarian league's defending champion,

Atomerőmű SE Atomerőmű SE, sometimes shortened to ASE, is a Hungarian professional basketball team based in Paks. The team plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the highest professional league in Hungary. The team was founded in 1979 and has won the Hungaria ...

. There, Horváth won the domestic championship and reached the national cup's final in his first year, and played in the

FIBA EuroCup FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

the following season. In 2007, he was signed by PAOK Thessaloniki, but played just four games for them before returning to Atomerőmű. Horváth then again became part of the defending domestic champion's roster, in that case

Falco KC Szombathely Falco Kosárlabda Club, for sponsorship reasons named Falco Volvo Alpok Autó Szombathely, is a Hungarian professional basketball club based in Szombathely. The team play their home games at Arena Savaria, a multi-use complex, which was opened in ...

. He reached the domestic cup's final in 2009, and developed into one of the league's dominating players during his last months, scoring more than 20 points in the first five matches of the season. As part of his country's national team, Horváth took part in one match of the EuroBasket 2005 qualification, in six matches of the EuroBasket 2007 qualification, and in all six matches of the EuroBasket 2009 qualification's relegation. Although the Hungarian team eventually did not qualify for any of these tournaments, they at least avoided relegation from the Division A. On 28 December 2009, Horváth was killed in a traffic accident on his way to

Szombathely Szombathely (; german: Steinamanger, ; see also other alternative names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by t ...

. He had crashed head-on into a truck after losing control of his car on the road's icy surface.Hungary Mourn Death Of National Team Center Horváth
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Zoltan 1979 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Hungarian people Atomerőmű SE players Centers (basketball) Hungarian men's basketball players Hungarian expatriates in Greece P.A.O.K. BC players Power forwards (basketball) PVSK Panthers players Road incident deaths in Hungary Sportspeople from Satu Mare Falco KC Szombathely players