Ljubomir "Ljuba" Katić ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љуба" Катић; 25 April 1934 – 10 March 2025) was a Serbian basketball player and coach. He represented the

Yugoslavia national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; ; ) represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

internationally.

Playing career

Katić started his basketball career with Partizan Zrenjanin. Later, he moved to another Zrenjanin-based team Radnički Kristal. In autumn 1952, Katić joined Proleter Zrenjanin. On 22 May 1953, he made his professional debut for Proleter in a 54–52 loss to

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. During his first stint with Proleter he won the Yugoslav Championship in the 1956 season. Katić was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself, Milutin Minja, Lajos Engler, Dušan Radojčić, and Vilmos Lóczi. During the 1958 season, Katić played for

from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. He moved to the Zvezda together with Minja. After one season in Belgrade, he moved back to Zrenjanin. During his second stint with Proleter, he was a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

together with Lóczi. Katić played for Proleter until 1964 when he moved to

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

, with his family. There he joined

, a team coached by Branko Radović, his teammate in the Zvezda. On 26 April 1964, Katić he made his debut for Split in a 65–63 loss to Partizan. Split debuted in the Yugoslav First Federal League in that season.

National team career

Katić was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1955 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. Over five tournament games, he averaged 2.0 points per game. Also, he was a member of the national team that participated at the 1957 European Championships in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 4.4 points per game. Katić played 29 games for the national team and averaged 3.4 points per game.

Coaching career

Katić started his coaching career during the second playing stint with Proleter Zrenjanin when he was a

. After retirement from playing career, he was just a coach. In 1975, Katić became the head coach for Čelik Zenica. Four years later, he left Čelik.

Death

Katić died on 10 March 2025, at the age of 90.

Career achievements and awards

* Yugoslav League champion: 1 (with Proleter Zrenjanin:

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

). * Plaque of the Basketball Federation of Serbia (2016)

In popular culture

* The 2016 Serbian documentary, ''Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste'' (), portrays Katić and the achievements of the Proleter basketball team in the mid 1950s and how they won the Yugoslav Championship in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katic, Ljubomir 1934 births 2025 deaths Centers (basketball) KK Crvena zvezda players KK Proleter Zrenjanin coaches KK Proleter Zrenjanin players KK Split players Power forwards Serbian expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian expatriate basketball people in Croatia Serbian men's basketball coaches Serbian men's basketball players Basketball players from Zrenjanin Yugoslav basketball coaches Yugoslav men's basketball players