Puerto Rico national basketball team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Puerto Rico |
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| FIBA ranking | 12th | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| FIBA zone | FIBA Americas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National federation | FBPR | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Manolo Cintrón | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | |||||||||||||||||||||
| FIBA Americas Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | Gold: 1980, 1995 Silver: 1988, 1993, 1997 Bronze: 2003, 2007 |
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The Puerto Rican national basketball team (or Puerto Rican national basketball selection) is the men's side that represents Puerto Rico in international basketball competitions. The team, selected by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation, historically comprised only players from the National Superior Basketball league, but in the 1990s began to include Puerto Rican players playing abroad professionally. In the same fashion, teams represent Puerto Rico in women's and junior competitions.
[edit] History
In the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the team reached fourth place, in good part because of the contributions of point guard Juan "Pachín" Vicéns. This was, and still is as of 2007, the highest place they have reached since the team's birth at any Olympic Games.[1]
The 1970s brought some memorable moments for the team, particularly a dramatic one-point loss to the United States in the 1976 Olympics; a win would have been the first undisputed loss for the US in Olympic competition. During this decade, the 1974 Basketball World Championship and the 1979 Pan American Games were held in San Juan, promoting local enthusiasm for international basketball and Puerto Rico's presence in it.[1]
During the 1980s, the team earned gold medals at the 1986 Dominican Republic Central American and Caribbean games, and the 1989 Mexico Centrobasket.[1] They also obtained a Bronze medal at the 1987 Olympic Qualifier held in Uruguay, to secure their first Olympic participation since 1976.[1] They did not participate at the 1980 Moscow games due to the American boycott of that competition (The Puerto Rican team, as Puerto Rico is an autonomous nation sportswise, could have participated; they chose to respect the boycott instead), and at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics because they failed to qualify. The Puerto Ricans advanced to the second round in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, finishing in seventh place.[1]
During the 1990s, their success continued as usual, as they begun the decade with a Fourth Place finish at the World Championship in Argentina.[1] In 1991, they won, for the first time, the Gold Medal at the Pan American Games, held in Cuba.[1] The team qualified for the 1992 Barcelona, Spain Olympics and they reached the second round there, facing the United States National team composed by NBA players in their first game of the elimination round. They finished in eighth place in Barcelona. In 1994, they finished in sixth place at the World Championship in Canada, and won the Gold Medal at the Goodwill Games competition.[1] During this period, Puerto Rico was classified as one of the top 10 international teams.
In 1996, they placed 10th at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA, and conquered the first of back to back Gold medals at Centrobasket.[1] In 2000, they retained the Centrobasket title, with another triumph in Mexico. In 2003, the team won the Gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games, held at El Salvador.[1]
In 2002, the team had a strong showing at the World Championship held in Indianapolis, USA. In a tournament full of well-known professionals, including NBA superstars, they beat the top 3 European teams at the time; eventual champion Yugoslavia, Turkey and Spain. Puerto Rico, with a 5-1 record entering the quarterfinals, lost its chance to get into the medals round in a dramatic 2-point loss to New Zealand, eventually placing seventh.[1]
The Puerto Rican National Basketball Team conquered the silver medal at the 2004 Centrobasket tournament, losing to the Dominican Republic, 75-74, in the championship game.[1]
In August 15, 2004, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team became the second team in history to defeat the United States Olympic basketball team, recording only the third loss in Olympic competition for the U.S. team, and the first since NBA players were allowed to compete. The 92-73 outcome of that game is, as of 2007, the most lopsided victory against the US (collegiate or professional players) in the history of Olympic/World Championship basketball. The other team to defeat the U.S. had been the Soviet Union in the 1972 gold medal game (whose outcome is still disputed) and the 1988 semifinals.
[edit] 2004-2008
At the 2006 FIBA World Championship contested in Japan, Puerto Rico, in group play, defeated Senegal and the People's Republic of China but lost ties against the United States, Italy, and Slovenia, the latter two, played respectively on August 23 and August 24 in Sapporo, by eight points and then one. The application of a second tiebreaker of points differential to Slovenia, China, and Puerto Rico, each with a winning percentage of .400, placed Puerto Rico fifth in Group D, and the team did not advance to the knockout round; the squad were ultimately placed seventeenth amongst the twenty-four competing teams.[1]
On August 6, 2007, the team began in their first participation in a Caribe Basket tournament, debuting against Trinidad & Tobago.[2] Altough the team didn't had the participation of Daniel Santiago or Rick Apodaca, they won the tournament which was classificatory for the 2008 Centrobasket.[2]
Puerto Rico was placed in Group D of the Fiba Preolympic Tournament in the draw that took place on January 31, 2008.[3] This group included Croacia and Cameroon and its winner would cross with the second place of Group C.[3] Following this event the president of the National Superior Basketball League confirmed that the team had already scheduled exhibition games against Germany, Greece and New Zealand beginning on July 4, 2008.[3] A second set of exhibition games was scheduled to start on July 8, 2008 in Slovenia, after these preparatory tournaments the team would train until the tournament's beginning.[3] The team began practicing on May 19, 2008, and included several players that were under consideration for inclusion by Cintrón.[4] On June 4, 2008, Daniel Santiago confirmed that he would abandon his international retirement and play with Puerto Rico in the Preolympic Tournament.[5] The player announced that he would join the team in July, following an exhibition game.[5]
[edit] Uniform
During most of the 1980s and up until the late 1990s, the team wore a solid color uniform, with accent lines and the word "Puerto Rico" written in stylized cursive. Nowadays, the national team's uniform resembles a Puerto Rican flag, but also includes the usual Puerto Rico sign in cursive. The uniforms are red or blue for "visitor" status, and white for "host."
[edit] Performance at FIBA World Championships
Puerto Rico has only been absent from two world championships since its debut in 1959 (1970 and 1982)'. It failed to qualify for the 2006 Championship, but received one of the four invitations to play. The best performance was at the 1990 Championships, reaching semifinals, but failing to win a medal.
[edit] Performance at Olympic Games
Puerto Rico has participated in nine Olympic tournaments, coming in fourth in 1964 and achieving history in 2004 when it became the first team in history to defeat the United States' “Dream Team”. Since its debut in Olympic basketball in 1960, it has only been absent from 3 Olympic tournaments (1980 because of the boycott, 1984 and 2000).
[edit] Performance at FIBA Americas Championships
Puerto Rico has participated in all but one of the FIBA Americas Championships (1984), and has gone all the way to the semifinals in all but the 2005 one. It has a total of 8 tournaments.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
[edit] Performance at the Pan American Games
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Silver | 1979 Pan American Games | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| 1983 | 6 | 1983 Pan American Games | Caracas,Venezuela |
| 1987 | Bronze | 1987 Pan American Games | Indianapolis,USA |
| 1991 | Gold | 1991 Pan American Games | La Habana, Cuba |
| 1995 | 6 | 1995 Pan American Games | Mar del Plata, Argentina |
| 1999 | Bronze | 1999 Pan American Games | Winnipeg, Canada |
| 2003 | Bronze | 2003 Pan American Games | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 2007 | Silver | 2007 Pan American Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
[edit] Performance at the CentroBasket Championship
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 1989 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | La Havana, Cuba |
| 1991 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Monterrey, Mexico |
| 1993 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| 1995 | Bronze | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 1997 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
| 1999 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | La Havana, Cuba |
| 2001 | Gold | Centro Basket Championship | Toluca, Mexico |
| 2003 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Culiacan, Mexico |
| 2004 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 2006 | Bronze | CentroBasket Championship | Panama City, Panama |
Puerto Rico is the most dominant team in the CentroBasket Championships, having participated in all of them and obtaining a medal in all.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
[edit] Performance at CaribeBasket
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Gold | CaribeBasket | Caguas, Puerto Rico |
Puerto Rico has only participated in one CaribeBasket tournament after failing to classify directly to CentroBasket 2008. In this tournament, it won all round one games by over 25 points and went on to win gold.
[edit] Performance at other international events
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Gold | 1994 Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia |
| 2005 | 6 | Stankovic Continental Champions Cup | Beijing, China |
| 2007 | 4 | Marchand Continental Cup | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
[edit] Current national team
The side who is representing Puerto Rico at the FIBA Americas Championship 2007 is composed of:
| Jersey number | Position played | Height | Name | Year of birth | Club otherwise represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Center | 7'3" | Peter John Ramos | 1985 | Caguas Criolles |
| 5 | Point Guard | 6'0" | José Juan Barea | 1984 |  Dallas Mavericks |
| 6 | Guard | 6'3" | Filiberto Rivera | 1982 | Carolina Giants |
| 7 | Point Guard | 6'3" | Carlos Arroyo | 1979 | Orlando Magic |
| 8 | Forward | 6'6" | Rick Apodaca | 1980 |  Beşiktaş Cola Turka |
| 9 | Forward | 6'7" | Alex Falcón | 1973 | Santurce Crabbers |
| 10 | Guard | 6'1" | Larry Ayuso | 1977 | Santurce Crabbers |
| 11 | Forward | 6'11" | Ricardo Sanchez | 1987 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 12 | Guard | 6'8" | Angelo Reyes | 1981 | Carolina Giants |
| 13 | Center | 6'8" | Hector Valenzuela | 1982 | Bayamon Cowboys |
| 14 | Forward | 6'7" | Carmelo Antrone Lee | 1977 | Guaynabo Conquistadores |
| 15 | Forward | 6'6" | Angel Figueroa | 1981 | Arecibo Captains |
[edit] Rosters
1959 World Championship: finished 5th among 13 teams
Juan "Pachin" Vicens, Juan Ramon "Johnny" Baez, Jose Angel Cestero, Johnny Rodriguez, Evelio Droz, John Morales, Jose Antonio Casillas, Martin Jimenez, Jose A. Ruano, Salvador Dijols (Coach: Victor Mario Perez)
1960 Olympic Games: finished 13th among 16 teams
Juan "Pachin" Vicens, Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Evelio Droz, Juan Ramon "Johnny" Baez, Jose Angel Cestero, Jose Antonio Casillas, Johnny Rodriguez, Rafael Valle, Jose Santori, Angel Cancel, John Morales, Cesar Bocachica
1963 World Championship: finished 6th among 13 teams
Juan "Pachin" Vicens, Juan Ramon "Johnny" Baez, Bill McCadney, Rafael Valle, Evelio Droz, Salvador Dijols, Eduardo Alvarez, Cesar Bocachica, Ramon Siragusa, Tomas Gutierrez, Angel Cancel, Armando Torres (Coach: Jose Garrige)
1964 Olympic Games: finished 4th among 16 teams
Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Juan "Pachin" Vicens, Bill McCadney, Juan Ramon "Johnny" Baez, Tomas Gutierrez, Evelio Droz, Ruben Adorno, Angel Cancel, Martin Anza, Alberto Zamot, Jaime Frontera, Angel Garcia (Coach: Lou Rossini)
1967 World Championship: finished 12th among 13 teams
Raymond Dalmau, Bill McCadney, Tomas Gutierrez, Angel Cancel, Rafael Rivera, Gustavo Mattei, Francisco Cordova, Mariano Ortiz, Alberto Zamot, Victor Cuevas, Adolfo Porrata, Richard Pietri (Coach: Jose Santori Coll)
1968 Olympic Games: finished 9th among 16 teams
Raymond Dalmau, Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Bill McCadney, Joe Hatton, Ruben Adorno, Alberto Zamot, Angel Cancel, Tomas Gutierrez, Mariano Ortiz, Francisco Cordova, Jaime Frontera, Adolfo Porrata (Coach: Lou Rossini)
1970 World Championship: did not participate
1972 Olympic Games: finished 6th among 16 teams
Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Raymond Dalmau, Hector Blondet, Neftali Rivera, Ruben Rodriguez, Joe Hatton, Mariano Ortiz, Billy Baum, Earl Brown, Miguel Coll, Jimmy Thordsen, Ricardo Calzada (Coach: Gene Bartow)
1974 World Championship: finished 7th among 14 teams
Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Raymond Dalmau, Neftali Rivera, Hector Blondet, Ruben Rodriguez, Jimmy Thordsen, Mariano Ortiz, Michael Vicens, Ruben Montanez, Carlos Bermudez, Jose Pacheco, Luis Brignoni (Coach: Armandito Torres Ortiz)
1976 Olympic Games: finished 9th among 12 teams
Teofilo "Teo" Cruz, Raymond Dalmau, Neftali Rivera, Earl Brown, Hector Blondet, Jimmy Thordsen, Mariano Ortiz, Michael Vicens, Roberto "Bobby" Alvarez, Alfred Lee, Ruben Rodriguez, Luis Brignoni (Coach: Tom Nissalke)
1978 World Championship: finished 10th among 14 teams
Raymond Dalmau, Neftali Rivera, Ruben Rodriguez, Angel "Cachorro" Santiago, Steven Sewell, Hector Olivencia, Willie Quinones, Georgie Torres, Carlos Bermudez, Mario Morales, J.Villet, O.Rodriguez (Coach: Victor Ojeda)
1980 Olympic Games: did not participate
1982 World Championship: did not participate
1984 Olympic Games: did not participate
1986 World Championship: finished 15th among 24 teams
Federico "Fico" Lopez, Ramon Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Angelo Cruz, Felix Rivera, Edgar de Leon, Wesley Correa, Jose Sosa, Orlando Febres, Frankie Torruellas, Mario Morales, Francisco de Leon (Coach: Angel Cancel)
1988 Olympic Games: finished 7th among 12 teams
Federico "Fico" Lopez, Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Ramon Ramos, Jerome Mincy, Ramon Rivas, Angelo Cruz, Edgar de Leon, Mario Morales, Roberto Rios, Francisco de Leon, Raymond Gausse, Vicente Ithier (Coach: Armandito Torres Ortiz)
1990 World Championship: finished 4th among 16 teams
Federico "Fico" Lopez, Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Ramon Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Angelo Cruz, Edgar de Leon, James Carter, Francisco de Leon, Georgie Torres, Raymond Gausse, Jose Agosto, Orlando Marrero (Coach: Raymond Dalmau)
1992 Olympic Games: finished 8th among 12 teams
Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Federico "Fico" Lopez, Eddie Casiano, Ramon Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Edgar de Leon, James Carter, Mario Morales, Richard Soto, Raymond Gausse, Edwin Pellot, Javier Antonio Colon (Coach: Raymond Dalmau)
1994 World Championship: finished 6th among 16 teams
Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Federico "Fico" Lopez, Eddie Casiano, Edgar de Leon, Jerome Mincy, James Carter, Orlando Vega, Felix Perez, Ruben Colon, Dean Borges, Javier Colon, Luis Ramon Allende (Coach: Carlos Morales)
1996 Olympic Games: finished 10th among 12 teams
Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Ramon Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Pablo Alicea, Edgar Padilla, Jerome Mincy, Richard Soto, Heriberto "Eddie" Rivera, George "Georgie" Torres, Carmelo Travieso, Eugenio Soto, Luis Joel Curbelo (Coach: Carlos Morales)
1998 World Championship: finished 11th among 16 teams
Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Eddie Casiano, Orlando Vega, Daniel Santiago, Jerome Mincy, James Carter, Eugenio Soto, Edgar de Leon, Carmelo Travieso, Eddin Santiago, Javier Colon, Rolando Hourruitiner (Coach: Carlos Morales)
2000 Olympic Games: did not participate
2002 World Championship: finished 7th among 16 teams
Carlos Arroyo, Elias "Larry" Ayuso, Daniel Santiago, Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Rick Apodaca, Jerome Mincy, Christian Dalmau, Raymond "Richie" Dalmau, Rolando Hourruitiner, Luis Ramon Allende, Antonio Latimer, Felix Javier Perez (Coach: Julio Toro)
2004 Olympic Games: finished 6th among 12 teams
Carlos Arroyo, Elias "Larry" Ayuso, Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, Daniel Santiago, Eddie Casiano, Rick Apodaca, Christian Dalmau, Sharif Karim Fajardo, Peter John Ramos, Roberto Jose "Bobby Joe" Hatton, Rolando Hourruitiner, Jorge Luis Rivera (Coach: Julio Toro)
2006 World Championship: finished 17th among 24 teams
Carlos Arroyo, Elias "Larry" Ayuso, Daniel Santiago, Rick Apodaca, Christian Dalmau, Peter John Ramos, Roberto Jose "Bobby Joe" Hatton, Antonio "Puruco" Latimer, Carmelo Antrone Lee, Filiberto Isaac Rivera, Manuel Antonio Narvaez, Angelo Luis Reyes (Coach: Julio Toro)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Men's Competition - Puerto Rico. FIBA Americas. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
- ^ a b José R. Ortúzar (2007-08-06). "Deportes", A la cancha (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Vocero, 62.
- ^ a b c d Raúl álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-02-01). La clasificación está accesible. Primera Hora. Retrieved on 2008-02-01.
- ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-05-20). Muchas ausencias en primera práctica (Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
- ^ a b Daniel Santiago con el equipo nacional: (Spanish). Baloncesto Superior Nacional (2008-06-04). Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
[edit] External links
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International basketball
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FIBA | Olympics | World Championship (men) - (women) | World Rankings |
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