Puerto Rico men's national basketball team: Difference between revisions
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==Current national team== |
==Current national team== |
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The side who |
The side who represented Puerto Rico at the [[FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men 2008]] is composed of: |
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Revision as of 05:44, 13 July 2009
| File:FBPR.png | |||
| FIBA ranking | 11th | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1957 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Americas | ||
| National federation | FBPR | ||
| Coach | Manolo Cintrón | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 9 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 11 | ||
| Medals | None | ||
| FIBA Americas Championship | |||
| Appearances | 12 | ||
| Medals | Gold: 1980, 1989, 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.
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.
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] Although 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 Croatia 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] Javier Mojica, Alejandro Carmona and Joel Jones were included in as potential members in a preliminary team.[6] On July 1, 2008, hours before the team was scheluded to travel to Europe, Angelo Reyes was excluded after not establishing communication with the directives.[7] Reyes was replaced with Alex Falcón.[7] Subsecuently, Reyes asked for a dispense to attend personal matters, noting that he intended to join the team in a week, however the player was not included due to time contrains.[8][9] In the first game of a series of exhibition games, Puerto Rico defeated Germany with scores of 85-83. In this game the team was mostly composed of reserve players, while Carlos Arroyo, Daniel Santiago, Larry Ayuso and Carmelo Lee were attending different compromises.[10] Puerto Rico continued playing with these players, finishing second in the Bamberg Super Cup, losing in the finals to Greece who entered the cup with their entire lineup.[11] Santiago and Ayuso joined the practices on July 5, 2008. Puerto Rico then traveled to Slovenia, where the Alpos Cup was being held. The first match in this tournament was against New Zealand, whom they defeated 82-74.[12] In the semifinals the team faced Iran, defeating them 83-80.[13] Puerto Rico finished second in ths cup, losing to Slovenia in the finals.[14] The Olympic Qualifying Tournament began on July 14, 2008, the team received a "bye" on its first day. Puerto Rico's debut came the following day, defeating Cameroon 81-72, advancing to the second round due to a loss that the African team suffered during the first day of competition. On its second game the team lost to Croatia. In the quarterfinals Puerto Rico defeated Slovenia 81-70.[15] The team didn't qualify to the Olympics, after losing to Greece in the semifinals and Germany in the tournament's bronze medal game.[16]
2008-2012
This Olympic cycle began with the 2008 CentroBasket competition, which was classificatory to the 2009 FIBA Americas Tournament. This event was scheduled to take place before the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but due to time constraints it was postponed. A group of prospects was included in the roster to replace Peter John Ramos and Ricky Sachez, who were injured. Among those included was Angel Daniel Vasallo, who played as a small forward in Virginia Tech. In the first game of the tournament, Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica.[17] In the other two games of the first round, the team defeated Cuba and Panama.[18][19] During the course of the event, Carlos Arroyo and Larry Ayuso were forced to rest a game due to injuries.[20] In the semifinals, the team scored a win over the Dominican Republic.[21] Puerto Rico won the gold medal by defeating the United States Virgin Islands in the finals, with scores of 70-87.
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."
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.
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 a United States' team composed of NBA players. Up to this day, Puerto Rico's win over Team USA represents their biggest margin of loss (19 points) in international competition ever. Since its debut in Olympic basketball in 1960, it has only been absent from 4 Olympic tournaments (1980 because of the boycott, 1984, 2000 and 2008).
Performance at FIBA Americas Championships
Puerto Rico has participated in all of the FIBA Americas Championships and has gone all the way to the semifinals in all but the 1984 and 2005 tournaments. It has a total of 8 medals.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
Performance at the Pan American Games
Performance at the CentroBasket Championship
| Year | Position | Tournament | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 1969 | Bronze | CentroBasket Championship | Havana, Cuba |
| 1971 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Caracas, Venezuela |
| 1973 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| 1975 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 1977 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Panama City, Panama |
| 1981 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| 1985 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 1987 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 1989 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | 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 | Havana, Cuba |
| 2001 | Gold | Centro Basket Championship | Toluca, Mexico |
| 2003 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Culiacán, Mexico |
| 2004 | Silver | CentroBasket Championship | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| 2006 | Bronze | CentroBasket Championship | Panama City, Panama |
| 2008 | Gold | CentroBasket Championship | Cancún, Mexico |
Puerto Rico is the most dominant team in the CentroBasket Championships, having participated in all of them but 1967 and obtaining a medal in all.
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 3 | 20 |
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.
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 |
Current national team
The side who represented Puerto Rico at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men 2008 is composed of:
| Jersey number | Position played | Height | Name | Year of birth | Club otherwise represented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Center | 7'3" | Peter John Ramos | 1985 |  Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada / Spain
|
| 5 | Point guard | 6'0" | José Juan Barea | 1984 |  Dallas Mavericks / NBA
|
| 6 | Guard | 6'3" | Filiberto Rivera | 1982 |  Brose Baskets / Germany
|
| 7 | Guard | 6'3" | Carlos Arroyo | 1979 |  Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. / Israel
|
| 8 | Shooting guard | 6'6" | Joel Jones | 1981 |  PBG Basket Poznan / Poland
|
| 9 | Power forward | 6'7" | Alex Falcón | 1973 |  Santurce Crabbers / BSN
|
| 10 | Shooting guard | 6'1" | Larry Ayuso | 1977 | Santurce Crabbers / BSN
|
| 11 | Power forward | 6'11" | Ricky Sanchez | 1987 | Santurce Crabbers / BSN
|
| 12 | Guard | 6'3" | Javier Mojica | 1984 | AZS Koszalin / DBL
|
| 13 | Center | 6'10" | Luis Villafañe | 1981 | Gigantes de Carolina / BSN
|
| 14 | Small forward | 6'7" | Carmelo Antrone Lee | 1977 | Ironi Ramat Gan / Israel
|
| 15 | Center | 7'1" | Daniel Santiago | 1976 | FC Barcelona / Spain
|
Rosters
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Men's Competition - Puerto Rico". FIBA Americas. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
- ^ a b José R. Ortúzar (2007-08-06). "Deportes". A la cancha (in Spanish). Puerto Rico: El Vocero. p. 62.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Raúl álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-02-01). "La clasificación está accesible". Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-05-20). "Muchas ausencias en primera práctica" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b "Daniel Santiago con el equipo nacional:" (in Spanish). Baloncesto Superior Nacional. 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-06-30). "Mojica y 'Bimbo' completan la Selección" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-07-01). "¡Desplante de Angelo Reyes!: Le dice 'no' a la Selección" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-07-02). "Reversazo de Reyes" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lester Jiménez (2008-07-09). "Angelo Reyes no irá a Grecia" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-07-04). "Boricuas debutan con triunfo ante Alemania" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Derrota ante los griegos" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Puerto Rico vence a Nueva Zelanda en baloncesto" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Puerto Rico vence a Irán 83-80" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Lester Jiménez (2008-07-10). "Pierde nuestra Selección ante Eslovenia" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Puerto Rico derrota a Eslovenia (in Spanish). El Vocero. 2008-07-18.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ José R. Ortúzar (2008-07-21). Con la cabeza en alto Puerto Rico (in Spanish). El Vocero.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ José Ayala Gordián (2008-08-28). "Los Boricuas arrancaron con una cómoda 'salsa'" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Puerto Rico vence a Cuba (in Spanish). El Vocero. 2008-08-29.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Luce Barea para mantener invicto de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). El Vocero. 2008-08-30.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Alex Figueroa Cancel (2008-08-29). "Arroyo no jugará hoy tras golpe en ojo" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Puerto Rico va por el oro" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)
