Vaqueros de Bayamón

For the baseball club, see Vaqueros de Bayamón (baseball).

Vaqueros de Bayamón
Leagues	Baloncesto Superior Nacional
Founded	1930 (1930)
History	Vaqueros de Bayamón (1930–present)
Arena	Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum
Capacity	12,000
Location	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Team colors	Navy blue, gold, white
Head coach	Nelson Colón
Ownership	Yadier Molina
Championships	16 (1933, 1935, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1995, 1996, 2009, 2020, 2022)
Retired numbers	8 (4, 5, 9, 15, 16, 17, 17, 54)
Website	www.vaquerosahi.com
Home Away

The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a professional basketball team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, who actively participate in the National Superior Basketball League (BSN). Founded in 1930, the team has been a significant participant in the development of basketball in Puerto Rico. They stage their home games at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum. As of 2023, the Vaqueros have secured a total of 16 BSN championships. The team also holds a league record for winning 29 games during their 1993 season. The Vaqueros de Bayamón's contributions to the BSN have been instrumental in Puerto Rico's representation in the global basketball scene.

Rubén Rodríguez

Rubén Rodríguez played for the Vaqueros for 23 seasons, always wearing number 15. He debuted in the league in 1969 and scored 11,549 points and 6,178 rebounds in 631 games. He established various records in the league:

• Points in a career - 11,549 .
• Points in a season - 810 (1979)
• Points in a game - 52 (1973)
• Rebounds in a career - 6,178

He also had the record of rebounds in a season from 1978 to 2008; this record was broken by Lee Benson on May 3, 2008, also joining the Vaqueros.

Rodríguez spent his whole career with the team Vaqueros of Bayamón. With the Vaqueros, he won 9 national championships, 1967, 1969, five in a row from 1971 to 1975, one in 1981 and one in 1988, the year that the team inaugurated his actual venue, that carries his name, the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum. He also garnered the MVP award in 1979, and, once the three-point shot was established for the first time in the Puerto Rican tournament during the 1980 season, he started making shots from behind the three-point line too.

Franchise history

(above) The Bayamon team's fourth championship (1967)

The Vaqueros de Bayamon, initially referred to as Bayamon, was established in 1930. As a part of the former amateur Baloncesto Nacional league, now known as Baloncesto Superior Nacional BSN, the team achieved its first league championships in 1933 and 1935 under the direction of Professional Head Coach Onofre Carballeira. The team's activities ceased throughout the 1940s due to WWII, and competition resumed in 1954.

During this time, the team rebranded as the Azules de Bayamón (lit. "Bayamon Blues") in Spanish, but no titles were secured during this period.

1974's team poster featuring the Vaqueros (Finals)

Subsequently, the team rebranded as The Vaqueros de Bayamon, a name inspired by their sponsor, Espasas Dairy Company. This era of rebranding marked a return to form, with a championship win in 1967 against the Ponce team. This marked their third championship and their first in 34 years. A further championship was obtained in 1969, consolidating their reputation in the league.

The 1970s were a period of success for the Vaqueros, with five consecutive championships won from 1971 to 1975. This period of success was overseen by a number of influential coaches, including Roy Rubbins, Art Loche, Lou Rossini, Fufi Santori, Tom Nissalke, and Del Harris.

The 1980s saw a new competitive dynamic emerge in the BSN as the Vaqueros competed against the Guaynabo Mets team, led by Mario Morales and Federico Lopez. In 1981, the Vaqueros de Bayamon emerged victorious in the final series against Guaynabo, obtaining another championship. The 1990s saw further growth in the team's fanbase, and under the guidance of Robert Corn in 1988, the Vaqueros achieved another championship against the Canovanas team. The team secured additional championships in 1995 and 1996 against the Ponce Lions, with Flor Melendez serving as head coach.

The late 1990s and the early 2000s were a challenging period for the Vaqueros. From 1999 to 2008, the team had limited success reaching beyond the semifinals, with the exception of 2005, when they reached the finals but were defeated by the Arecibo Captains. This era saw a decline in the franchise's performance, prestige, and fanbase.

In 2009, the Vaqueros de Bayamon achieved a championship win against Quebradillas, ending a decade of stagnation. The 2010s saw a competitive but ultimately unsuccessful bid for a championship, marking the first title-less decade since the 1950s. However, the Vaqueros returned to championship form in the following decade, with wins in 2020 and 2022. This brought their total number of league titles to sixteen, placing them ahead of the San German Athletics in the league's historical standings. As of the current date, the Vaqueros de Bayamon are the reigning champions in the BSN league, demonstrating a significant return to form in the current decade.

Players

Current roster

Vaqueros de Bayamón roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age SG 0 Mojica, Sammy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 29 – (1994-10-06)October 6, 1994 PG 2 González, Javier 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 35 – (1989-04-15)April 15, 1989 SF 7 Butler Lind, Nathaniel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 35 – (1989-03-21)March 21, 1989 F/C 8 Wiley, Jacob (I) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 30 – (1994-09-04)September 4, 1994 G 12 Davis, Brandon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 23 – (2000-10-26)October 26, 2000 G 14 Nieves, Robert 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 24 – (1999-10-05)October 5, 1999 C 18 Pérez, Owen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (110 kg) 32 – (1992-06-28)June 28, 1992 SG 20 Negrón, Alexis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 26 – (1998-09-05)September 5, 1998 F 21 Villegas, Johwen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 39 – (1985-04-17)April 17, 1985 SF 22 Santiago Jr., Benito 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 35 – (1989-06-22)June 22, 1989 SG 23 González, Bryan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 24 – (2000-01-01)January 1, 2000 F 24 Pearson, Ryan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 34 – (1990-02-27)February 27, 1990 F/C 28 Romero, Ismael 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 33 – (1991-06-23)June 23, 1991 SG 44 Mojica, Javier 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 39 – (1984-12-31)December 31, 1984 F 99 Wilson, Jamil (I) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 33 – (1990-11-21)November 21, 1990	Head coach Nelson Colón Assistant coach(es) Athletic trainer(s) Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import player Injured Roster Updated: March 22, 2023

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Ismael Romero	Jacob Wiley	Owen Pérez
PF	Jamil Wilson	Ryan Pearson	Nathaniel Butler Lind
SF	Benito Santiago Jr.	Johwen Villegas	Sammy Mojica
SG	Javier Mojica	Alexis Negrón	Bryan González
PG	Javier González	Brandon Davis	Robert Nieves

Traditions

Uniforms

The Vaqueros have two different uniforms: a white home uniform and blue road uniform. The design of the white and blue sets are nearly identical, with the team name featured on the front over the number, and the player's last name over the number on the back and under the vaqueros' logo. The shorts have golden stripes on the sides of the pants and shirts in both designs.

Arena

Inaugurated in 1988, The Rubén Rodriguez Coliseum is the hosting arena for the team's local games. It was the named after the former team player. This coliseum is the third-largest indoor sports arena in Puerto Rico. It can accommodate up to 13,000 spectators, though it is known that this arena was able to fit nearly 16,000 on the team's finals. The seating of the coliseum divides in three sections:

• Box area (Palco) (blue section)
• Middle area (Preferencia) (yellow)
• General area (orange)

Originally (by the 1980s and early 1990s) the home arena for the Cowboys was the Pepín Cestero Arena, also located in Bayamon.

Logos

• 
  Home uniform
• 
  Road uniform
• 
  Previously used logo
• 
  Previously used logo
• 
  Current logo

Fan base

The Vaqueros have always kept a large fandom, however within most of the last decade (from 2000 to 2008) it decreased due to the lack of success or championships. In the 1990s the fanbase of the Vaqueros reached over 12,000 fans. In the season '09 the fandom increased at a high tendency, as the team conquered its 14 championship. The attendance to the final game was estimated over 14,000 fans from which over 11,000 were Cowboys fans. From 1988 to 2009 the team averaged just over 10,000 fans, which is still in the top of the BSN . The team has sold out every home final game since their golden seasons 1970s, Making it the largest BSN franchise according to many commentators.

Rivalries

Some important rivalries during the team's history include (the teams who have been confronted in at least two finals.)

• The Ponce Lions (late 1960s and mid 90s)
• The Quebradillas Pirates (from the early 1970s to the late 90s and again started in 2009 with a Dalmau joining Bayamon and both teams reaching the finals.)
• Río Piedras (1969 and 1971)
• Guaynabo Mets (early 1980s)
• Capitanes de Arecibo (2005, 2010 and 2018)
• Vega Baja (former team/1933-1934)

Radio

The flagship station for the Vaqueros is WIAC, 740 AM, the official flagship for the '09 season. The announcers are Ralph Pagán and Angel Pérez Moll. Transmissions are broadcast regionally through the local AM frequency and globally through the Internet. all games are broadcast live and games stats are provided in the transmission. Some other games are transmitted on WKAQ 580 (the official BSN flagship station for this season)

TV

The Vaqueros TV broadcasts are transmitted by BSN on live television, which broadcasts some of the games. Announcers are Ernesto Diaz Gonzalez, Diego Marti and Leonel Arill. The transmission airs all of the selected games nationwide. The games can be seen on América CV Network (Channel 24), Direct TV (Channel 161). These pre-selected broadcast are also re-transmitted to the USA throughout WAPA America channel. Games can also be seen throughout the Internet in mediasportstv (online live) or at the official team's webpage.

Championships

What follows is a detailed list of every championship:

Championship flags displayed in the coliseum

Year	Team	Head coach	Against
1933	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ONOFRE CARBALLEIRA	Atléticos de San Germán
1935	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ONOFRE CARBALLEIRA	Vega Baja
1967	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ROY RUBBINS AND FUFI SANTORI	Leones de Ponce
1969	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ART LOCHE	Río Piedras
1971	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ART LOCHE	Río Piedras
1972	Vaqueros de Bayamón	TOM NISSALKE AND FUFI SANTORI	Piratas de Quebradillas
1973	Vaqueros de Bayamón	DEL HARRIS	Piratas de Quebradillas
1974	Vaqueros de Bayamón	DEL HARRIS	San Juan
1975	Vaqueros de Bayamón	DEL HARRIS	Piratas de Quebradillas
1981	Vaqueros de Bayamón	GENE BARTOW	Mets de Guaynabo
1988	Vaqueros de Bayamón	ROBERT CORN	Canóvanas
1995	Vaqueros de Bayamón	FLOR MELENDEZ	Leones de Ponce
1996	Vaqueros de Bayamón	FLOR MELENDEZ	Leones de Ponce
2009	Vaqueros de Bayamón	JULIO TORO	Piratas de Quebradillas
2020	Vaqueros de Bayamón	NELSON COLON	Piratas de Quebradillas
2022	Vaqueros de Bayamón	NELSON COLON	Atléticos de San Germán

5: The Vaqueros have the record in the BSN for most consecutive championships: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.

2: The team won their last two consecutive championships in the years: 1995 and 1996.

Runners-up

• The Vaqueros have been runners-up 8 times: 1930, 1934, 1970, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2016 and 2018

Team records and achievements

The Vaqueros de Bayamon team holds several records in the BSN league:

• They are the only team to have won FIVE consecutive championships in the years 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975.
• With a total of 16 championships, they hold the record for the most BSN championships, won in the years: 1933, 1935, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1995, 1996, 2009, 2020 and 2022.
• They have been runners-up nine times: 1930, 1934, 1970, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018.

Over the course of their history in the BSN (1930-Present), the Vaqueros de Bayamon also have:

• Competed in the most seasons with 81.
• Secured a record of 29 victories in a single season (1993), and a record of 23 losses in one season (1992).
• The team achieved the league's all-time highest game score with 143 points against Fajardo (121 points) in 1978.
• The team also holds a record of 29 consecutive victories across two seasons.
• Player Eddín Santiago made a record 16 assists in a single game (2004), while Michelo Dávila made 208 assists in the 1999 season.
• The record for most 3-pointers in a game is jointly held by Raymond Gausse (1992), Carmelo Travieso (2002), and Javier Mojica (2021), each scoring 9 3-pointers. Carmelo Travieso also made a record 101 3-pointers in the 2001 season.
• Carmelo Travieso scored a record 21 points in a single quarter in 2001.

External links

• vaquerosahi.com - Rancho Cibernético de los Vaqueros en el BSN. (in Spanish)
• bsnpr.com - Official site of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). (in Spanish)
• Vaqueros' Team History (in Spanish)