SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) – Tremont Waters and Jose Alvarado lead a Puerto Rican squad looking to please the home crowd at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan by fulfilling the dream of returning to the Olympic Games after a 20-year absence.
Head coach Nelson Colon announced a stacked and experienced 12-man roster that includes 9 players who represented the island at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where the boricuas finished in 12th place after being eliminated in the second round.
Only John Holland, Ethan Thompson and Justin Reyes are missing this time around, and they’ll be replaced on the list by veterans Alvarado, Gian Clavell and Davon Reed. Star guard Markus Howard, who recently became eligible to play for them and was expected to be a part of the team, won’t be available.
Clocking in at No. 16 in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, Puerto Rico boasts a majority of players who are in the prime of their careers. At 33-years-old, big man Ismael Romero will be the oldest member of the team. Center George Conditt IV (born in 2000) is their youngest player and yet this will be his second Olympic Qualifying Tournament with the national team.
Puerto Rico shocked the world by defeating United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics, becoming the first team ever to beat an American squad featuring NBA players. They went on to lose to Italy in the Quarterfinals, finishing in 6th place.
They’ll share Group B this time around with Italy and Bahrain.
The full list:
Tremont Waters, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Howard, Gian Clavell, Stephen Thompson, Isaiah Pineiro, Davon Reed, Aleem Ford, Chris Ortiz, Ismael Romero, Arnaldo Toro, George Conditt IV
FIBA