Lopez, Puerto Rico basketball star, dies at 44
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Federico Lopez, a Puerto Rico basketball star and two-time Olympian, died on Monday 06 Nov., aged 44. Lopez died of a heart attack while playing volleyball at a court named after him in San Juan, said Mario "Quijote" Morales, a former
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Federico Lopez, a Puerto Rico basketball star and two-time Olympian, died on Monday 06 Nov., aged 44.
Lopez died of a heart attack while playing volleyball at a court named after him in San Juan, said Mario "Quijote" Morales, a former national teammate and a brother-in-law.
Lopez, a point guard known as "Fico," represented Puerto Rico at three world championships — 1986, 1990, 1994 — and at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
He was selected for the all-tournament team at the 1990 world championship in Argentina, where he helped Puerto Rico achieve its best finish — fourth — after a two-point loss to the United States in the bronze-medal game. He led those worlds in assists.
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He was born on March 26, 1962 in Mexico to parents who emigrated from Cuba, where his father played for the national team. The family moved to Puerto Rico in 1981.
Lopez, who retired from basketball in 1997, is survived by his wife and three children.