Puerto Rico's generational rebuilding will be complete by 2023

SAN JUAN - The Puerto Rico Basketball Federation (FBPUR) is amid a transition process toward a generational rebuild of their senior men’s team, after a series of great achievements spearheaded by the squad led by Carlos Arroyo, José “Piculín” Ortiz and José Juan Barea.

Notable among these achievements are the triumph against the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the Centrobasket titles in 2008, 2010 and 2016, and their recent qualification to the FIBA Basketball World Cup — an event in which Puerto Rico has consecutively participated since 1986.

Now the process is headed to prepare the island’s young talent to integrate it to the adult team in their future international commitments. However, this rebuilding process will not be complete until after the 2020 cycle.

“I was elected in 2016 and we began Puerto Rico's generational rebuilding”, said FBPUR president, Yum Ramos, to a radio program in recent days. “We have a program with players to see how they develop. The past is the past and we won’t point any fingers, but the future is promising, and we hope that for 2023 we’ll have a complete generational rebuild and that the players that are 17, 18 and 19 start to integrate so that in several years all players in the national team are new.”

In this list is 17-year-old Andrés Curbelo, who was outstanding in the 2017 U-16 Americas Championship, where he averaged 21.8 points per game. He also was a prominent figure in 2018, during the U-17 World Cup in Argentina, where he contributed 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game before grasping the bronze medal. Now, Curbelo is head and shoulders above the rest in the Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School in New York, where he has received several offers for NCAA basketball with the sights set on the NBA.

Also projecting a bright future is George Conddit, the tall 6’10” center in his rookie year at Iowa State. Signed by FBPUR in 2018, Conditt debuted for Puerto Rico during the World Cup qualifying tournament that year, where he scored 11.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.

And finally, there is also Tyler Davis, who for the next Olympic cycle will be a mere 25 years of age. The outstanding center at Texas A&M is coming in from a brief participation with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder and is projected as Puerto Rico’s future big man. The only time that Davis sweated the Puerto Rico jersey — during the 2017 AmeriCup — he left a long-lasting impression on the Boricuas, contributing his energy and big build in the paint, with 12 points and 6 rebounds per appearance.

Players like Gian Clavell, 25, (Club Movistar Estudiantes); Gary Browne, 25, (Ironi Nes Ziona, Israel); Ángel Rodríguez, 26, (Rio Grande Valley Vipers, G-League); and Emmy Andujar, 27 (Capitanes de Ciudad de México); are set to be the possible veterans of next cycle’s roster.

National coach Eddie Casiano, as well as assistants Raymond Cintrón and Omar González; alongside the administrators of the national program, José Ocasio and Xavier Miranda; will oversee the scouting, elimination and selection process.

FIBA