PUR – Puerto Rican basketball celebrates 80th birthday

PONCE (Baloncesto Superior Nacional) – Puerto Rican basketball celebrated its 80th birthday on 11th February.

The first official game of basketball played in Puerto Rico was held on 11th February 1930 as Floral Park defeated Army 56-7. Manuel Carrasquillo Herpen netted 18 points to lead the team made up primarily of Puerto Rican players.

San Juan Sport Shop was the first league champion, with Bayamon finishing second.

In its inaugural year, the league was known as Asociación Puertorriqueña de Baloncesto. Today it is the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).

Puerto Rico made their international bow as a national side at the 1935 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador where they won bronze.

Today, Puerto Rico’s teams are ranked 10th in the men's FIBA Ranking and 18th in the women's.

BSN played under the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation until 2000 when it separated and selected Henry Neumann as its president.

The Federation and BSN have signed an affiliation deal. The President of both the BSN and the Federation is Carlos Beltran, marking the first time since 1999 that both positions are held by the same person.

The 2010 BSN season opens on 4th March as Atleticos de San German travel to face defending champions Vaqueros de Bayamon. Both teams played in the league’s inaugural season in 1930.

FIBA