BERLIN (Germany) - If Puerto Rico are to match or exceed their accomplishment from four years ago when they made the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Quarter-Finals, it's going to take something seriously special in Berlin.
Pitched into a what looks to be a nightmare group that includes both the FIBA Women's Asia Cup and FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 champions, they will likely be up against it from the first jump ball.
However, heading to Sydney 2022 they had not even won a game previously, so Puerto Rico certainly know what it is like to cause a surprise and defy everyone's pre-tournament predictions.
How they qualified
Hosting one of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments in San Juan, it was a nerve-wracking experience for Puerto Rico. They were under pressure heading into the last two fixtures having opened up 0-3. However, they came alive and got the wind the wins needed against Senegal and New Zealand to advance.
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament (San Juan, Puerto Rico) Gameday 1: Italy 78-41 Puerto Rico (L) Game Report Gameday 2: Puerto Rico 48-91 USA (L) Game Report Gameday 3: Spain 91-52 Puerto Rico (L) Game Report Gameday 4: Puerto Rico 56-47 Senegal (W) Game Report Gameday 5: Puerto Rico 77-61 New Zealand (W) Game Report
Women's World Cup pedigree
Number of participations (including 2026): 3
Last participation: 2022 (8th)
Best finish: 8th (2022)
Podium finishes: None
Current FIBA World Ranking for Women, presented by Nike: 13th
Last 10 FIBA events
Year | Event | Location | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | FIBA Women's AmeriCup | Santiago, Chile | 6th |
2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 10th |
2023 | FIBA Women's AmeriCup | Leon, Mexico | 4th |
2022 | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup | Sydney, Australia | 8th |
2021 | FIBA Women's AmeriCup | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 2nd |
2020 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 12th |
2019 | FIBA Women's AmeriCup | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 4th |
2018 | FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup | Tenerife, Spain | 16th |
2017 | FIBA Women's AmeriCup | Buenos Aires | 3rd |
2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Did not participate |
The Group Phase
It will be a big challenge opening up against Continental champions Australia and Belgium - both tipped for a tilt at the podium. Being competitive will be the primary aim and staying in those games as long as possible. Surely Puerto Rico will feel their last group game against Türkiye presents the most realistic chance of a victory.
Group Phase Games
Australia vs Puerto Rico (Sep 4) Puerto Rico vs Belgium (Sep 6) Puerto Rico vs Türkiye (Sep 7)
Players to watch
Arella Guirantes will lead the way from the backcourt, with her arrival into the team several years ago one of the driving forces behind the historic success Puerto Rico has achieved. She is a quality guard that can score and create against the best and if she produces, it will go a long way to increasing her team's prospects of success.
Imani McGee joined the group as the newly naturalized player for the Qualifying Tournament back in March and while her numbers were relatively modest, her impact was significant.
She still led the team in efficiency, points and rebounds, alo proving a big presence on the defensive end of the floor. Also watch out for veteran Pamela Rosado who's extensive know-how is always so valuable for Puerto Rico.
Fear and Hope
The fear is they just don't have the quality or depth to stand toe-to-toe with any of their group rivals, not least because they don't have a big scoring punch available. This puts enormous and maybe intolerable pressure on the defense which will have to be outstanding if they want to make it out of the group.
The hope will be that as they have done in the past, they can get a handle on the tempo, keep games scrappy and low-scoring and somehow grind out a shock win. But even in lower scoring games, they are going to have to shoot well above their usual averages.
FIBA