The team unveiled its uniforms for the 2025 BSN season, which it is dedicating to the late mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Marín.
The Criollos de Caguas in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) are betting on the formula that brought them the championship by keeping for the 2025 season the three reinforcements who were key last year: Americans Travis Trice, Louis King and Akil Mitchell.
They also announced that they will dedicate this season to the late mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Marín, and unveiled the team's new uniforms, which keep the lavender and guava colors that distinguish the Criollos.
Below is the official roster for the 2025 season and a look at how the Criollos are preparing to face this new challenge as champions.
The three reinforcements are staying
Criollos head coach Wilhelmus Caanen said they will keep this year the three reinforcements added to the team in 2024 "because they contribute too much to keeping alive the culture that began to take shape last year."
At the start of the season, however, only Mitchell will be with the team. He is an American basketball player with a Panamanian passport who averaged 11.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season as a forward.
"Their discipline and positivity have made them (the reinforcements) pillars of our structure. They are Criollos at heart."
Wilhelmus Caanen, Criollos de Caguas head coach, at a press conference
Trice and King will join the team in April, when their commitments abroad end. Trice was last season's most valuable player, averaging 20.9 points and 6.1 assists per game as a guard. King averaged 19.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a forward.
As substitutes for those two reinforcements, the Criollos will have American basketball players Miye Oni (replacing King) and Kay Felder (replacing Travis).
The Criollos thus return to the court with the same roster as last year, and their first game will be March 16 at the Coliseo Roger Mendoza against the Osos de Manatí, the team they defeated in the 2024 championship.
This season is dedicated to William Miranda Marín
After claiming the championship, the Criollos decided to dedicate this new season to the late mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Marín, who led the municipality when the Criollos won their first championship in 2006.
"In recognition of his leadership, vision and commitment to the development of the city and sport in Caguas, we are pleased to dedicate the 2025 season to Willie Miranda Marín and to let his legacy guide us as we continue our legacy and mission with the community and sport in Caguas," said Omar Vargas, co-owner and general manager of the Criollos de Caguas, at a press conference where the Criollarte exhibition was also inaugurated.
Vargas presented a plaque with the tribute to two of Miranda Marín's three children: the mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Torres, and his brother Luis. Visibly moved, they said it was "an honor" to receive this recognition in the 250th anniversary year of the city of Caguas, which honors Miranda Marín's leadership, "which transcended Caguas and left an indelible mark on all of Puerto Rico."
New uniforms keep the Criollos colors
The team also unveiled the Criollos' new uniforms, which, as in the 2024 season, keep the lavender and guava colors, this time on a white base for home games and a black base for away games.
As Caanen previewed on the Punto Aparte podcast, preparations for this season began when last season ended, with a focus on adding physical training and skills coaches (skills coaches) for the players. The team is also strengthening its analytics department, he said.
Recognizing the Criolla fan base
For this new season, coach Caanen did not want to reference a possible back to back as league champions because "we would be disrespecting the other teams."
However, after acknowledging the players and support staff of the Criollos, Caanen highlighted the importance of the fans in the arena, who during the difficult moments of the season "embraced us and said: 'Keep moving forward, we are here to support you.'"
"The challenge the teams face this year is going to make for a great season. Our Criollos showed in that first season, after that 15-year break, that this is a high-caliber team that was capable of reaching that glory… So we hope the Criollo spirit carries us to that second consecutive championship."
William Miranda Torres, mayor of Caguas, at a press conference
Caanen called them "the sixth player" on the court and said they were "fundamental to what we achieved last year," along with "the unity of the group."
Editorial note: Los Criollos de Caguas, like PlateaPR, are part of Forward, an innovation and technology platform dedicated to accelerating Puerto Rico's progress, co-founded by Red Ventures CEO Ric Elías.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
