The Olympics! Since 2003, when José "Piculín" Ortiz and Carlos Arroyo qualified Puerto Rico at the iconic Coliseo Roberto Clemente Walker, the desire to relive that moment has never gone away.
Today, 21 years later, the coach of the 12 Magníficos is looking to assemble the best available pieces ahead of the Olympic Repechage in an attempt to end the drought.
After two decades, the FIBA tournament returns to the Island, where the national teams of Bahrain, Lithuania, Italy, Mexico, Ivory Coast and Puerto Rico will compete for one of the four available spots for Paris 2024. Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot will be the official venue for the event, which runs from July 2 to 7.
Puerto Rico is in Group B alongside Bahrain and Italy, where it will look to win at least one game to advance to the event's semifinals. Group A consists of Mexico, Ivory Coast and Lithuania.
Guide to Puerto Rico's national pre-selection roster
This time around, the task will be more complicated than usual, with big names on the list who have experience in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), Europe and the NBA.
1. Jordan Howard (Osos de Manatí)
2. Ethan Thompson (Osos de Manatí)
3. Isaac Sosa (Osos de Manatí)
4. Alex Morales (Osos de Manatí)
5. Chris Ortiz (Osos de Manatí)
6. Stephen Thompson Jr (Vaqueros de Bayamón)
7. Ysmael Romero (Vaqueros de Bayamón)
8. Tremont Waters (Gigantes de Carolina)
9. George Conditt IV (Gigantes de Carolina)
10. Georgie Pacheco (Indios de Mayagüez)
11. Alfonso Plummer (Capitanes de Arecibo)
12. Justin Reyes (Capitanes de Arecibo)
13. Arnaldo Toro (Santeros de Aguada)
14. Timajh Parker-Rivera (Santeros de Aguada)
15. Aleem Ford (Leones de Ponce)
16. Christian Negrón (Leones de Ponce)
17. Alexander Kappos (Criollos de Caguas)
18. Phillip Wheeler (Piratas de Quebradillas)
19. Isaiah Piñeiro (Piratas de Quebradillas)
20. Gian Clavell (Piratas de Quebradillas)
21. Markus Howard (Baskonia, España)
22. Jose Alvarado (New Orleans Pelicans)
23. Julian Strawther (Denver Nuggets)
24. Davon Reed (Memphis Hustle, G-League)
25. Moe Harkless (Rip City Remix, G-League)
26. Trent Frazier (Zenit, Rusia)
27. John Holland (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel)
The national team's head coach has his hands full deciding who will wear the national jerseys. The possibility of seeing Markus Howard and Moe Harkless make their debuts, and having Alvarado, Strawther and Reed back gives Puerto Ricans the feeling of dreaming again and believing in their heroes.
Once again, Puerto Rico will compete with pride, heart and passion for a place among the 12 best basketball teams at the world's most important sporting event.
Cover photo: Takashi Aoyama, Getty
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
