Sports in Puerto Rico can be traced from the ceremonial competitions amongst the pre-Columbian Native Americans of the Arawak (Taíno) tribes who inhabited the island to the modern era in which sports activities consist of an organized physical activity or skill carried out with a recreational purpose for competition. One of the sports which the Taíno's played was a ball game called "Batey". The "Batey" was played in "U" shaped fields two teams; however, unlike the ball games of the modern era, the winners were treated like heroes and the losers were sacrificed.
The Puerto Rico national basketball team represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation, The team represents both FIBA and FIBA Americas.
Santiago de los Caballeros, commonly known as simply Santiago, is the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population. It is the capital of Santiago Province and the largest major metropolis in the Cibao (northwestern) region of the country. The city has a total population of 1,173,015 inhabitants. Santiago is located approximately 155 km (96 mi) northwest of the capital Santo Domingo with an average altitude of 178 meters (584 ft).
Baloncesto Málaga, S.A.D., for sponsorship reasons named Unicaja, is a Spanish professional basketball team that is based in Málaga, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the Basketball Champions League. The team is sponsored by the Spanish bank Unicaja.
La Vega, is the fourth largest city and municipality of the Dominican Republic. It is in La Vega Province. The city is known as the Carnaval epicenter of the Dominican Republic for its tradition and culture, its large agricultural production methods throughout its province.
Flor Meléndez Montañez is a retired basketball player from Puerto Rico. He is a former head coach of Puerto Rico’s men’s national basketball team, Argentina men's national basketball team, and Panama men's national basketball team. Currently, he coaches in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional as an assistant coach for Gigantes de Carolina.
Juan Báez , also known as "Johnny" and "El Indio de la Vía", was a Puerto Rican basketball player. He played from 1953 to 1969 in Puerto Rico's Superior Basketball League and from 1957 to 1961 with the Real Madrid basketball Spanish basketball team in Europe. In 1957, Báez was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and points leader. In 2007, Báez was awarded Puerto Rico's top sports award, the Puerto Rico Olympic Medal of Honor. Báez was also inducted into Puerto Rico's Sports Hall of Fame.
The Dominican Republic national basketball team represents the Dominican Republic in men's international basketball competitions. In 2011 and 2012, John Calipari, the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's basketball team, served as the head coach of the team. The team placed third in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship and fourth in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, one position shy of qualifying for the 2012 Olympics..
Sports are a central part of the culture of the Dominican Republic, and have been practiced in the whole country since the native inhabitants were living in the island. Sports play a key role in the culture and makeup of Dominican Republic society. Baseball is the most popular sport on the island country and Major League Baseball has been recruiting players from the Dominican Republic since the 1960s. Association football is the second sport of the country.
San Carlos or San Carlos de Tenerife is a Sector in the city of Santo Domingo in the Distrito Nacional of the Dominican Republic. This old neighborhood is populated in particular by individuals from the middle class.
The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October.
Arturo Guerrero Moreno is a Mexican former basketball player and coach. With Mexico's senior national team, he played at two Summer Olympic Games. Due to his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "Mano Santa". Along with Carlos Quintanar and Manolo Raga, he is generally considered to be one of the two best Mexican basketball players of all time.
Óscar Trigo Diez is a wheelchair basketball coach. He led the Spanish men's national team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
The Spain men's national 3x3 team is the 3x3 basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation.
The Spain women's national 3x3 team is the 3x3 basketball team representing Spain in international women's competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation.
The Dominican Republic competed in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from July 10 to 26, 2015. The country had 250 athletes in 26 sports.
Jaime Peterson is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player. A 2.06 m forward-center, he was born in New York City to Dominican parents. After playing for three different high schools, including a postgraduate year at Maine Central Institute, Peterson played two seasons in the junior college circuit with Champlain College in Vermont before playing in the NCAA Division I with the Pittsburgh Panthers. He went undrafted in the 1995 NBA draft, and he started his professional career in France. In 2003 he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Liga Española de Baloncesto, the second tier of Spanish basketball. He played for the Dominican Republic national team from 1995 to 2005, and he won the silver medal at the 1995 and 2003 editions of Centrobasket.
Michael Torres Cuevas is a Spanish-Dominican professional basketball player for the Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the NBA G League.
The Torneo Superior de Baloncesto (TBS) is a Dominican basketball tournament of the Distrito Nacional.
Josh Asselin is a former basketball player who primarily played in Spain during the 2000s to 2010s. Before playing in Spain, Asselin was on the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team from 1997 to 2001. As part of his 879 career points, Asselin's 136 blocks remained in the top ten for most career blocks at Michigan for almost twenty years. During his time with multiple teams in the Liga Española de Baloncesto duiring the 2000s, Asselin and Bàsquet Manresa won the 2006–07 LEB season playoffs. As a Liga ACB player from 2007 to 2015, Asselin had the 2007-2008 league season record in blocks and reached the Eurocup Basketball 2010–11 Quarterfinals with Asefa Estudiantes.
