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The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the
Puerto Rican Basketball Federation The Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico or ''FBPR'') is the governing body of basketball in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Co ...
. The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which is played under
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...
, currently consists of 12 teams, of which the most successful has been the
Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the L ...
with 16 titles as of 2022. The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, and other tournaments throughout the world. Among them,
Georgie Torres Georgie Torres Dougherty (born October 15, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a well known former BSN basketball player. Torres broke the record for the most points scored in a career at that league, with over 15,80 ...
was the first Puerto Rican to sign an NBA contract &
Butch Lee Alfred "Butch" Lee Jr. (born December 5, 1956) is a Puerto Rican retired professional basketball player. Lee was the first Puerto Rican and first Latin American-born athlete to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), accomplishing thi ...
was the first BSN player to win an NBA title. Later on came players like José Ortiz,
Ramón Rivas Juan Ramón Rivas Contreras (born March 16, 1966
basketball-reference.com) is a Puerto Rican retired professional ...
,
Daniel Santiago Daniel Gregg Santiago (born June 24, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. A center, he had a collegiate career in the NCAA and NAIA. His professional career saw him play in the NBA, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional of ...
,
Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, and reggaeton singer. Arroyo had previously played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Ut ...
and
José Juan Barea José Juan Barea Mora (born June 26, 1984) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for Northeastern University before joining the Mavericks in 2006 and becoming only the seventh Puerto Ric ...
, who were other NBA players that started their careers playing for BSN teams.


History

The league began in 1930, and is noted for having had several head coaches who went on to achieve international recognition later in their careers. Among those are
Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...
members
Dr. Jack Ramsay John Travilla Ramsay (February 21, 1925 – April 28, 2014) was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" (as he held an earned doctorate). He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, ...
,
Tex Winter Morice Fredrick "Tex" Winter (February 25, 1922 – October 10, 2018) was an American basketball coach and innovator of the triangle offense. He was a head coach in college basketball for 30 years before becoming an assistant coach in the Nationa ...
and
Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...
, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1950s and 1960s, and
Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...
, who coached the
Piratas de Quebradillas The Piratas de Quebradillas is a Puerto Rican basketball team, part of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. Founded in the mid 1920s, it is one of the original teams of the league. The club enjoyed its most successful era during the 1970s, ...
and
Gallitos de Isabela Gallitos de Isabela is a professional basketball team based in Isabela, Puerto Rico. They play their home games at the José Abreu Coliseum. History In 1984, the Gallitos reached the BSN Finals, during that year known, due to a scandal concerni ...
in the late 1980s. Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include
Gene Bartow Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coa ...
,
Lou Rossini Lucio "Lou" Rossini (April 24, 1921 – October 21, 2005) was an American college basketball coach. He compiled a 357–256 record in almost 20 years of coaching, most notably with New York University (NYU). In Rossini's first year as head coach ...
,
Del Harris Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mi ...
,
P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster, having worked with ESPN, '' Th ...
,
Bernie Bickerstaff Bernard Tyrone Bickerstaff (born February 11, 1944) is an American basketball coach and front office executive, currently serving as the Senior Basketball Advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a coach, he previously worked as the head coach for ...
and
Herb Brown Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American basketball coach and the brother of Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the Detroit Pistons (1976–78). Career Brown succeeded Ray Scott when he was promoted from ...
. During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as
Juan "Pachin" Vicens ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...
( 1959 Santiago Chile FIBA World Championship's All-Tournament Team) and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are:
Mario 'Quijote' Morales Mario Morales Micheo (born November 13, 1957) is a former Puerto Rican basketball player. He is known as a.k.a. "Quijote" Morales for his ability to conquer both scoring and team championships in Puerto Rico's BSN league. He is the father of E ...
,
Raymond Dalmau Raymond Dalmau Pérez (born October 27, 1948) is a retired Puerto Rican professional basketball player and coach. Dalmau played in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the top tier basketball league in the country, for 20 seasons with the Pir ...
, Jose 'Piculin' Ortiz,
Ramón Rivas Juan Ramón Rivas Contreras (born March 16, 1966
basketball-reference.com) is a Puerto Rican retired professional ...
,
Jerome Mincy Jerome Alfred Mincy Clark (born November 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player who was born to Shelly and Willie Mincy at Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on November 10, 1964. He played in the NCAA wit ...
,
Georgie Torres Georgie Torres Dougherty (born October 15, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a well known former BSN basketball player. Torres broke the record for the most points scored in a career at that league, with over 15,80 ...
,
Angelo Cruz Angelo "Monchito" Cruz (born September 20, 1958) is a former Puerto Rican professional basketball player. He was born in New York. Coming out of the Patterson Projects in the Bronx, "Monchito" was a New York City Playground legend by the time he ...
, Angel Santiago, the late Federico 'Fico' Lopez,
Rolando Frazer Rolando Frazer Thorne (born July 3, 1958 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He was an inaugural inductee of the ...
,
Mario Butler Mario Alberto Butler Graham (born January 15, 1957) is a Panamanian retired professional basketball player. Butler spent most of his career playing in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) in Puerto Rico. At , he played center and was known fo ...
, and Rubén Rodríguez, who showcased their talents to all of Puerto Rico's TV viewers and game goers. On October 8, 2015, the BSN team owners selected Fernando Quiñones Bodea to succeed Carlos J. Beltrán as president of the league.


Competition format


Regular season

The BSN tournament is played under the regular
FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...
basketball rules. The teams regularly play a total of four games amongst them. For the 2017 tournament, the regular season extended to 36 games. Of the 9 participating teams, the top 8 moved on to the postseason.


Postseason


Current teams


Defunct teams

Aibonito Aibonito () is a small mountain town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the Sierra de Cayey mountain range, north of Salinas; south of Barranquitas and Comerío; east of Coamo; and west of Cidra, and Cayey. Aibonito is spread over 8 '' ...
Polluelos de Aibonito Polluelos de Aibonito was a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. They won their only national championship in 1986, defeating the 1985 champions Atleticos de San German, 4 ...
; (1977–2001) Played their home games at Cancha Marron Aponte Aguada Conquistadores de Aguada (1994-1998) Aguada
Santeros de Aguada Santeros de Aguada was a Puerto Rican professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. The team was based in Aguada, Puerto Rico. The team moved to Fajardo in 2021, changing their name and re-branding to Cariduros de Fajardo with ...
; (2016–2020) Played their home games at the Ismael Delgado Coliseum
Aguadilla Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is s ...
Tiburones de Aguadilla; (1990s–1998) Played their home games at the
Luis T. Diaz Coliseum Luis T. Diaz Coliseum (Spanish: ''Coliseo Luis T. Diaz'') was the main arena in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. It is located on Marina Street facing the Atlantic Ocean. Currently seats 2,500+ for basketball & volleyball games and it is the former home ...
Cabo Rojo Taínos de Cabo Rojo; (1989–1993) Played their home games at Rebekah Colberg Cabrera Coliseum
Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...
Criollos de Caguas; (1976–2009) Played their home games at Héctor Solá Besares Coliseum Canóvanas Indios de Canóvanas Played their home games at Coliseo Carlos Miguel Mangual
Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and ...
Toritos de Cayey; (2002–2004) Played their home games at the Cayey Municipal Coliseum
Coamo Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Co ...
Maratonistas de Coamo; (1985–1996, 1999–2015) Played their home games at Edwin "Puruco" Nolasco Coliseum Isabela
Gallitos de Isabela Gallitos de Isabela is a professional basketball team based in Isabela, Puerto Rico. They play their home games at the José Abreu Coliseum. History In 1984, the Gallitos reached the BSN Finals, during that year known, due to a scandal concerni ...
Played their home games at the
Jose Abreu Coliseum Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Gal ...
Manatí Atenienses de Manatí; (2014–2017) Played their home games at the Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum
Morovis Morovis (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central region of the island, north of Orocovis, south of Manatí, Vega Baja and Vega Alta; east of Ciales, and west of Corozal. Morovis is spread over 13 barrios and M ...
Titanes de Morovis The Titanes de Morovis (Morovis Titans) were a professional basketball team from Morovis, Puerto Rico, which played in the country's top pro basketball league, the BSN. They won their only national championship in 1987, defeating the 1986 champio ...
; (1977–2006) Played their home games in the José Pepe Huyke Coliseum Villalba Avancinos de Villalba; (1996–1998) Played their home games at the José Ibem Marrero Coliseum


League records

Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing records in the BSN. He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the highest career points record with 11,549. The current holder of the career mark is Georgie Torres, who broke it before retiring in 2001 with 15,863 points in 679 games, playing his first 7 years before the establishment of the three-point line. Rodríguez also holds the mark for most rebounds in a career with 6,178. He also held the single-season rebound record with 380 in 1978, which stood until Lee Benson broke it in 2008. Currently, Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22, 1974. In that game he achieved the record by making 34 field goals (all of them 2-pointers as 3-pointers were not adopted back then) and 11 free throws. In 1989, Pablo Alicea of the Gigantes de Carolina established a record for most assists in one game with 25. The record stood for over two decades until May 1, 2012, when Jonathan García of the Caciques de Humacao broke it recording 33 assists against the Brujos de Guayama. García's mark is an unofficial world record pending the approval of Guinness World Records, since there is no higher number recorded in any amateur or professional international league or in FIBA competition. During this game, the Caciques also established the team points record for a single game with 130 and for most scored during a single (10-minute) quarter with 46. The Vaqueros de Bayamón hosted the game with highest attendance in the league, with 17,621 fans attending a home game against Río Piedras on September 8, 1969. This bested the previous top of 16,564 in a game between Ponce and Santurce. The Vaqueros also hold the record for most consecutive championships, winning five from 1971 to 1975.


Championships


Number of championships won by teams

* *These titles are from Farmacia Martin, a team that later merged with the Atléticos de San Germán


BSN awards


BSN statistical leaders


BSN all-time scoring leaders

Note: Christian Dalmau has been updated to show that he retired in 2017 - but his stats (and all stats in this section) are from 2015.


BSN all-time rebounding leaders


BSN all-time assists leaders

Note: Christian Dalmau has been updated to show that he retired in 2017 - but his stats (and all stats in this section) are from 2015.


BSN all-time block leaders


Last Updated July 9, 2015


See also

*
Puerto Rico national basketball team The Puerto Rico national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación d ...


References


External links


Official site

Puerto Rican league on Latinbasket.com

Famous Basketball Players from Puerto Rico
on ranker.com {{Men's professional basketball leagues Basketball leagues in Puerto Rico 1929 establishments in Puerto Rico Sports leagues established in 1929 Professional sports leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in Puerto Rico