Juan Sebastián "Sebas" Saiz Soto (born 15 July 1994) is a Spanish

basketball player Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

for

Alvark Tokyo Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948 ...

of the B.League. He also holds Dominican citizenship.

Early years

Saiz, whose father is Spanish and his mother is from

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, started playing basketball at the youth teams of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, until transferring to CB Talavera due to personal reasons. In 2009, he passed the trials to join Estudiantes, where he made his debut in senior competitions, playing in some Liga EBA games in 2011, at age 16.

High school and college career

Saiz moved in 2012 to the United States to continue his basketball career, and in 2013 he joined the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

, averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his first season. He ended his college years becoming only the second player in school history after

Murphy Holloway Murphy McQuite Holloway (born April 24, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Goyang Orions of the Korean Basketball League. A power forward/center, he played college basketball for University of Mississippi before playing p ...

to surpass 1,000 points and 900 rebounds and was included in the All-Conference first team of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Professional career

In July 2017, Saiz signed his first professional contract with

, terminating previously with Estudiantes. One month later, he was loaned to San Pablo Burgos, debutant in the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

, where he averaged 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. In July 2018, he was loaned to

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., also known as Lenovo Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top level league i ...

of the Liga ACB. He will make his debut in European competition as the Canarian team is qualified for the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. On August 1, 2019, Saiz signed with Sun Rockers Shibuya of the B.League. He signed with

Chiba Jets Chiba Jets Funabashi ( ja, 千葉ジェッツふなばし) is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Funabashi, Chiba. The team joined the JBL Super League in 2005 and currently competes in the B.League. The 31,000sqm Lala Arena Toky ...

on June 3, 2020.

International career

Saiz played with the Spanish youth teams, taking part of the under-19 team that finished in the fifth position at the 2013 World Championship. With the under-20 team the European Championship, achieving a bronze medal in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and a silver one in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He made his debut with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in November 2017, at the 2019 World Cup qualifying match played in

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

against

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

References

External links

ACB profile

FIBA profile

RealGM profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saiz, Sebas 1994 births Living people CB Canarias players CB Miraflores players Centers (basketball) Liga ACB players Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball players Spanish expatriate basketball people in the United States Spanish men's basketball players Spanish people of Dominican Republic descent European sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Basketball players from Madrid Sun Rockers Shibuya players