The 3×3 national basketball program received welcome news in just the first 17 days of the year.
Puerto Rico rose once again in the FIBA ranking to position itself in the number ten position in the men’s category and in number 36 in the women’s division.
The rise of females is much greater considering that -at the end of 2021- they were ranked number 41.
The men’s national team, on the other hand, was located in the eleventh position, which represents a promotion of one position.
Now Puerto Rico is the sixth best team in the American continent in the women’s branch, and the second in the men’s branch.
The Puerto Rican men’s team is only surpassed by the United States in the Americas zone.
The position of the teams in the world ranking is important to qualify for major events, including the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup.
“We had never even been in the ‘top 20’. We already qualified for the World Cup, in June this year, in Belgium. When you summarize, this tells you that (2021) was a great year”, previously expressed the coordinator of the men’s team and owner of the San Juan 3×3 team, Oscar Hourruitiner, to THE SPOKESPERSON.
Puerto Rico is experiencing a rapid ascent in the men’s branch – to a great extent – due to the seventh place of the San Juan team in the FIBA World Tour, in 2021.
The adult male team – made up of Ocasio, Tjader Fernández, Josué Erazo and Ángel Matías – also finished fourth in the first 3×3 AmeriCup.
Meanwhile, the men’s youth team also won the gold medal at the Cali 2021 Junior Pan American Games with a squad made up of Leandro Allende, Luis Rivera, Luis Cuascut and Adrián Ocasio.
The women, meanwhile, also finished fourth in the AmeriCup, held from November 12 to 14, in Miami, Florida.
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