Leones de Ponce (basketball)
Leones de Ponce | ||||
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League | Baloncesto Superior Nacional FIBA Americas League | |||
Founded | 1946 | |||
History | Leones de Ponce (1946–present) | |||
Arena | Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns | |||
Capacity | 8,000 | |||
Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico | |||
Team colors | Red, black, white | |||
Head coach | Carlos Morales Otero | |||
Ownership | Gerardo Misla Abel Misla Oscar Misla Ramón Misla | |||
Championships | 14 (1952, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015) | |||
Website | www | |||
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The Leones de Ponce is a professional basketball team based in Ponce, Puerto Rico, actively participating in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league (BSN). Founded in 1946, the team has had significant success in the league, earning a total of fourteen championships. This puts them on par with the Atléticos de San Germán and just two titles short of the record held by the Vaqueros de Bayamón. Their most recent championship was won in 2015, after a final match against the Capitanes de Arecibo.[1]
History
The 50s and 60s
The Leones successes have always been periodical: their first championship came in 1952, 22 years after the beginning of BSN tournaments. They repeated as champions in 1954, but the 1953 championship did not finish when players from Ponce and San German were involved in a brawl which BSN officials could not control. The Leones did not win any more championships until 1960. The 1960s were a glorious decade for the Leones, who repeated in 1961 and then won three peat titles in 1964, 1965 and 1966. The presence of
The 80s
The Leones could not win a championship for 24 years after the 1966 title. In 1984 they reached rock bottom when it was discovered that they had proceeded against the BSN's rules to sign David Ponce. Ponce was an American born
The 1990s
The Leones started rebuilding, acquiring such players as José "Papote" Agosto,
The 21st century
After 1993, Ponce took nine more years to win a title. With the acquisition of
Hiatus (2011–2012)
Due to financial difficulties the team did not participate in the 2011–12 season.
The Return
On November 2, 2012 an agreement was reached for the sale where Dr. Oscar Santiago acquired the franchise. Under his guidance the team did extremely well after hiring fellow ponceño
A New Era
In 2014 the Lions made their second consecutive finals appearance. This time they defeated the Arecibo Captains in 6 games to achieve their thirteenth championship and the first title in a decade. A year later, the team returned in a rematch of the 2014 finals against the Capitanes. The Lions made their back-to-back title after six games and tied the BSN record, along with the Bayamón Cowboys and the San Germán Athletics, for most overall championships.
International competition
2014 FIBA Americas League
Leones de Ponce made its international debut in the 2014 edition of the FIBA Americas League as one of the two teams representing the BSN, accepting an invitation to participate as the runner-up of the league that year.[3][4] The team was included in Group B, which was hosted by Montevideo.[4] Hindered by the fact that the BSN was off-season (being a summer league, in contrast to the other leagues in the hemisphere) and players abroad,[5] this version of the team relied on local players, particularly a core of inexperienced young players (SF Carlos Emory, PF Chris Gaston and SG Mike Rosario) that was complemented by several veterans that were past their prime (SF/PF Gabriel Colón, PG Guayito Santiago and SG/SF Rick Apodaca), but also included Eric Griffin (PF), Weyinmi Efejuku (G) and Walter Sharpe (PF) as reinforcements.[4][6]
In their debut, Leones faced
2017 FIBA Americas League
Leones de Ponce made its return to the FIBA Americas League in the 2017 edition as a measure to develop team chemistry prior to the BSN season,[13] hosting the opening round of Group D at Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns. The team combined the regular roster signing of PG Andrés Torres with reinforcements Carlos Arroyo (PG), Filiberto Rivera (PG), Hakim Warrick (PF/C) and Eric Dawson (PF/C), but lost SF Carlos Emory prior to the tournament due to injury.[14][15][16] Due to being the only team in the pool not active in a season, exhibition games were held against teams including the Group C Capitanes de Arecibo.[17][18] Ponce debuted by defeating Academia de la Montaña of Colombia, 76-61.[19] The team then advanced to the following round with a win over Cocodrilos de Caracas, 88-84. Prior to the final game of the group phase the team lost its regular SG Víctor Liz due to a calf injury,[20][21] going on to lose against Weber Bahía Blanca in overtime, 92-96.[22]
The home team games during the group phase averaged an assistance of 5,000 fans, which satisfied FIBA and led to a request to organize the following round.
While Barquisimeto in Venezuela became the host of the next stage, the players where given time to recover while the staff scouted the other teams.
2018 FIBA Americas League
After an sponsor supported them, the Leones choose to participate in the 2018 FIBA Americas League despite having limited facilities (due to the passing of hurricane Maria in September 2017) and several roster losses that forced them to rely on nostalgia and bring former members for the tournament.[37] Mike Rosario, Chris Gastón and Miguel Alí Berdiel headlined this makeshift group, which lost Arroyo, Filiberto Rivera and Liz from the previous edition.[38] The team concluded with a record of 1-2, leaving the competition after the conclusion of the first round.[39] Playing abroad at Argentina, Ponce lost to local teams Estudiantes Concordia (66-81) and Regatas Corrientes (76-90), while defeating Hebraica Macabi of Uruguay (86-69).[39]
2019 FIBA Americas League
In November 2018, Leones de Ponce requested participation in the 2019 FIBA Americas League.[40] The following month they were confirmed as members of Group D, along Capitanes de Arecibo, Guaros de Lara and Libertadores de Querétaro. On December 17, 2018, Ponce was confirmed as the host of the group's first round.[41] On Christmas Day, Leones revealed that Arroyo had been signed, while the team made moves to have regular season roster players available (including Vassallo and Liz) and signed Adrian Uter (PF/C), Nick Minnerath (PF/C) and Dane Johnson (PF/C) as reinforcements for the tournament.[42][43][44] Efejuku was initially only brought back for the tournament, but later joined the roster as a regular after being nativized (following four years of continued residence) and acquired by Ponce in the 2019 BSN Draft.[45]
Home arena
The team's home court is
Championships
Following are the titles won by the Ponce Leones basketball team.[49]
Club | Sport | League | Venue | League Championships |
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Leones de Ponce | Basketball | Baloncesto Superior Nacional | Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium
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BSN Championships (14)
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Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
Leones de Ponce roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
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C | Thomas Robinson | Carlos “Yao” López | Jatsiel Colón |
PF
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Jamil Wilson | Christian Negrón | Miguel Ali Berdiel
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SF | Aleem Ford | Mike Rosario | Monty Scott |
SG | Jared Ruiz | Luis López | Christian López |
PG | Jezreel De Jesús | Trent Frazier | Luis Rolón |
See also
References
- ^ "Ponce repite el campeonato del BSN". 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Estadisticas de Angel 'Cachorro' Santiago del Valle en BSN (Puerto Rico)".
- ^ "LDA2015 - Capitanes vs. Leones: la final del Norte contra el Sur en el Baloncesto Superior de Puerto Rico". www.fibaamerica.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
- ^ a b c "Lo que le espera a Ponce y Arecibo en la Liga de las Américas: – RevolucionDeportiva". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ^ "Basquet Plus". www.basquetplus.com. Archived from the original on 2014-01-14.
- ^ "Leones de Ponce anuncian tercer refuerzo para la Liga de las Américas". 5 January 2014.
- ^ "ESPN - Lo último del mundo deportivo".
- ^ "LDA2014 - Unitri/Uberlandia se apunta victoria sobre los Leones de Ponce en la apertura del Grupo B". www.fibaamericas.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
- ^ "Liga de las Américas: Lanús sumó otra derrota amplia en Montevideo". February 2014.
- ^ "LDA2014 – Leones of Ponce dominated Lanús for their first continental triumph". www.fibaamerica.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
- ^ "Infocancha".
- ^ "Aguada 93 – Leones 92 (LDA 2014) | Somos Aguada". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
- ^ "Listos los Leones de Ponce para el "Final 4" de la Liga de las Américas". 13 March 2017.
- ^ "Leones de Ponce integran a Filiberto Rivera para la Liga de las Américas". 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Leones de Ponce confirm stellar Carlos Arroyo for 2017 edition - DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2017 - FIBA.basketball". Archived from the original on April 17, 2023.
- ^ "Leones de Ponce añaden más poder para la Liga de las Américas". 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Leones y Capitanes se dieron una manita". 28 January 2017.
- ^ "A todo vapor la preparación de los Leones". 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Arroyo montó su show en Ponce". 10 February 2017.
- ^ "Liga de las Américas Listos los Leones para buscar su pase a la final". March 2017.
- ^ "Ponce busca situarse entre los mejores de la Liga de las Américas". 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Cocodrilos de Caracas sucumbió ante Leones de Ponce en la Liga de las Américas". 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Ponce vuelve a coquetear con la Liga de las Américas". 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Collier podría ser la ficha que falta en Ponce". 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Leones controlan la Bahía en la segunda ronda de la Liga de las Américas". 4 March 2017.
- ^ "Victoria del Hebraica y Macabi provoca cuádruple empate en Ponce". 5 March 2017.
- ^ "Ponce avanza al 'Final Four' de la Liga de las Américas". 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Ruge el león en la selva de FIBA". 8 March 2017.
- ^ "Ponce aspira al campeonato de las Américas". 7 March 2017.
- ^ "Los Leones viajan a Barquisimeto". 14 March 2017.
- ^ "Arroyo está satisfecho con su 'casa' remodelada". 11 March 2017.
- ^ "Los Leones tendrán que bailar en la casa del trompo". 16 March 2017.
- ^ http://bsnpr.com/mobile/#newsdetails?nid=13540 [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Leones de Ponce v Guaros Boxscore - DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2017".
- ^ "Fuerza Regia v Leones de Ponce Boxscore - DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2017".
- ^ "Echenique y Graham en el Quinteto Ideal de la Liga de las Américas 2017".
- ^ "Listos los Leones para rugir en la Liga de las Américas". 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Liga de las Américas: Un fin de semana crucial para los Leones de Ponce". 31 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Eliminan a los Leones de Ponce en la Liga de las Américas". 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Leones solicitan jugar en la Liga de las Américas | Deportes | elvocero.com".
- ^ "Ponce será sede de la Liga de las Américas".
- ^ "Carlos Arroyo volverá a jugar con los Leones de Ponce". 25 December 2018.
- ^ "Leones agregan a Weyinmi Rose para la Liga de las Américas". 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Leones firman a Dane Johnson para la Liga de las Américas". 30 January 2019.
- ^ "Tyler Davis fue la primera selección del sorteo del BSN". 31 January 2019.
- ISBN 0-8032-2216-5.
- ^ Ponceños conmemoran natalicio de Juan “Pachín” Vicéns. Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "La YMCA: Coronada en el Baloncesto Infantil". periodicolaperla.com.
- ^ Campeonatos Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)