Criollos de Caguas (basketball)

Criollos de Caguas
NicknameCriollos, La Presión
"Creoles", "The Pressure"
LeaguesBSN
Pachin Vicens Division
Founded1976–2009
2023 (refounded)
ArenaRoger Mendoza Coliseum
Capacity3,000
LocationCaguas, Puerto Rico
Team colorsPink, flamingo, black
     
Head coachWilhelmus Caanen
OwnershipRic Elias
John Herrero
Championships2 (2006, 2024)
Websitehttps://criollosbsn.com/

The Criollos de Caguas are a professional basketball team based in Caguas, Puerto Rico. They play in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) League, the top division basketball league in Puerto Rico. They most recently became league champions by defeating the Osos de Manatí in 7 games in the final of the 2024 Baloncesto Superior Nacional season.

History

The Criollos professional basketball team began to play during the 1969 season, joining their counterparts the Criollos of baseball. Unlike their baseball counterparts, however, the basketball Criollos did not enjoy a wild and steady success, instead settling for moderate success.

The Criollos, with Cayey's resident Willie Melendez and Bayamon-born[1] Willie Quiñones on their side, reached the semi-finals in 1985. Melendez was traded to the Polluelos de Aibonito the following season, however, and The Criollos then went on a downward spiral, going 12–21 in 1986, 7–23 in 1987, 9–24 in 1988 and 10–20 in 1989. Quinones, although the Criollos only once posted a winning record with him as a player, always refused to be traded as he declared over and over again that he would only play for his hometown's team. He and Melendez (Melendez with 6,123) are members of the exclusive group of basketball players that have scored 5,000 or more points in Puerto Rican basketball history, 5,000 points being a coveted number because of the relatively small number of games played each year (from 30 to 33 games per season).

In 1987, Caguas Mayor Angel O. Berrios took over as team owner. In the 1990s, a Criollos revival began, and he hired such players as Luis Allende and Gary Joe Burgos. The Criollos reached the semi-finals again in 2002, and got to the playoffs in 2003, losing in the first round.

The Criollos decided not to play during the 2005 BSN season, partly because of economical reasons, but the team returned for the 2006 season and won the tournament for the first time in their history after beating the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the finals.

The Criollos entered the league's "Super 6" semifinals. They remained with possibilities of earning advancing until the final stages of the phase, gathering 20 points.[2] On June 10, 2008, one of the team's games against the Capitanes de Arecibo was cancelled when the league suspected that one of the Capitanes players was playing against the league's rules.[3]

The team reached the BSN finals during the 2024 season, where they faced the Osos de Manatí. Nearly all games were tightly contested, with the teams taking turns winning matches. In Game 2, with the Criollos down by three points, Travis Trice made a buzzer-beater, half-court shot to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Criollos eventually won the game, 109:104, with Trice making another key three-point shot during the overtime, to tie the series at one-win-apiece. As the Osos had a 3–2 series advantage following Game 5, and Game 6 went into overtime just like Game 2, the Criollos were on the brink of losing, but managed to win the game by one point. On August 30, 2024, the Criollos won Game 7 of the BSN Finals 96:81, the biggest margin victory in the series by either team, winning the series 4–3, and the championship.[4]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criollos de Caguas roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
G 1 Huertas, Hiram 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 28 – (1997-11-01)November 1, 1997
G 2 Early Jr., Jeff (DC) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 37 – (1988-09-02)September 2, 1988
F 4 Núñez, Richard (DC) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 25 – (2000-07-27)July 27, 2000
G 5 Ralat, Alejandro 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 25 – (2000-12-24)December 24, 2000
G/F 8 Denton, Joshua 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 23 – (2002-11-08)November 8, 2002
G 10 Rivera, Luís 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 27 – (1998-09-22)September 22, 1998
C 11 Díaz, Jorge 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (110 kg) 36 – (1989-11-13)November 13, 1989
G 12 O'Connell, Michael 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 25 – (2001-02-23)February 23, 2001
PG 13 Trice, Travis (I) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 33 – (1993-01-22)January 22, 1993
PF 14 Kappos, Alexander (DC) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 28 – (1997-07-26)July 26, 1997
SF 22 Morales, Anthony (DC) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 25 – (2000-12-19)December 19, 2000
SF 23 King, Louis (I) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 26 – (1999-04-06)April 6, 1999
G 24 López, Christian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 30 – (1995-06-12)June 12, 1995
C 34 Brown, Moses (I) 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 250 lb (110 kg) 26 – (1999-10-13)October 13, 1999
PF 44 Medina, Oenis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 27 – (1998-05-25)May 25, 1998
Head coach
  • Wilhelmus Caanen
Assistant coach(es)
  • TBA
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DC) Dual citizenship
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured
Updated: 15 March 2026

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Moses Brown Jorge Díaz Oenis Medina
PF Alexander Kappos Anthony Morales Richard Núñez
SF Louis King Jeff Early Jr. Joshua Denton
SG Travis Trice Christian López Hiram Huertas
PG Luís Rivera Michael O'Connell Alejandro Ralat

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

References

  1. ^ "Baloncesto Superior Nacional | Jugador".
  2. ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2008-06-10). "Súper 6 en la recta final" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  3. ^ Lester Jiménez and Raúl Álzaga (2008-06-10). "Suspenden partido entre Capitanes y Criollos" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  4. ^ "Criollos de Caguas vs. Osos de Manatí - Juego #2 - la Final Brava - BSN2024". YouTube. 19 August 2024.
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