Baloncesto Superior Nacional facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Baloncesto Superior Nacional

Founded	1929; 95 years ago (1929)
First season	1930 (as LPB)
Country	Puerto Rico
Confederation	FIBA Americas
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
International cup(s)	Champions League Americas
Current champions	Capitanes de Arecibo (8 titles)
Most championships	Vaqueros de Bayamón (15 titles)
All-time top scorer	Georgie Torres (15,863)
TV partners	Telemundo WAPA 2 Deportes DirecTV Puerto Rico Teleisla
2021 Baloncesto Superior Nacional

The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.

The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, which is played under FIBA rules, currently consists of 12 teams, of which the most successful has been the Vaqueros de Bayamón with 15 titles as of 2020. The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, and other tournaments throughout the world. Among them, NBA player Georgie Torres was the first Puerto Rican to sign an NBA contract & Butch Lee but they were then sanctioned 9 Years until 1990 when professional players we're permitted to compete internationally and among them came players like José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo and José Juan Barea 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 members Tex Winter and Red Holzman, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1960s, and Phil Jackson, who coached the Piratas de Quebradillas and Gallitos de Isabela in the late 1980s. Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include Gene Bartow, Lou Rossini, Del Harris, P.J. Carlesimo, Bernie Bickerstaff and Herb Brown.

During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as Juan "Pachin" Vicens (Named Greatest Basketball Player in the World at the Basketball World Championship, held in Santiago, Chile, 1959) and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are Mario 'Quijote' Morales, Raymond Dalmau, Jose 'Piculin' Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Georgie Torres, Angelo Cruz, Angel Santiago, the late Federico 'Fico' Lopez and Rubén Rodríguez 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 basketball rules. The teams regularly play a total of four games amongs them. For the 2017, the regular season will extend to 36 games. Of the 10 participating teams, the top 8 move on to the postseason.

Postseason

Current teams

League records

Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing record in the BSN. He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the most 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 entire career after 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. Rodríguez also established an early single-game points record in 1973 with 52. Currently, Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22nd, 1974. In that game he achieve the record by making 34 field goals(all of them 2-pointers as the 3-pointers where 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 most assistance 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 1971-75.

Championships

Number of championships won by teams

• *These titles are from Farmacia Martin team that was merged with the Atléticos de San Germán

BSN statistical leaders

BSN all-time scoring leaders

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Total points	Games played	Points per game average
1	Torres, GeorgieGeorgie Torres	SG	15,863	679	23.4
2	Morales, MarioMario Morales	SF	15,293	675	22.7
3	Butler, MarioMario Butler	C	12,252	779	15.7
4	Rolando Frazer	C	12,096	603	20.1
5	Dalmau, RaymondRaymond Dalmau	PG	11,592	537	21.6
6	Rodríguez, RubénRubén Rodríguez	PF	11,549	631	18.3
7	Roberto Ríos	PG	11,312	681	16.6
8	Ángel Santiago	SF	11,287	617	18.3
9	José Quiñonez		11,012	579	19
10	Dalmau, ChristianChristian Dalmau	PG	10,363	605	17.1

BSN all-time rebounding leaders

BSN all-time assists leaders

Last Updated July 9, 2015

-SINGLE GAME RECORD Assist- Jonathan Garcia 33

Images for kids

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  Canóvanas

See also

In Spanish: Baloncesto Superior Nacional para niños