The Puerto Rican men's national basketball team represents Puerto Rico in international basketball matches. It is the most successful national basketball team in Central America and a regular participant in world championships and the Olympic Games .
In the years after the founding of the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation 1957, the national first successes celebrated at international championships, which point guard to a large extent Juan "Pachín" Vicens , who was at that time as one of the best amateur players in the world, and later Thanks also to Center Teófilo Cruz , who was the first team athlete to take part in five Olympic Games. In the 1970s, in which Raymond Dalmau , Héctor Blondet and Neftalí Rivera were the standout players, the enthusiasm for basketball in the country was increased by the 1974 World Cup and the 1979 Pan-American Games , both of which were held in San Juan . After the team failed to qualify for the 1982 World Championships and the 1984 Olympic Games, they were able to build on their earlier successes again in the late 1980s through players such as José Ortiz , Ramón Rivas , Jerome Mincy and Federico López . The highlight of this phase was the 4th place at the 1990 World Cup , when they won the first seven games in a row and also defeated the later title holder Yugoslavia . These players formed the core of the national team well into the 1990s, and a new generation of players was not able to establish itself until the late 1990s. Led by Carlos Arroyo , who became the first Puerto Rican to establish himself permanently in the NBA , the national team celebrated a 92-73 victory over the USA at the 2004 Olympic Games . It was the first defeat of a US selection in an Olympic basketball competition since the ban on professional players was lifted in 1989 and NBA players are allowed.