Leones de Ponce (basketball)
| Leones de Ponce | ||||
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| League |
Baloncesto Superior Nacional FIBA Americas League |
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| Founded | 1946 | |||
| History |
Leones de Ponce (1946–present) |
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| Arena | Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns | |||
| Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico | |||
| Team colors | Red, black, white |
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| Head coach | Nelson Colón | |||
| Ownership | Gerardo Misla Abel Misla Oscar Misla Ramón Misla |
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| Championships | 14 (1952, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015) | |||
| Website | www |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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Leones de Ponce is a professional basketball team based in Ponce, Puerto Rico. They are a member of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league (BSN). The team was established in 1946 and has become one of the most successful clubs in league history, winning a record fourteen championships (a number also matched by the Atléticos de San Germán and the Vaqueros de Bayamón), the most recent being the 2015 championship acquired after defeating the Capitanes de Arecibo in the finals.
The team's home court is Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium, named after the Ponce basketball legend who won several titles with the Leones and was even declared to be the Best Player of the World during the 1959 FIBA World Championship in Chile.
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 guard Juan "Pachín" Vicens greatly helped the Leones to reach the success they had. He was the key player in an already great roster. His impact can be evidenced by the fact that the Lions venue is named after him. Tex Winter, an assistant coach with the NBA Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 1990s, coached the Leones to their two 1950s titles, while Red Holzman was the main architect of the titles won from '64 to '66.
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