Gallitos de Isabela

Gallitos de Isabela
Leagues	Liga de Baloncesto Puertorriqueña
Founded	1969
History	Gallitos de Isabela (1969–2005; 2010–2011; 2017–present)
Arena	José "Buga" Abreu Coliseum
Capacity	5,000
Location	Isabela, Puerto Rico
Team colors	Green, yellow
Head coach	Omar González
Ownership	N/A
Home Away

Gallitos de Isabela are a professional basketball team based in Isabela, Puerto Rico, currently competing in the Liga de Baloncesto Puertorriqueña, the second tier of professional basketball in Puerto Rico. They play their home games at the José Abreu Coliseum, refurbished in 2023 in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The team was managed by legendary Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson between 1984 and 1986.

History

In 1984, the Gallitos reached the BSN Finals, during that year known as the Copa Olimpica, due to a scandal concerning the playing eligibility of a Leones de Ponce player named David Ponce. They lost to the defending champions, Indios de Canovanas, in six games. This was during the franchise's "golden era", when players like Edwin Pellot and Frankie Torruellas played for the Gallitos. That team was coached by American Phil Jackson, who coached the team from 1984 to 1986, leading them to the playoffs in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

The team was folded several times over the years due to struggling financially and the hurricanes destroying the arena. They managed to rebuild the "Buga" coliseum, but lost their spot in the top division, Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Efforts were made in 2023 to move the Cariduros de Fajardo to Isabela after the Jose Buga arena was reconstructed, but plans fell through and the Cariduros moved to Aguada instead. Some rumors have circulated that the Indios de Mayagüez are moving to Isabela in 2027, after being bought by Dion New.

Current roster

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

Gallitos de Isabela roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Age SG 31 Altreche, Jeremy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 27 – (1998-08-24)24 August 1998 G 24 Cordero, Yahir 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 22 – (2004-04-02)2 April 2004 G/F 81 Crispin, Leroy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 22 – (2004-07-18)18 July 2004 G 5 Deliz, Janiel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 20 – (2005-12-09)9 December 2005 SG 20 Dimaio, Joseph 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 26 – (2000-04-04)4 April 2000 PG 17 López, Joel 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 24 – (2001-12-17)17 December 2001 PF 45 Mantilla, Marvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 21 – (2005-06-10)10 June 2005 F 9 Pérez, Daniel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 28 – (1998-06-23)23 June 1998 G 7 Quiñones, Javier 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 26 – (1999-10-05)5 October 1999 G/F 1 Rodríguez, Jan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 26 – (1999-08-24)24 August 1999 F 13 Rosario, Gabriel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 25 – (2001-05-31)31 May 2001 PG 33 Segui, Jonathan 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 32 – (1993-09-06)6 September 1993 G/F 2 Stevenson, Khalil 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 29 – (1997-06-15)15 June 1997 G 30 Vargas, Gilbert 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 20 – (2005-12-12)12 December 2005 G/F 99 Vélez, Isaac 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 26 – (1999-09-22)22 September 1999	Head coach Omar González Assistant coach(es) TBA Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import player Injured

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.

• José Abreu
• Mickey Coll
• Edwin Pellot
• Jimmy Thordsen
• Frankie Torruellas

Head coaches

• Flor Meléndez
• Phil Jackson

External links

• bsnpr.com - Official site of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). (in Spanish)