Tropics Add Major Talents
November 26, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release
The Miami Tropics, coming off their first-ever ABA win last Saturday night, are not satisfied with that success.
Tropics owner and president Art "Pilin" Alvarez is bringing in two established Puerto Rican stars - 6-0 point guard Rafael "Pachi" Cruz and 6-8 power forward Angelo Reyes.
Cruz, 27, is a lefty who just finished a great season in Mexico's pro league. He is a former star at Youngstown State.
Reyes, 25, led the Puerto Rican league in rebounding. He also played for his native country in the recently completed World Games in Japan, averaging 5 points and 5 rebounds against some of the best players in the world.
Against a U.S. World Games team that boasted Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, Reyes had 8 points and 7 rebounds in just 21 minutes.
"We had a need for a point guard and a post player, and we got both," Alvarez said. "These are two proven winners who have played at the highest level in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. These are solid guys who are going to help us in so many ways. Pachi was a first-team All-Defense player in Puerto Rico. And Reyes is a great rebounder and post scorer."
Alvarez said both will arrive in South Florida on Sunday, practice with the team on Monday and play in Tuesday night's home game against Orlando (7:30 at University Center Arena at Nova Southeastern).
Already practicing with the Tropics is a third newcomer, 6-0 point guard Ray Rose, 23, Rose, a native of Nassau, Bahamas, led Hialeah's Champagnat to the 2000 state championship.
"He was impressive at practice on Wednesday," Tropics Coach Ed Auricchio said. "He is a true point guard. He handles and passes the ball well."
Rose is the nephew of former University of Houston stars Cecil Rose and Lyndon Rose. Cecil Rose, of course, was part of the infamous Miami Jackson High team that won a state championship and was later stripped of the title for having four ineligible players.
Ray Rose went to Miami Dade College and then Olivet Nazarene in Illinois before turning pro in 2005.
"He was the leading scorer in the International Basketball League last summer," Auricchio said. "He also has experience in the CBA."
Alvarez said he and Auricchio will discuss which players to deactivate to make room for Cruz, Reyes and possibly Rose.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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