Mourning in Puerto Rican sports for the death of José “Piculín” Ortíz

Puerto Rico said goodbye to one of its “greatest athletes” this Tuesday. the legendary basketball player José ‘Piculín’ Ortizwho died at the age of 62 colorectal cancer leaving an important legacy on and off the fields.

“Today Puerto Rico wakes up with the loss of one of our greatest athletes in our history. Piculín filled us with joy on the field where in each game, each representation of Puerto Ricohe carried with him the heart of an entire island,” wrote Governor Jenniffer González.

In a message on his

Member of the International Basketball Hall of FameOrtiz competed in four Olympics (Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004), in the NBA with the Utah Jazzand in Europe with the Specify Madrid and FC Barcelonaamong other teams.

“The sporting spirit of this legend lives in every young man who dreams of shining in sports, in every story he inspired and in every memory that united us as a people“said the governor, who will decree a national owner once the details of the funeral are known.

The National Superior Basketball (BSN) assured on its Facebook account that Ortiz He will “always” be in their hearts and alluded to his famous nickname ‘The Concorde’.

“May our eternal Harmony rest in peace. The best player our country has ever given and an emblem of our institution and Puerto Rican sports“, indicated the SBN in its message.

For his part, former basketball player Raymond Dalmau commented that the news of the death left him “devastated” and took him by surprise, since the last time he had seen him he was fine despite suffering from cancer.

Dalmau, who met Ortiz in the BSN as rivals and was later his leader in the national team, He described the deceased in an interview with WKAQ-580 radio as “the best player Puerto Rico has ever produced.”

“There was no way to beat the teams when Piculín was“said Dalmau, who added that Ortiz was “very friendly” and “tremendous human being.”

For her part, the captain of the women’s national basketball team, Pamela Rosado, highlighted that Ortiz’s legacy “It is not measured in words, it is felt in the hearts of an entire people.”

“Today a great person left us. A human being of those who do not repeat themselves, of those who leave a deep mark on each life they touch. Thank you for so much, for your essence, for what you gave, for what you taught and for how you made others feel“Rosado wrote on his social networks.

From the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, its president Sara Rosario, assured that Ortiz was “much more than an extraordinary basketball player; “He was a leader, a role model and an athlete who embodied the values ​​of Olympism.”

“Puerto Rico loses today one of its greatest athletes and a true symbol of what it means to compete for our flag (…) His legacy will live forever in our history and in the hearts of our people,” said Rosario.

Along the same lines, Jorge O. Sosa, commissioner of the Interuniversity Athletic League (LAI) stressed that Ortiz was “a giant of the field and of the heart, whose greatness transcended basketball and became a legacy for an entire people.”

Keep reading:
– Pat Riley rules out retiring from the NBA after Miami’s bad season
– Luka Doncic would not be ready for the second round playoff series
– The Los Angeles Lakers enter the NBA Western semifinals
– Austin Reaves says that his evolution is favorable and he is excited to return