Costa Rica men's national basketball team
| FIBA ranking | 83 5 (2 December 2025)[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined FIBA | 1969 | ||
| FIBA zone | FIBA Americas | ||
| National federation | Federación Costarricense de Baloncesto Aficionado | ||
| Coach | Jose Nicolas Marín | ||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
| FIBA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
| FIBA AmeriCup | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
|
| |||
The Costa Rica national basketball team is the national basketball team from Costa Rica.
Team Costa Rica has never qualified for the FIBA World Cup or the FIBA AmeriCup. Yet, the team has shown strong performances at the regional level. At the 2015 FIBA COCABA Championship, Costa Rica finished the 2nd, its best performance so far.
Judged by the 2020 FIBA Ranking, Costa Rica has the 2nd best basketball national team in Central America, coming only behind Panama.
History
The origins of organized basketball in Costa Rica date back to the mid-20th century, when the sport began gaining popularity in San José and other major cities. The men's national team was established to represent the country in regional competitions across Central America and the Caribbean.
Costa Rica made its presence known in the FIBA Centrobasket Championship, competing against regional powers such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Panama. Although the team rarely advanced past the preliminary rounds, it became a consistent participant and one of the stronger Central American squads.[2]
During the 2000s, Costa Rica experienced a period of growth at the regional level. The national team achieved success in the COCABA Championship (the Central American sub-zone competition), where it won gold medals in 2007 and 2015.[3] These victories established Costa Rica as one of the leading basketball nations in Central America.
Despite these regional achievements, Costa Rica has not yet qualified for a FIBA AmeriCup, a FIBA Basketball World Cup, or the Olympic Games. The program continues to focus on developing domestic talent through the Liga de Baloncesto Superior de Costa Rica and youth competitions.
In recent years, the national team has participated in FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification (Americas), competing against stronger teams from South and North America. While qualification remains a challenge, Costa Rica maintains its reputation as a competitive force in Central American basketball and continues to invest in the growth of the sport nationwide.
Competitions
Summer Olympics
Yet to qualify
FIBA World Cup
Yet to qualify
FIBA AmeriCup
Yet to qualify
Pan American Games
Yet to qualify
Centrobasket
- 1971-1987 : Did not qualify
- 1989 : 7th
- 1991 : 5th
- 1993 : Did not qualify
- 1995 : 7th
- 1997 : Did not qualify
- 1999 : 8th
- 2001 : Did not qualify
- 2003 : 8th
- 2004 : Did not qualify
- 2006 : 8th
- 2008 : 8th
- 2010 : Did not qualify
- 2012 : 9th
- 2014 : 9th
- 2016 : 9th
COCABA Championship
- 1999 :
- 2004 : 5th
- 2006 :
- 2007 :
- 2009 : 4th
- 2013 :
- 2015 :
Central American and the Caribbean Games
- 1926-2002 : ?
- 2006-2010 : Did not participate
- 2014 : ?
- 2018 : Did not participate
- 2022 : To be determined
Current roster
At the 2016 Centrobasket:[4]
| Costa Rica men's national basketball team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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At the 2016 Centrobasket in Panama City, Panama, Carlos Quesada played most minutes for Costa Rica whereas Kay Martinez was the team's top scorer and also recorded most steals for the team.[4]
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Carlos Quesada | Jefny Anderson | Andres Umana | Juan Rosich |
| PF | Daniel Simmons | Marcos Castrillo | Daniel Shedden | |
| SF | Rohel Wilson | George Letford | Amaurys Ripool | |
| SG | Kay Martinez | |||
| PG | Isaac Conejo | Alonso Sanchez |
Head coach position
- Luis Blanco – 2006
- Neil Gottlieb – 2007-2008
- Luis Blanco – 2009
- Jorge Arguello – 2010
- Luis Blanco – 2011-2012
- Jorge Arguello – 2013
- Alexis Monge – 2014
- Joshua Erickson – 2015-2016
- Alexis Monge – 2017
- Daniel Simmons – 2018
- Jose Nicolas Marín – 2021-present
3x3 Team
Costa Rica features 3x3 basketball national teams, from senior level all the way to U12 teams.[5]
Kit
Manufacturer
2018: Nike
See also
- Costa Rica women's national basketball team
- Costa Rica national under-19 basketball team
- Costa Rica women's national under-19 basketball team
- Costa Rica national 3x3 team
References
- ^ "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
- ^ FIBA Centrobasket – History and teams FIBA. Accessed 20 August 2025.(in English)
- ^ Costa Rica campeón de COCABA La República, 24 August 2015. Accessed 20 August 2025.(in Spanish)
- ^ a b Costa Rica | 2016 Centrobasket, ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Costa Rica es campeón latinoamericano de basket 3x3 por primera vez en la historia Walter Herrera (LaRepublica.net), 17 December 2019. Accessed 18 August 2020. (in Spanish)
External links
Videos
- Belize v Costa Rica - FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Pre-Qualifier - Central America Youtube.com video