Costa Rica men's national basketball team

Costa Rica
FIBA ranking83 5 (2 December 2025)[1]
Joined FIBA1969
FIBA zoneFIBA Americas
National federationFederación Costarricense de Baloncesto Aficionado
CoachJose Nicolas Marín
Olympic Games
AppearancesNone
FIBA World Cup
AppearancesNone
FIBA AmeriCup
AppearancesNone

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
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
C 4 Juan Rosich 27 – (1988-11-23)23 November 1988 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Coopeservidores Escazu
G 5 Isaac Conejo 22 – (1994-05-22)22 May 1994 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Coopenae Arba
C 6 Andres Umana 33 – (1982-10-02)2 October 1982 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Super Cable Grecia
G 7 Alonso Sanchez 31 – (1985-03-30)30 March 1985 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Brenes Barba
PF 8 Daniel Simmons 36 – (1980-06-11)11 June 1980 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Coopenae Arba
SF 9 George Letford 24 – (1991-10-17)17 October 1991 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Brenes Barba
C 10 Carlos Quesada 30 – (1985-10-12)12 October 1985 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Brenes Barba
PF 11 Daniel Shedden 19 – (1996-08-11)11 August 1996 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
G 12 Kay Martinez 32 – (1984-05-21)21 May 1984 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Brenes Barba
PF 13 Rohel Wilson 26 – (1989-08-25)25 August 1989 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Brenes Barba
PF 14 Marcos Castrillo 24 – (1992-04-29)29 April 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Coopenae Arba
C 15 Jefny Anderson 32 – (1983-07-13)13 July 1983 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Coopenae Arba
SF Amaurys Ripool 30 – (1986-05-27)27 May 1986 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Coopeservidores Escazu
Head coach
  • Joshua Erickson
Assistant coaches
  • Edgardo Gamboa

Legend
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 19 June 2016

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

References

  1. ^ "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  2. ^ FIBA Centrobasket – History and teams FIBA. Accessed 20 August 2025.(in English)
  3. ^ Costa Rica campeón de COCABA La República, 24 August 2015. Accessed 20 August 2025.(in Spanish)
  4. ^ a b Costa Rica | 2016 Centrobasket, ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  5. ^ 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)

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