Raymond Dalmau

Raymond Dalmau (born October 28, 1948) is a retired Puerto Rican professional basketball player. During most of his career, Dalmau played in the National Superior Basketball league. His son Christian (born 1975) also played basketball on the highest level.

Career

Dalmau participated in three Olympics. He held the record for the most career points scored in that league for a long time, scoring over 11,000 points (in the BSN, an exclusive group of players has reached over 5,000 points, since each season is played only for a maximum of 33 games).

In 1968, Dalmau lead the league in scoring. He repeated as scoring champion in 1970, when he won his first championship as a member of the Piratas de Quebradillas. He also helped lead Quebradillas to back to back to back titles in 1977, 1978 and 1979.

He was in conversations in 1975 to sign a contract with the former Utah Stars in the ABA(american basketball association) but he declined to maintain his amateur status.Professional basketball players were not alloewd that time to play for their countries in international competition

In 1982, Dalmau and Quebradillas returned to the BSN finals, but they lost to Mario Morales and the Guaynabo Mets in six games.

Throughout his career, he was known not only for his abilities on the court, but also for his competitive spirit, which led him to do his best even when paired against taller and stronger rivals in international competitions.

Retirement

In 1985, Dalmau retired from basketball as a player, going on to coaching in the BSN for many years. He has also coached in Venezuela for a number of years.

His sons, Christian, Richie and Ricardo Dalmau, are also productive basketball players at the BSN.

In 2003, Dalmau was diagnosed with colon cancer, of which he recuperated. During a 2005 television show where he and Eddie Miró were being introduced as spokesmen in Puerto Rico for colon cancer, he quipped that, at his age, he can still jog everyday from Santurce to past the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Isla Verde, which constitutes a considerable distance (more than five miles). On June 16, 2008, a proyect was aproved by the Puero Rico House of Representatives, in which Dalmau's name was going to be used for a coliseum being built in Quebradillas. [cite web| url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/accion_deportiva/justicia_para_raymond/201445| title=Justicia para Raymond| author=Alex Figueroa Cancel| publisher=Primera Hora| language=Spanish| date=2008-06-17| accessdate=2008-06-17]

References

* [http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/da/raymond-dalmau-1.html sports-reference]

ee also

*List of famous Puerto Ricans