Ángel Figueroa

Infobox NBA Player
name = Ángel Figueroa


caption =
nickname =
league = Superior National Basketball
height = height|ft=6|in=4
weight = convert|220|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
position = Forward
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|10|13
birth_place = San Juan, Puerto Rico
team = Arecibo Captains
college = Dowling College
nationality = PUR
draft =
draft_team =
draft_year =
career_start = 1999
awards =

Ángel Luis "Buster" Figueroa Sepúlveda (born October 13, 1981) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player who currently plays for the Arecibo Captains of the BSN league in Puerto Rico. He is a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team since 2006.

Career

Figueroa made his professional debut in the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico in 1999. In his first two years he competed with the Guaynabo Mets. On his rookie year he won the Rookie of the year award after having an average of 15.41 Points per game. After two seasons playing for Guaynabo he was traded to the Arecibo Captains in 2001. With Arecibo, Figueroa would be selected to the league's All-Star game on multiple occasions. In between, Figueroa would be the nation's leading scorer in NCAA's Division II during the 2001-2002 season at Dowling College. In 2005 he helped the Arecibo Captains win the league's national championship with an average of 19.0 points per game. He would be the National Superior Basketball league's scoring champion in 2006 with an average of 20.73 points per game. He would then compete for the Puerto Rican national basketball team in the Central American and Caribbean Games where Puerto Rico went on to win the gold medal finishing with an undefeated record. He was selected as a member of the Puerto Rico national basketball team that participated in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, but he was unable to compete due to injury. Figueroa finished the 2007 regular season as the league's top scorer with an average of 24.6 points per game. His performance gained him a participation in the league's All-Star game. Due to his performance in the BSN he was selected to play in the national basketball team, in which he served as a back-up forward. In 2008 he finished the regular BSN in the second scoring position with an average of 21.5 points per game. [cite book| title=Máquina de hacer puntos| author=Raymond Pérez | publisher=El Nuevo Día| date=2008-05-06] He was once again selected as a starter in the All-Star game, being the player that received most fan votes in the pre-game poll. [cite web| url=http://www.vocero.com/noticias.asp?s=Deportes&n=111782| title=De favorito Buster Figueroa| author=José R. Ortúzar| publisher=El Vocero| accessdate=2008-05-11] On June 6, 2008, Figueroa received the BSN Finest Player Award. [cite web| url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/accion_deportiva/arecibo_sigue_vivito/198416| title=Arecibo sigue vivito| author=Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón| publisher=Primera Hora| language=Spanish| date=2008-06-07| accessdate=2008-06-13] He also finished in the second position of the league's MVP votation, receiving 27 votes. [cite web| url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/accion_deportiva/guzman_el_mvp/199413| title=Guzmán el ‘MVP’| author=Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón| publisher=Primera Hora| language=Spanish| date=2008-06-11| accessdate=2008-06-13] In June 2008, the national team's directives announced that Figueroa didn't had a guaranteed spot in the team, this was product of a new initiative which focused on height. [cite web| title=Selección no descarta por completo a “Buster”| url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/accion_deportiva/seleccion_no_descarta_por_completo_a_buster/203843| author=Lester Jiménez | publisher=Primera Hora| language=Spanish| date=2008-06-24| accessdate=2008-06-27] In Arecibo won the third championship in the franchise's history, Figueroa was selected the Final's MVP.cite web| url= http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/acciondeportiva/buster_se_crece_y_los_capitanes_reinan/205447| title=Buster se crece y los Capitanes reinan| author=Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón| publisher=Primera Hora| language=Spanish| date=2008-06-28| 2008-07-01] In the series' final game he scored 33 points and grabed 22 rebounds.

References