June 26, 2012
Alex Franklin '10 added another major professional achievement on Monday night. The former Siena men's basketball standout was named to the final roster for the Puerto Rican National Team which is vying for a spot in the Olympic Games later this summer in London.
Franklin and Puerto Rico will compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifier Tourney which opens July 2 in Caracas, Venezuela. A total of 12 teams will be competing for three remaining spots in Olympics. Puerto Rico opens qualifying on July 3 against Jordan before playing Greece the next day.
The final 12-man Puerto Rican roster includes current NBA players J.J. Barea (Minnesota Timberwolves), Renaldo Balkman (New York Knicks) and Ricky Sanchez (Memphis Grizzlies) and former NBA players Carlos Arroyo, Peter John Ramos and Daniel Santiago. Former Siena teammate Edwin Ubiles, who played for the Washington Wizards last season and competed with the national team during the recent Centrobasket Tourney, is not currently on the roster because he is at camp with the Brooklyn Nets, but may be added if Puerto Rico qualifies for the Olympics.
Franklin undoubtedly cemented his spot on the team with a strong performance in Puerto Rico's run to the silver medal Sunday in the Centrobasket Tourney, a biennial event made up of national teams from Central America and the Caribbean. Puerto Rico went 5-1 in the competition and Franklin averaged 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes.
Franklin has enjoyed a phenomenal year professionally playing overseas. He led Vichy in the Pro B League in France in scoring and rebounding before moving on to Huesca in the LEB Gold League in Spain where he averaged 16.2 points.
Recently Franklin was the number one overall pick in Puerto Rico's main basketball league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Playing for Mayaguez, Franklin led the Indians to their first BSN Title where he became the first rookie to ever earn finals MVP.
The 2009-10 MAAC Player of the Year, Franklin was a part of three MAAC Championship teams at Siena. He currently ranks fifth all-time in program history in scoring (1,730), fourth in both rebounding (923) and field goal percentage (56.7%), eighth in steals (164) and ninth in blocks (99).
Should Puerto Rico qualify for London, Franklin would become the third former Saint to play in the Olympics. Former women's basketball stars Gunta Basko '03 and Liene Jansone '04 suited up for the Latvian National Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
