AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Detroit Pistons announced today that the club will play a preseason game against the Miami HEAT in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 10. Both teams are expected to travel with their full preseason rosters, bringing to the island Detroit Pistons All-Stars Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, as well as Shaquille O’Neal and Dywane Wade of the Miami HEAT. Tickets to the game will go on-sale on Friday, June 16, at Coliseo de Puerto Rico Jose Miguel Agrelot and www.ticketpop.com.
“We are pleased to announce that we are playing a preseason game in Puerto Rico next season,” said Joe Dumars, Pistons President of Basketball Operations. “We look forward to bringing the excitement of NBA basketball to the fans of Puerto Rico.”
NBA Puerto Rico 2006 will be the 23rd game organized by the NBA in Latin America since 1992, and the sixth preseason game staged in Puerto Rico. The NBA’s last game in Puerto Rico was played on October 14, 2005, when the Grizzlies defeated the Heat 101-91 at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot. Previous games on the island have featured the HEAT vs. 76ers in 2003, HEAT vs. Denver in 1993 and a two-game series between the HEAT and Atlanta in 1994. The game marks the second time that the Pistons will play in Puerto Rico and the ninth time the HEAT will play internationally. The Heat will be featured in Latin America for the seventh time.
The Puerto Rico 2006 game will be co-produced by San Juan-based Empresas Angelo Medina (EAM), one of Latin America’s top promoters of special events and concerts, including the Miss Universe Pageant. The company owns the perennial Basketball League Cangrejeros de Santurce and operates Deportes 13, which broadcasts NBA and WNBA games across Puerto Rico on channel 13.
“We are pleased to work together with the league to bring NBA basketball to Puerto Rico, where the sport has always enjoyed great success and popularity,” said Angelo Medina, President of EAM. “Hundreds of thousands of fans in Puerto Rico follow the NBA on a daily basis and this game provides them with the opportunity to watch two great teams perform live in Puerto Rico, while experiencing the excitement of the NBA first-hand.”
Summary of Games Played in Latin America: