By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia guard Markus Howard, the newly crowned 2024 EuroLeague scoring king, is joining the national team of Puerto Rico, the country’s Basketball Federation announced. Howard is officially eligible to represent the Puerto Rican national team after FIBA approved the change of his sports citizenship.
Howard, 25, can now play for Puerto Rico in the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament that the team will host in San Juan (2 to 7 of July). He had previously represented USA Basketball in international youth competitions, helping the team win the gold medal in the 2016 U17 World Cup.
“After a long process, this is definitely great news and a significant contribution for our National Team,” said Puerto Rico Federation president Yum Ramo. “We are talking about one of the best scorers in the EuroLeague.”
“We are very happy to welcome Markus to our National Team,” commented Puerto Rico general manager and national team legend as player Carlos Arroyo. “Markus has become one of the best players in Europe and for us, it is a luxury to have him. His offensive level will raise the expectations of our National Team.”
Howard won the 2024 EuroLeague Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy after finishing the season with a league-high 19.5 points per game as Baskonia reached the playoffs. He shot 40 percent (140 out of 370) from the 3-point line.
Puerto Rico will be facing Italy and Bahrain in Group B of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament while Lithuania, Mexico and Ivory Coast will clash in Group A. The top two teams from each Group will advance to the semifinal knockout stage and only the winner of the Final will get the ticket to the Olympics.