Ray Allen rightfully made headlines two years ago when he passed Reggie Miller to become the NBA's all-time leader in career 3-pointers. The NBA isn't the only pro basketball league in the U.S., though, and when former USC player Larry Ayuso set the Baloncesto Superior Nacional career record last night in San Juan it brought Puerto Rico to its feet in praise. (Especially the two characters you see in the above video.)


Ayuso was born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents and while his professional basketball career has taken him far and wide (D-League stint in Iowa, Euroleague) he's been a fixture of Puerto Rican basketball for nearly two decades; he scored 15 points for Los Doce Magníficos in their famous 2004 Olympics upset of a Tim Duncan-led Team USA.

Ayuso's BSN record of 1,120—set last night in a 100-94 loss to Santurce—isn't exactly within sight of Ray Allen's 2,857. But Allen's had 1,227 games to tally that mark, whereas the considerably shorter BSN summer season means Ayuso reached 1,120 in only 374 games. That's 2.99 threes a game, a significantly higher average than Allen's 2.33.


Other than in Olympic and World Baseball Classic years sport in Puerto Rico is something all but ignored here on the mainland, which is unfortunate; several NBA players have ascended to the league after growing into their abilities in the BSN. Coaches, too, often get a start in Puerto Rico—Phil Jackson, most famously, coached Piratas before finding work with the Chicago Bulls. [WAPA]