Enter The Dominican Dream Team: Cisco, Tito’s Boy And Charlie V

Dominican NBA players,  Al Horford, Francisco Garcia, and Charlie Villanueva, pictured, will represent their country tomorrow in the first day of the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The three have joined together in what people are saying is the best squad out of DR since…ever. This is the motherfucking Dominican Dream Team.

Did you think the only Hispanics in the NBA were Manu Ginobili and Pau Gasol? For sure, Argentina and Spain are bad as hell, world-class teams that battle the USA exceedingly well. But these kids are pretty good ballers. Dominicans definitely run shit in baseball. Can this newly formed Dream Team run with world’s best in basketball too? If they win this championship, La Republica Dominicana could prove they’re top notch hoopers.

So, who are these guys and what do they bring to the table? Besides the Sancocho?

Francisco Garcia

Cisco is a 6′7 guard/forward who went to Louisville and now plays off the bench for the Sacramento Kings. His most recent tweet, sums it up: “Nos estamos preparando muy bien para ir al mundial.” In other (English) words, we are preparing well to take on the world.

Al Horford

Al was born in the DR to former NBA player Tito Horford and journalist Arelis Reynoso. He played for Florida where he won two championships and now starts at center for the Atlanta Hawks. Drafted at #3 in the first round, he holds the honor of being the highest drafted Latino in NBA history.

Charlie Villanueva

While these guys are good, nobody in the NBA can hold a candle to Charlie V when it comes to smooth-styling, alien-headed awesomeness. Villanueva was born in Queens, he went to Connecticut for a year, and he tweets and blogs better than most. Charlie has also spent the summer engaging in philanthropic efforts in the Carribean, hosting basketball camps and giving away thousands of shoes. He just signed a fat contract with the Detroit Pistons and we’ll see if he’ll be able to harness his versatile talent to go from erratic and enigmatic to consistently badasstic.

Charlie is so gracious with his time and photographs that we’ve been able to cull an unintentionally hilarious photo gallery of Charlie V doing his thing this summer while at the Dominican Parade in an Escalade float and helping the children. Check the pics.

Click here or on CV31’s Dominican Pride for a full gallery: