Filiberto Rivera

Filiberto Rivera (born September 28, 1982 in Puerto Rico) is a professional basketball player from Puerto Rico. Rivera has played in the NCAA, NJCAA and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Coamo Marathon Runners and Caguas Creoles. He is currently under contract with the Eldo Napoli of the Italian League. Rivera has played internationally in Germany. He was a member of the of the 2006 Puerto Rican National Team.

Brief biography

Rivera has played in the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico since 1999. Rivera won Rookie of the Year in 2000 for National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico. Rivera had a notable college career where he was named First Team NJCAA All-American, Junior College Player of the Year (2002-03), and First Team All-WAC his junior and senior seasons. Ranks third on University of Texas El Paso all-time lists in career assists (381)and free throw percentage (.815). Finished collegiate career at Texas-El Paso after playing first two seasons at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa.

During his senior year (2004-05); Rivera averaged 13.5 points while leading the WAC and ranking seventh nationally in assists (7.2 apg). Also paced the conference in free throw shooting (.853) and ranked sixth in steals (1.3 spg). Season total of 229 assists set a school record. Dished out 10 or more assists five times and posted two double-doubles. Recorded a school single-game record 18 assists versus zero turnovers vs. Louisiana Tech. Tallied 23 points and six assists at Nevada. Posted 19 points and 12 assists vs. Fresno State. Scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high seven steals at San Jose State. Registered a career-high 32 points vs. Boise State in the WAC Tournament title game. Earned WAC Tournament MVP honors. During his junior year (2003-04); Rivera averaged 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists (third in the WAC) and 1.7 steals (fourth). Scored in double figures in 21 games. Recorded season-high 22 points at San Jose State. Tallied 14 points and eight assists vs. Rutgers. Named to the WAC All-Tournament team after averaging 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists in three games. Registered 14 points, six assists, and a career-high nine rebounds vs. Nevada in the WAC Tournament title game. Scored 12 points and grabbed six assists vs. Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. During his sophomore year (2002-03); At Southeastern CC, Rivera averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 assists. Helped lead Southeastern to a 37-1 record and a NJCAA Tournament championship. Averaged 17.4 points during the NJCAA Tournament on his way to MVP honors. Led team with 18 points in the title game vs. San Jacinto (Tex.). Set season-high with 37 points vs. Iowa Western. Named a First Team NJCAA All-American and Junior College Player of the Year. During his freshman year (2001-02); Rivera averaged 11.9 points and a team-high 5.1 assists. Ranked third on the team in scoring and led the squad in average steals. Helped team to a 25-10 overall record. During the summer of 2005, Filiberto participated in the Summer Pro League with the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers. During the summer of 2006, Rivera represented Puerto Rico in the Basketball World Championship 2006 and 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games where Puerto Rico won the Gold Medal. During the 2006-2007 season, Rivera played with Artland Dragons of the German Bundesliga. During Summer of 2007, he was invited to participate with the Chicago Bulls during the Pepsi Pro Summer League, but did not play due to injury. He started the 2007/08 season in Italy with Eldo Basket Napoli left on December 12, and joined AEK Athens BC

Career Stats

Rivera's NCAA stats in 64 games are 790 points with a 12.3 PPG, 381 assists with a 6.0 APG, 184 rebounds with a 2.9 RPG, 97 steals with a 1.5 SPG, .452 field goal percentage, .815 free-throw percentage, and .360 3-point percentage. Rivera's NJCAA stats in 57 games are 830 points with a 14.6 PPG, 349 assists with a 6.1 APG, 153 rebounds with a 2.7 RPG, 142 steals with a 2.5 SPG, .460 field goal percentage, .778 free-throw percentage, and .269 3-point percentage.

	Puerto Rico squad - 2006 FIBA World Championship - 17th place
4 Ramos | 5 Reyes | 6 Hatton | 7 Arroyo | 8 Apodaca | 9 Dalmau | 10 Ayuso | 11 Latimer | 12 Rivera | 13 Narvaez | 14 Lee | 15 Santiago | Coach: Toro