Rafael Valle began his career by being named the rookie of the year in the Puerto Rican National Basketball League in 1954. Two years later Valle was named as the league’s MVP, finishing as the leading points-scorer, with 693 points in 24 games. He went on to win two league championships, the first in 1958, followed by another one in 1962. He represented Puerto Rico at the 1960 Roma Olympics where he finished as the team’s leading scorer with 127 points. Three years later he won bronze at the Pan American Games in São Paulo, with him once again being the team’s leading scorer during the tournament. A year earlier he helped the team to win gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2008 Valle was named as one of the 12 best players in the history of the sport in Puerto Rico from 1920 to 1969.
Puerto Rico