Federico López Camacho (March 26, 1962 – November 6, 2006), better known as Fico López, was a Puerto Rican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.Muere uno de los astros del baloncesto puertorriqueño
He was a member of the Mets de Guaynabo from 1981 to 1997. Although he was born in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, López represented the Puerto Rican national team. Together with his brother-in-law,

Mario Morales Mario Morales Micheo (born November 13, 1957) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, widely regarded as one of the greatest talents in the history of Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Nicknamed "Quijote" for hi ...

, López won various championships in the Puerto Rican league.

Personal life

López was born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico, to Cuban parents. His father, Federico López Sr. was a star of Cuban basketball during the 1940s and 1950s. López was one of the star players of the national team of Puerto Rico. He was part of the first national Puerto Rican team to win a game against a national

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

team (in Mexico). As a member of the Puerto Rican team he participated at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Death

López died in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

, on November 6, 2006. from an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while playing

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

with his friends in Caparra Country Club, the court that bears his name and where he grew up in sports since the age of 8. López was 44 years old.

References

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Statistics
in BSN
Federico "Fico" Lopez
Federación de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico 1962 births 2006 deaths Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Mexico City Colegio San José alumni Olympic basketball players for Puerto Rico Pan American Games bronze medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games basketball players for Puerto Rico Pan American Games gold medalists in basketball Pan American Games bronze medalists in basketball Puerto Rican men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players Point guards Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games 1994 FIBA World Championship players Mets de Guaynabo basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen {{PuertoRico-basketball-bio-stub