Ismael Romero Fernández (born June 23, 1991) is a Cuban-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 who plays for the Mets de Guaynabo of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

(BSN), and the Puerto Rican national team. Romero formerly represented the Cuban national team. He played college basketball for Universidad del Turabo from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

College career

After leaving Cuba, Romero attended the Universidad del Turabo of Puerto Rico where he helped his team to win, undefeated, the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico (LAI) in 2014.

Professional career

In 2007, Romero joined local team Villa Clara, where he played for four seasons. On October 31, he was selected by the Grand Rapids Drive in the fourth round of the 2015 NBA Development League Draft. On January 28, 2016, he made his D-League debut in a 90–87 win over the

Iowa Energy Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, recording one point and one rebound in seven minutes. On March 20, 2016, Romero had a double-double in a 102–97 win over the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Noblesville Boom are an American professional basketball team based in Noblesville, Indiana that competes in the NBA G League. The Boom are the affiliate team of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and, since 2025, they have played their home games at ...

, finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds and three steals, including nine points in the fourth quarter. In 27 games, he averaged 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. On April 6, 2016, Romero signed with

Atléticos de San Germán Atléticos de San Germán is a basketball club of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) based in San Germán, Puerto Rico. Founded in the 1930s after the amalgamation of the old San Germán team and the Farmacia Martín team, the team is one of ...

of the Puerto Rican League. The next day, he made his debut for San Germán in a 90–75 loss to

Vaqueros de Bayamón The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

, recording 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 17 minutes. On May 26, he was named the BSN Rookie of the Year. In 17 games, he averaged 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 24.1 minutes. On August 30, 2016, Romero signed with Mexican team

Panteras de Aguascalientes Panteras de Aguascalientes (English: ''Aguascalientes Panthers'') is a Mexican professional basketball team that is based in Aguascalientes City, Mexico. They play in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Bask ...

. In 24 games, he averaged 18.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals in 23.8 minutes. On January 4, 2017, Romero was reacquired by the Grand Rapids Drive. Two days later, he made his season debut for Grand Rapids in a 126–124 win over the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

, recording six points, eight rebounds, one steal and two blocks in nine minutes off the bench. On April 1, 2017, Romero signed with Atléticos de San Germán, returning to the team for a second stint. On July 7, 2017, Romero signed with Hapoel Haifa B.C., Israeli basketball team that play in the Liga Leumit. On December 9, 2024, Romero joined Suwon KT Sonicboom of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

, replacing Jordan Morgan. On March 1, 2025, he was replaced by Jordan Morgan.

International career

When Romero was 19, he played with the Cuba national basketball team at the 2012 Centrobasket, playing in an 81–61 loss against Bahamas. That very night, Romero, along with four other players of the Cuban selection, abandoned the team and asked for political asylum in Puerto Rico. On September 13, 2021, the

Puerto Rican Basketball Federation The Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( or ''FBPR'') is the governing body of basketball in the territory of Puerto Rico. As of October 18, 2021 the Puerto Rico national basketball team, Puerto Rican men's national basketball team is ranked 19t ...

announced that they had initiated the

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

process with

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

for Romero to be able to represent the Puerto Rican national basketball team. On October 5, 2021, FIBA authorized the request for Romero's naturalization making him eligible to represent

in future competitions.

Awards and accomplishments

Club

;Vaqueros de Bayamón * BSN champion: (2020 & 2022) ;Quimsa *

BCL Americas The Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLA) (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Liga de Campeones de Baloncesto de las Américas'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Liga dos Campeões de Basquetebol das Américas'') is Americas, Pan-America's pr ...

: (

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

)

Individual

* BSN Rookie of the Year: (2016) * LSB Rookie of the Year: (2011) *

rebounding leader: (

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

)

References

External links