Omar Quintero Pereda (born 26 September 1981) is a Mexican 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 ...

coach and former player. He played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position for teams in Mexico, Spain, Italy, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. He also played for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

. Quintero represented the

Mexico national basketball team The Mexico national basketball team () represents Mexico in men's international basketball competitions, The team has made 6 appearances in FIBA World Cup and 5 appearances in the Basketball at the Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics. The governing ...

, winning several international medals. Quintero has coached the Mexico men's national team since 2021.

Early life and college career

A native of

Nogales, Sonora Heroica Nogales (), more commonly known as Nogales, is a city and the county seat of the Municipality of Nogales in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located in the north of the state across the U.S.-Mexico border, and is abutted on its north ...

, Quintero started playing basketball at the age of nine with his older brother

Gustavo Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv/, also spelled Gustaf, a Swedish name, likely from Slavic Gostislav. People with ...

. He attended the

Autonomous University of Tamaulipas The Autonomous University of Tamaulipas (in ) is a Mexican public university based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. Throughout the larger cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico and smaller cities of Ciudad Mante and Valle Hermo ...

(UAT), where he played basketball for the Correcaminos UAT and set the Mexican collegiate record by scoring 87 points in a single game. Quintero attended one year of college (2002–03) in the United States, with NAIA school

Southern Nazarene University Southern Nazarene University (SNU) is a Private university, private Church of the Nazarene, Nazarene university in Bethany, Oklahoma. History The history of the institution is one of various mergers and, therefore, one of differing institutions ...

, where he played with the Crimson Storm. Quintero averaged a school record and conference-leading 24.1 points per game for Southern Nazarene. He turned pro after one season at the school, playing for Fuerza Guinda de Nogales in Mexico.

Professional career

In addition to playing for local teams in Mexico, Quintero's pro career has also taken him to the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and Venezuelan League. He was the first Mexican to play in the Liga ACB. In the 2004–05 season, he played in the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

with Spanish side TAU Ceramica, scoring nine points in two games off the bench for the team. He played under head coach Aleksandar Petrović in 2006 with

Fabriano Basket Fabriano Basket was an Italian professional basketball club based in Fabriano, Marche. Established in 1966, it played in the professional first and second divisions from 1979 to 2008, the side disappeared in June 2008 when it sold its right to p ...

, later calling him the best coach of his career. In 2008, he played in the BSN league of Puerto Rico, with

Cariduros de Fajardo Cariduros de Fajardo were a professional basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), founded in 1973. Based in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, the team played at the Tomás Dones Coliseum, and contested the BSN, the top division of basketba ...

. In 2009, he played with

Gigantes de Guayana Gigantes de Guyana is a basketball club based in Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar State, Venezuela that plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. Established in 2008, the team's home games are played at Hermanas Gonzalez Gymnasium where there is capacity for 3,00 ...

of the Venezuelan League. Quintero played with the

Huracanes de Tampico Huracanes de Tampico (English: ''Tampico Hurricanes'') is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Tampico, Tamaulipas. The Libertadores are part of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball league in Mexi ...

from 2009 to 2014. Quintero announced his retirement from professional basketball in December 2017, accepting a position on the coaching staff of the

Aguacateros de Michoacán Aguacateros de Michoacán (English: ''Michoacán Avocado Growers'') is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Morelia, Michoacán. The Aguacateros are part of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball le ...

as an assistant coach.

National team career

Quintero was long-time a member of the senior

. He was the leading overall scorer at the 2003 FIBA AmeriCup, averaging 21.1 points per game, and the sixth overall scorer, with an average of 18.5 points per game, at the 2005 FIBA AmeriCup.

Coaching career

After one season as an assistant coach for the Aguacateros de Michoacán, Quintero was promoted to head coach in December 2018. In June 2019, he was announced as the new head coach of the

. Quintero was hired as the head coach of the

Libertadores de Querétaro Libertadores de Querétaro (English: ''Querétaro Liberators'') was a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Querétaro City, Querétaro. The Libertadores were part of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basket ...

in January 2020. In February 2021, Quintero was announced as the new head coach of the

Mexico men's national basketball team The Mexico national basketball team () represents Mexico in men's international basketball competitions, The team has made 6 appearances in FIBA World Cup and 5 appearances in the Summer Olympics. The governing body of the team is the Asociació ...

References

External links

FIBA ProfileEuroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileSpanish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quintero, Omar 1981 births Living people Aguacateros de Michoacán players Basketball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players from Sonora Correbasket UAT players Fabriano Basket players Fuerza Guinda de Nogales players Halcones de Ciudad Obregón players Huracanes de Tampico players Mexican basketball coaches Mexican expatriate basketball people in Italy Mexican expatriate basketball people in Puerto Rico Mexican expatriate basketball people in Spain Mexican expatriate basketball people in the United States Mexican expatriate basketball people in Venezuela Mexican men's basketball players Liga ACB players Pan American Games silver medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Sportspeople from Nogales, Sonora Point guards Santos de San Luis players Saski Baskonia players Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm men's basketball players Tijuana Zonkeys players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Cariduros de Fajardo players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen