Juan Sebastián "Sebas" Saiz Soto (born 15 July 1994) is a Spanish professional

basketball player Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

for

Alvark Tokyo Alvark Tokyo is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Tokyo. The team, which is sponsored by Toyota, currently plays in the Japanese B.League. Until 2000, the team was known as the Toyota Pacers. Founded as Toyota Pacers in 1948, ...

of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a men's professional basketball league in Japan. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA-affi ...

. He also holds Dominican citizenship.

Early years

Saiz, whose father is Spanish and his mother is from

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, started playing basketball at the youth teams of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, until transferring to CB Talavera for personal reasons. In 2009, he passed the trials to join Estudiantes, where he made his debut in senior competitions, playing in some

Liga EBA The Tercera FEB, formerly known as Liga EBA (''Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado''), is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, Primera FEB and Segunda FEB ...

games in 2011, at age 16.

High school and college career

Saiz moved in 2012 to the United States to continue his basketball career, and in 2013 he joined the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

, averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his first season. He ended his college years becoming only the second player in school history after

Murphy Holloway Murphy McQuite Holloway (born April 24, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus of the Korean Basketball League. A power forward/center, he played college basketball for University of Missis ...

to surpass 1,000 points and 900 rebounds and was included in the All-Conference first team of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Professional career

In July 2017, Saiz signed his first professional contract with

, terminating previously with Estudiantes. One month later, he was loaned to San Pablo Burgos, debutant in 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 ...

, where he averaged 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. In July 2018, he was loaned to

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., commonly known as CB Canarias and known as La Laguna Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top- ...

of the Liga ACB. He will make his debut in European competition as the Canarian team is qualified for the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

. On August 1, 2019, Saiz signed with Sun Rockers Shibuya of the

. On June 4, 2020, Saiz signed with

Chiba Jets Chiba Jets Funabashi () is a Japanese professional basketball team located in Funabashi, Chiba. The team joined the JBL Super League in 2005 and currently competes in the B.League, which they have won in 2021. Owned by Mixi, they have also won fi ...

of the B.League. On June 10, 2021, Saiz signed with

of the B.League. On June 21, 2022, he re-signed with Alvark Tokyo. On June 14, 2023, he re-signed with Alvark Tokyo. On June 12, 2024, he re-signed with Alvark Tokyo.

International career

Saiz played with the Spanish youth teams, taking part of the under-19 team that finished in the fifth position at the 2013 World Championship. With the under-20 team the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, achieving a bronze medal in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and a silver one in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. He made his debut with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in November 2017, at the 2019 World Cup qualifying match played in

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

against

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

References

External links

ACB profile

FIBA profile

RealGM profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saiz, Sebas 1994 births Living people CB Canarias players CB Miraflores players Centers (basketball) Liga ACB players Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball players Spanish expatriate basketball people in the United States Spanish men's basketball players Spanish people of Dominican Republic descent Sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Basketball players from Madrid Sun Rockers Shibuya players Chiba Jets players Alvark Tokyo players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen