The LAI yearbook recounts the moment the Dolphins experienced in 1985–86.
By LAI Press
Friday, April 24, 2026 (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) – The basketball championship of the Interuniversity Athletic League (LAI, per its Spanish acronym) Sports Festival begins tomorrow, Saturday, at the Mayagüez Recreation and Sports Palace with the first game of a best-of-three series. The team currently on the rise is the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón Dolphins (USC), who are seeking their second championship in history, their first since the 1985–86 season.
Facing them will be an equally competitive squad: the Taínos of Ana G. Méndez University, led by Leo Arill. The institution already holds one runner-up finish (2024) since the unification of the private education system in the 2018–2019 season.
Below, we recall the details of Sagrado’s championship 40 years ago.
Sagrado, under the leadership of Jorge Rosario, claimed the men’s basketball championship for the first time since joining the Interuniversity Athletic League in the 1979–80 academic year. The tournament was held under two leagues: Beitía – University of Puerto Rico (UPR), University of Turabo (UT), Humacao University College (CUH), Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC), and Bayamón Technological University College (CUTB); and Mangual – Mayagüez University Campus (RUM), Interamerican University (UIA), Catholic University of Puerto Rico (UCPR), Cayey University College, and Arecibo Technological University College.
The final series was televised on Channel 6 of Puerto Rico.
José Sosa of USC was the individual scoring champion, totaling 241 points in 7 games for an average of 34.42 points per game. Orlando Torres of UT set records by making 6 three-point shots in a game against CUH on March 5, 1986, and scoring 20 three-pointers during the season. The latter record had been held by José Agosto of CUTB with 15, set in 1984–85.
The USC championship team consisted of: José Muñoz, José “El Galgo” Sosa, Pedro Nadal, Donald Bouth, Jorgito Rivera, Jorge Rosario (head coach), George Maymi (trainer), Alan Fuentes, Nabel Martínez, Juan Corrada, Frankie Bracero, Ramón Ramírez, José Luis “Joe” Burgos (athletic director), and Orlando O’Neill (dean of students).
The standings in the regular season, semifinals, and finals were as follows:
| Beitía | Mangual | Semifinal | Final |
| USC 7-1 | RUM 7-1 | USC 2-0 | USC 2-1, Campeones |
| CUTB 7-1 | UIA 6-2 | CUTB 2-0 | CUTB 1-2, Subcampeones |
| UPR 3-5 | CUTA 4-4 | UIA 0-2 | |
| UT 2-6 | CUC 1-6 | RUM 0-2 | |
| CUH 1-7 | UCPR 1-6 |
Tickets on sale at Ticketera for both series
The final series begins this Saturday, April 25, at 6:00 p.m. with the women’s final between the champion Vaqueras of the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón and the runner-up Juanas of UPR Mayagüez. The men’s game will follow at 8:00 p.m. Both will be broadcast on the Interuniversity Athletic League’s digital platform.
The second game will take place on Monday, April 27, and, if necessary, a third game will be played on Tuesday, April 28, at the Mayagüez Recreation and Sports Palace. The women will play at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men at 8:00 p.m.
The bronze medal game will be held on Sunday, April 26, starting at 4:00 p.m.
For all interested, tickets are available on the Ticketera platform and at the venue starting at 4:00 p.m.
For updates on the Interuniversity Athletic League, visit https://laipr.org and its Facebook and Instagram social media accounts.
97 years developing leaders with passion
The Interuniversity Athletic League was founded in 1929 and currently includes 17 institutions.
Of these, 10 belong to the public education system, represented by the University of Puerto Rico campuses in Carolina, Río Piedras, Bayamón, Arecibo, Aguadilla, Mayagüez, Ponce, Humacao, Utuado, and Cayey.
Completing the group are private institutions: Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Interamerican University, Central University of Bayamón, Caribbean University, Pontifical Catholic University, the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, and Ana G. Méndez University. The total number of student-athletes across all institutions is around 4,000.