Paola Gonzalez is thrilled that the world came to San Juan, Puerto Rico, this weekend for the Special Olympics Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup. She understands what an honor it is to be hosting 180 athletes and Unified partners from 27 countries, along with fans, coaches, volunteers and more.
But she also wants you to know that just showing up and enjoying some basketball isn't enough. She wants you to leave here with a message. With the knowledge that Puerto Rico is a sports mecca, a community of passionate fans and athletes of all ability levels who deeply care for each other. And that her and her teammates are tenacious basketballers, first and foremost.
"We compete at the same level. We keep the hype up. We don't give up. We're passionate. We're aggressive," she says.
What unfolded in San Juan wasn’t just a tournament. It was a statement about what sports can look like when access, joy and competition are treated as equals — and when inclusion isn’t a slogan, but a lived community reality.
The path to Unified Basketball
Gonzalez found her way into Unified Sports through her work as an adaptive physical education teacher. In Unified competition, athletes with and without intellectual disabilities (Unified partners) train and compete together as teammates. She was recruited to play as a Unified partner and began training with the team for this event in August.
Four months later, they were playing on the showcase court at Distrito T-Mobile, a lively outdoor shopping and event center, surrounded by a wild home crowd at the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup. They beat Jamaica on a dramatic long-range shot with just 15 seconds remaining. A day later, in the Division 3 Finals, they were undone by the size and execution of Paraguay in a 6-2 loss. It was a disappointing finish, but they proved throughout the tournament that they were a force to be reckoned with.
Gonzalez credited communication — and shared joy — for the team's success, going out of her way to highlight teammate Esmeralda Encarnacion Despiau.
"Yeah, we have a lot of fun, and that's what brings us together," Gonzalez says. "I think that at the beginning, we were very nervous, but Esmeralda is the type of player that just likes to have fun. I think she's the spirit of the team, and that's what brings us together. We're like a whole body — somebody is the head, somebody is the heart, and we work together very well together."
This was Despiau's first international basketball competition, but that's only because she's new to basketball, not competition. As a 16-year-old, she medaled in three swimming events at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. She even went viral during those games for a moving and inspiring gesture — pausing to help and encourage another swimmer during a race.
Competing in a new sport on another world stage, Despiau said through a translator that she hoped opponents and visitors would leave with an appreciation for the "flavor" of Puerto Rico.
Because when it came time for her team to take the floor, the entire island seemed to answer that hope at once.
Along with countless fans, the Puerto Rican men's team was front and center, cheering on Gonzalez, Despiau and their teammates in the final against Paraguay. Regardless of the final score or the way the game unfolded, the support was overwhelming from the moment they were introduced until long after they had left the court. The bleachers were packed with fans in red, waving flags, banging drums, dancing and chanting PUER-TO ... RI-CO at the top of their lungs.
Under the same lights
The men's team had their chance a few hours later in the Division 1 Final, the last game of the entire tournament. Like the women, they came up short — losing 14-10 against a phenomenal Dominican Republic team that didn't drop a single game across the entire tournament.
It was not the result either team was hoping for, but the 10 hoopers from the men's and women's Puerto Rican teams showed the world what Puerto Rico is all about — and that the future of Unified 3x3 basketball on the island is bright. Special Olympics Puerto Rico already has 645 3x3 basketball players and 27 certified coaches, with multiple organized competitions each year. And although these teams were brought together from different local programs for this tournament, both the men and women said they hope they’ll be able to keep playing together going forward.
The connection they built, supporting each other throughout training and competition, was a powerful part of the experience after all.
"We definitely love being together," says Gonzalez. "They're funny. We're funny. We enjoy having time together. And they see us, they watch us, they help us, they give us, you know, a lot of feedback, and we do the same. And I think that that energy is what keeps us going, whether it's with the women's team or the men's team."
After the women's team lost to Paraguay, men's player Luis Fermaint Otero said, "A lot of focus has been on us, but it shouldn't just be on us. It should also be on the women's team. And I'm very happy that people got here to support the women's team. They've made me very proud. They play great. They might not have won today, but they're winners in our eyes."
More than the final score
These players will always have that bond they forged together, but that extends to everyone who was part of this event — the opposing players and coaches who traveled from around the world to compete, the volunteers who helped pull it all together and the fans who were there to celebrate and share in the fun.
Otero didn't hesitate when asked what he wanted opponents to remember about their time in Puerto Rico: "I want them to have good memories of this event. I want them to remember the fun they had playing, even in the wins and the losses. It's all about creating memories." And for fans who were new to Special Olympics or Unified sports:
"I would like them to know that Unified basketball means diversity. It means inclusion," said Otero. "That's the whole purpose of this tournament. It's to show the world that basketball can be for everyone. It's not limited to a certain few, and everyone can play it."
A key part of the planning and implementation process for these single-sport events is ensuring that they're a foundation to build on, a way of strengthening local programs, increasing the profile and access and ensuring a legacy long after the tournament ends. Special Olympics Puerto Rico has already built a thriving 3x3 basketball program. The fans got to see it up close, and athletes like Otero, Despiau and Gonzalez are ready to carry it forward.
"For me, I love working with this community right now as a teacher," said Gonzalez. "It's amazing because my students come here, and they learn about the community. They ask me questions, and I want them to be the next generation that works with this community."
Beyond the court
Part of showing the flavor of Puerto Rico at this event was demonstrating that inclusion extends far beyond sport — it’s about the community Gonzalez referenced. That message took center stage at the Opening Ceremonies, where inclusive dance troupe Danza 21 performed.
The dance group started in 2015 when Annelis Velez, began working as a dance instructor at the Puerto Rican Down Syndrome Foundation. Initially, classes were held occasionally, but over time they became daily as interest soared. During these classes, the teacher noticed participants with greater talent and enthusiasm and decided to form a group that could represent the foundation at different events. By 2018, the group was officially organized, and its first presentation was at an event called “Moda sin Obstáculo.” In 2019, they participated in the Special Olympics Puerto Rico National Games, which marked the formal establishment of the group.
Special Olympics may be the vehicle here, and sport the medium. But inclusion is the message. It's here in San Juan, and around the island of Puerto Rico. It's alive and well in the 27 nations that sent teams to compete here, in the hundreds of other countries where Special Olympics run programs, and everywhere that people are valued for their unique potential and invited to share everything they have to offer.
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