HAMILTON – Recent Colgate men's basketball graduate
Francisco Amiel has signed a professional contract with Sporting Club de Portugal (Sporting Lisbon), one of three major teams in Portugal.
A native of Miratejo, Portugal, Amiel has the opportunity to not only continue his playing career, but also play for his country and team that he grew up following.
"I am very excited about joining this team," Amiel said. "Not only because it is a team I have supported all my life, but also because I have never had the chance to see the club when they had a professional basketball team, which makes it that much more exciting to be a part of."
https://www.sporting.pt/pt/noticias/modalidades/basquetebol/2019-07-16/francisco-amiel-e-leao
Sporting Club de Portugal, one of three main programs in Portugal, has not had a basketball team in over 20 years, but is making a comeback in 2019-20.
"This team has unbelievable fan support all throughout the different sports, which is something that, on one side, brings a lot of responsibility, but it also makes it so the path that we will have, and hopefully the success we can achieve, will be extremely more satisfying to share with such amazing fans," Amiel said.
Preseason officially starts Aug. 19, with the season opener set for Oct. 5. Amiel's squad plays 26 regular-season games before playoffs. The Portugese League champion will also have the opportunity to play European competitions the following year, either in the Champions League or Eurocup.
Amiel continues his playing career after a stellar four years with the Raiders. In 2019-20, Amiel was voted a senior captain and helped lead Colgate to its first Patriot League regular season and tournament crown in over two decades.
"The type of winning mentality I have had the chance to learn and build throughout my four years at Colgate will definitely come in handy when approaching this next step in my career.
"Sporting Lisbon is a team that has the responsibility, when entering any type of competition, to only think about the victory. That is how, during the last four years, we, as a team at Colgate, have been carrying ourselves."
Amiel set a program record this season for most games played in a Raider uniform (130). Over his four years, Amiel averaged 2.9 points and 1.7 assists per game. He shot over 32 percent from the field for his career and averaged just over 21 minutes per contest.
Amiel becomes the 13th student-athlete under head coach
Matt Langel to sign a professional contract. Recent signees include
Alex Ramon '16,
Austin Tillotson '16,
Tom Rivard '18,
Dylan Whitbread '18,
Jordan Swopshire '18,
Sean O'Brien '18, and
Jordan Robertson '18.
