Buzzzzz!!! The sound of the buzzer meant it was the end of the game. It wasn’t any game, it was a Binationals final. This game would inspire Pablo Florez to become one of the greatest basketball players that TCS has had. It had been a rough year for Florez; he wasn’t doing much with his life, but this game was what changed everything for him.

Today, at the age of 19, he is doing great things with his life. He has gotten opportunities that many are not even close of thinking about, and has enjoyed every step of the way.

How It All Began

When he was only 12 years old Florez began great journey that would define most of his life and would be the one of the things that he would truly fight for. Trying to become better, he sought new opportunities around his true passion, searching new excellences and higher competition.

Florez, who is now a Senior, began playing basketball for the school team. He was only in fifth grade when one of the coaches convinced him to start practicing.

“I saw that he had very good basketball skills, he had all the physiology of a basketball player and could see that he had a good capability,” said Edwin Vasquez, one of the Middle School basketball coaches. “I invited him to train at the school and he became very encouraged. When he got training, I saw that he started to get a lot of passion for the sport.”

That same year he was part of the team in Elementary Binationals. He was named the top scorer and best rebounder. This was the exact moment when he fell in love with basketball and from here he would keep practicing every day until today, seven years later.

Even though he stopped training for a while because of academic issues, he would later find himself on the court again. Influential people in his life would lead him back to grow much more as a person and as a player.

“When I repeated a grade I stopped playing basketball for a while until Santiago Villegas [a past coach] took me and trained me so I would be able to reach my full potential,” mentioned Florez.

At the young age of 12, Florez took a step that many are not willing to take a this stage of their life. This step would lead him into a great future full of accomplishments and opportunities. Everything at this stage would come from hard work and dedication.

“My life has been full of opportunities. Two years after [having stopped training] I was called to play for Sabaneta and two years after I was nominated to a Pre-Seleccion Colombia,” said Florez.

In the Present

Today, Florez is still training with his team in Sabaneta and with the school. He has 15 titles under his name, four with the school and the rest with Sabaneta. This year he has been named school team captain even though he has his own opinion on it.

“Captaincy is just a title, I’m a leader and “captain” was added in there,” Florez clarifies.

One of his teammates mentions:

“Pablo represents leadership, honesty, goofiness, and last but not least, perseverance. With him being the natural born leader that he is, he is able to carry the team on his back without a problem,” said Matias Velez, 10th grade school teammate. “He has every main characteristic of a leader, having honesty and perseverance, which built him as a player and a great human being.”

As basketball is a team sport, Florez has been able to play alongside a lot of people. He has seen people come, go, and also stay by his side for many years. Not only has he been influenced by his teammates but his leadership and amity have impacted them and other people too. Even though he is considered one of the best basketball players that the school has had, he has worked alongside his teammates and coaches from the school and Sabaneta to make that happen.

“It’s awesome to play around Pablo. He has taught me many things, and he is one of the people I look up to. I’ve always challenged myself to be as good as he is, and I also aspire to be as great person and leader he is. He influences people in a positive way 10/10 times.” said Velez.

Going Towards the Future

From this entire basketball experience, Florez has also had to take on many challenges. One of the most important decisions would be about where he wants to take his game in the future. He always thought about leaving Colombia to play in US college level, but he realized that it wasn’t what he really wanted to do. Even though he took this decision, basketball will always be something that he goes back to.

“I think he’s going to continue playing basketball all his life; it’s his passion, what he likes, and what motivates him. I also see him as a great professional, as a person that I know will achieve great things on a personal and professional level,” commented Vasquez. “I know he will have that same discipline as he did in basketball.”

He is now enjoying basketball as his main hobby. Using one of the things he loves the most as a tool to avoid stress coming from school and also to make a lot of great memories and friendships.

“Since I started to train and play with different teams I have been able to meet a lot of people,” said Florez. “I have made great friends that I know I will have around for a long time.”