They are the league's defending champions, having defeated the Osos de Manatí in 7 games in the final of the 2024 Baloncesto Superior Nacional season.

Quinones, although the Criollos only once posted a winning record with him as a player, always refused to be traded as he declared over and over again that he would only play for his hometown's team.

He and Melendez (Melendez with 6,123) are members of the exclusive group of basketball players that have scored 5,000 or more points in Puerto Rican basketball history, 5,000 points being a coveted number because of the relatively small number of games played each year (from 30 to 33 games per season).

In the 1990s, a Criollos revival began, and he hired such players as Luis Allende and Gary Joe Burgos.

The Criollos eventually won the game, 109:104, with Trice making another key three-point shot during the overtime, to tie the series at one-win-apiece.