Former Hofstra Men's Basketball player Rick Apodaca will make his debut with the Puerto Rico Olympic Men's Basketball team when it takes on the United States on Sunday, August 15 at 1 p.m. (EST) in a preliminary round contest.

Barring a last-minute injury, Apodaca will become the first Hofstra student-athlete to ever compete in an Olympic Games. Former Pride wrestler Nick Gallo was an alternate on the United States Wrestling team in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, but he did not compete. Apodaca recently scored nine points off the bench in a loss to the United States in an exhibition game on Saturday, July 31 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Apodaca, who has been a regular member of the Puerto Rican National Team for the last two years, survived the final cut this past weekend and is on the final 12-man roster in Athens. Apodaca helped Puerto Rico qualify for the Olympics last summer, when it finished third in the Tournament of the Americas to capture the third and final bid from the region. Puerto Rico qualified for the Olympics for the first time since 1996 with its third-place finish.

Apodaca scored 1,422 points for Hofstra from 1999-2003, ranking him ninth all-time in Pride history. He is also second all-time in school history with 190 three-pointers made and was a second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection in 2001-02. He was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams with the Pride, including the 2000-01 team which finished 26-5 to tie the school record for wins in a season.

After facing the United States in its opening game, Puerto Rico moves on to face preliminary round games against Lithuania on Tuesday, August 17, Angola on Thursday, August 19, Australia on Saturday, August 21, and host Greece on Monday, August 23. The top four teams from the six-team group advance to the medal round, which begins on Thursday, August 26.

Apodaca was born in New York City and grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, but both of his parents are of Puerto Rican descent. The Hofstra Men's Basketball team has continued with its Puerto Rican connection after Apodaca's graduation, as two current members of the Pride, sophomore guard Carlos Rivera and freshman guard Jorge Lebron, are from Puerto Rico.