SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Texas Titanium guard Kevin Molina is the very definition of why Mac Claire founded the American Basketball League. Molina has taken an unconventional path to get to this point.

“In a lot of ways, it’s been 10 years in the making. It took nine years to become a college player, and over a year to become a semi-pro player. And now I’m with the ABL,” he said from his hotel in San Juan.

Molina is just one of several players in the ABL who are trying to keep the dream of playing professional basketball overseas alive. For some, this may be their best chance — and perhaps even their last.

Among the commonalities these players share, the former University of the Incarnate Word player’s next words could have come from the mouths of many of those who will take the court for an ABL team beginning October 31, Opening Night.

“We have worked hard for this, all of us. We’ve been looking for an opportunity to play pro ball. We were looking to play in the ABA, and for those who didn’t get that experience before the ABL, this has a whole lot of meaning.”

Then Molina added something that revealed his awareness of what this opportunity could mean beyond the inaugural season.

“We’re laying down the foundation for future ABL players.”

Molina’s Texas Titanium will host the Houston Valor on October 31 in New Braunfels, Texas. The path that brought him here may have been anything but conventional, but the road ahead could be much smoother — if the work he and his teammates have put in continues to pay off.

---