MIAMI (United States) - The Universidad de Concepción Sports Club in the city of Concepción (Biobío Region, Chile) joins the second season of the Basketball Champions League Americas, replacing Club Deportivo Valdivia, which withdrew from the competition.

The new Chilean representative will join Group B together with Quimsa de Santiago del Estero (Argentina) and São Paulo FC (Brazil). Universidad de Concepción will face Quimsa on Sunday, January 31, and São Paulo on Monday, February 1.

Universidad de Concepción has a history of Chilean basketball. In 1979 it was one of the founders of the Major Division (Dimayor), in which it participated in for 30 seasons and won four titles. Since 2013 it has participated in the National League, currently the highest professional competition, where it was runner-up in 2016. In addition, they played in the Liga Sudamericana de Basquetbol 8 times.

Cipriano Nuñez is the coach of the team, which includes two members of the Chilean national team, point guard Diego Silva and guard Carlos Lauler, as well as Eduardo Marechal, Sebastián Carrasco, Juan Pablo Alvarado, Lino Sáez Ramírez and Andrés Domínguez. Their international players also include Venezuelan power forward Carlos Milano and Chilean-Dominican center Rodrigo Madera, with a past at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada.

FIBA