MIAMI (United States) – The fourth season of Basketball Champions League Americas tips off on Friday December 9. Real Esteli, Honey Badgers, and Libertadores make up Group A. Let’s see how this group will look as they enter the first group stage.

Real Esteli (NCA) 

Since its founding in 2018, the "Tren del Norte" has not stopped winning and have just lifted their fifth consecutive trophy in the Nicaraguan league. Now their focus is on achieving success at the international level where they have already shown that they can be competitive.

Participations (counting 2022-23): 4
Real Estelí has ​​hosted in all editions of BCLA and have always had more than decent performances. In the second season, in 2020-21, they reached the Final and ended up losing by just four points. In their other two appearances (2019-20 and 2021-22) they have advanced to the Quarter-finals.

Coach: David Rosario
The Puerto Rican coach arrived in Nicaragua in 2019 and has been at the helm in their last four national titles that they have won, he was not part of their first title in 2018. He has also been responsible for good performances in BCL Americas, always counting with a lot of influence from Puerto Rican players within the team.

Players for the 2022-23 season
Barthel Lopez
Jensen Campbell
Andy Perez
Francisco Garth
Sharlon Hodgson
Jared Ruiz
Jezreel De Jesus
Angel Matias
Emmanuel Andujar
Thomas Robinson
Tu Holloway
Davon Jefferson

Perspective
Real Esteli have dominated since their debut in BCLA and this time should not be the exception. They present a similar squad to recent years, with Puerto Rican point guard Jezreel De Jesús as the leader of the offense. Accompanied also by highly experienced players like Ruiz, López and Hodgson who have been together for several years, so they know each other very well. The challenge will be to achieve cohesion quickly with newer players.

  Honey Badgers (CAN)

The new Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) champion will make their international debut. The Honey Badgers, who were first located in Hamilton but are now in Brampton, have been one of the top teams in the Canadian league, appearing in two Finals, a Semi-final and a Quarter-final.

Participations (counting 2022-23): 1
The Honey Badgers will become the second Canadian team in BCLA history, after the Edmonton Stingers, when they make their debut in Season 4.

Coach: Sheldon Cassimy
Cassimy will take the reins of the team for the first time during this competition. He had served as the assistant coach during their CEBL title run with coach Ryan Schmidt at the helm. Schmidt could not continue due to commitments with British basketball.

Players for the 2022-23 season
Jaylen Babb-Harrison
Murphy Burnatowski
Alexander Campbell
Jahvon Henry-Blair
Joshua Ibarra
Sean Miller-Moore
David Nesbitt
Stefan Smith
Gelvis Solano
Jordy Tshimanga
Jordan Williams

Perspective
The initial goal is to become the first Canadian team to get past the Group Stage, and they certainly have the staff to achieve that goal. However, despite the good talent on the roster, the group is different from the one that lifted their league trophy in August. With this in mind, it's obvious that chemistry will be a factor for them. Henry-Blair had a good participation in the AmeriCup with Canada. The reinforcements Solano and Nesbitt come with great experience, and the Mexican center Ibarra also stands out.

  Libertadores (MEX)

The Querétaro team has been growing in the LNBP of Mexico. Despite the fact that they haven’t won a title yet, they have reached the playoff Quarterfinals in the last two seasons. This will be their second time on the international stage, the previous one was in 2019.

Participations (counting 2022-23): 1
The presence of Libertadores marks the return of the Mexican teams in the Basketball Champions League Americas, after the participation of Fuerza Regia in Season 1, and now they aspire to leave their mark.

Coach: Omar Quintero
Quintero, who is also Mexico’s national team head coach, is in charge of taking the reins in this difficult challenge yet Quintero knows the organization perfectly. He guided them to their first playoffs in the Mexican league in 2020 and again in 2021. Last season, he dedicated himself fully to the national team, where he is close to qualifying for the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup 2023.

Players for the 2022-23 season
Irwin Avalos
Paul Stoll
Ismael Romero
Juan Tello
Jorge Gutierrez
Joseph Avila
Javier Mojica
Gabriel Giron
Branden Frazier
Héctor Hernandez
Daniel Ochefu

Perspective
With Quintero on the sidelines and the presence of several important players from the Mexican national team such as Stoll, Ávalos, Gutiérrez and Girón, the team is expected to have enough momentum to advance to the next round. They will also have great reinforcements and experience in this tournament with Romero, Mojica and Tello.

FIBA