SAN JUAN (William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas) - New year, new exciting basketball calendar for the Americas in 2015. This is a year that will have a solidified Liga de las Americas, new great talent showcased in the FIBA Americas U16 Championships, the return of the Senior Men's and Women's FIBA Americas Championships, one more edition of the Intercontinental Cup and the Sudamericana for all of us to enjoy.

At the end of 2014 we received the news that the most important club competition in the continent now had a new important prefix added to its name: now we have the new DirecTV Liga de las Americas. And what exactly does that mean? What difference does it make? Well, it is pretty simple… money.

After seven seasons in which the Liga de las Americas grew step by step, it has finally secured a presenting sponsor that is not only bringing money with it, but important exposure. All of this after the historic 2014 year in which Flamengo won both the Liga de las Americas and the Intercontinental Cup in front of sold-out arenas. Now it is viable product and it could not come at a better moment.

2015 sees the return of some of the biggest basketball clubs in the continent. Penarol of Mar del Plata, Argentina is back as the only two-time champion of the competition. Pioneros of Cancun, Mexico is also back, bringing Halcones Rojos of Veracruz with them. These are big market teams, with good rosters that will give the competition a bigger spotlight. With Flamengo back to defend the championship, in a bigger canvas with more resources, it shapes up to be the best edition of the (now) DirecTV Liga de las Americas ever.

The FIBA Americas U16 championships will be back with new editions in 2015 and those always deliver. One can expect top-level talent coming out of the USA, Canada, Brazil and Argentina (who will host the event this year). In 2011 this was a championship that had Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon for the USA and up and coming Brazilians stars Lucas Dias and Humberto as part of the billing.

The Senior FIBA Americas Championships are also back and with huge storylines to look forward to in both events. 

On the Men's side, there's a host team (Mexico) that will need to build a completely new identity for them in the middle of the biggest championship of the year. The defending champs, now without their head coach and with their superstar Gustavo Ayon threatening to not play, will honestly need a miracle to even look good in Monterrey. They are in for a tough one.

But Puerto Rico is also interesting. They will also be under a new head coach, with Paco Olmos being pushed out after the first round exit at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The question remains what kind of team they can assemble for the championship. Carlos Arroyo is older and more injury prone (which can be costly in such a physically demanding event), and then there's no more Daniel Santiago in the middle. So they are too in rebuilding fashion - like Argentina has been for the last two tournaments.

Is Canada going to bring the full army? Are they going to go all out looking to land the Olympic spot? Because if they do, you are talking about a who's who of young NBA talent. There's Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Nik Stauskas, Tyler Ennis, Kelly Olynyk, Andrew Nicholson, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph. On paper, if they bring that bunch, they are the hands down favorites. But they have been before, and have fallen short. They are very intriguing though.

On the women's side of things, the Canadians are also going to be a major player as it has been announced that Edmonton will host the championship in 2015. The national team has become a staple of women's basketball in the Americas with the fifth-place finish in the FIBA World Championship for Women, but to host means giving themselves an opportunity to repeat what they did in at home in Hamilton in 1995, the only time they won the gold medal.

It has been back-to-back heartbreak for Canada in the FIBA Americas Championship for Women, first when they were upset in the last minute of their Semi-Final by Argentina in 2011, and in 2013 when Cuba surprised them with a great gold medal performance in Xalapa. So being at home puts them in a better place to lift the championship trophy and move on to the Olympics in front of their fans.

Finally, the Intercontinental Cup and the Sudamericana will be back and if last year was a testament to their growth as competitions, we expect great events in 2015 full of excitement, passion and good basketball above all else.

We must sit tight and enjoy the ride FIBA Basketball in the Americas has to offer in 2015. The platforms are there with solid club competitions, exciting showcases for future talent and the brightest and biggest stage for the senior national teams. It is up to the stars to put on the show and for us to enjoy it. Here's to a great 2015!

William Rosario

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.