A look back at 10 years of the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas

SAN JUAN (DIRECTV Liga de las Americas) - “The story starts almost 11 years ago when I came into this position (then FIBA Americas Secretary General – now Executive Director of the region) and talked with media and different stakeholders about the idea of having a continental club competition.”, said Alberto Garcia. “My focus was on strengthening the national leagues, building on what the South American League had done so well in years past. The national leagues represent 8 to 9 months of basketball competition within the country and we wanted them to be better equipped to grow the game back home.”

The Liga de las Americas had its debut season on 2007 in the Mario “Quijote” Morales Arena in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. The first group was composed of Metros de Santiago from the Dominican Republic, Soles de Mexicali from Mexico, the PBL All Stars from USA and the host Cangrejeros de Santurce from Puerto Rico. The Mexican club came out undefeated and made it all the way to the Final Four, hosting it and falling short against Miami Tropics from USA in a round robin format. Peñarol de Mar del Plata from Argentina won the competition in its opening season.

“The first year was very challenging. We didn’t have experience with a competition of this magnitude, especially in the geographical sense. Our continent is enormous and the logistics around traveling have to be very precise and we had a situation with that Miami Tropics team that hurt us financially.”, said Garcia. “But it also showed us the possibilities of what could be achieved. Our relationship grew with the different basketball entities within each participating country. The federations, leagues, clubs, players, coaches, referees and even media had a new international competition to involve themselves in, that gave them exposure throughout the continent.”

The second season of the competition was won by Uniceub/BRB from Brasil, a club that has since become a recognizable name in the international club scene in the Americas. The team defeated Mexican club Halcones de Xalapa and was led by MVP Alex Garcia, who scored 21 points, with 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the win. Garcia is now regarded as Mr. Liga de las Americas, holding the all-time record in points, rebounds, assists and steals in the competition.

Halcones de Xalapa made it back to the Final Four the next season with a roster full of recognizable faces in the Americas that included Mexico’s Pedro Meza, Orlando Mendez, Lorenzo Mata, Victor Mariscal, Dominican Republic’s Jack Michael Martinez and Uruguay’s Leandro Garcia Morales. But it was not enough and Peñarol once again won the championship, led by a stellar performance from MVP Kyle Lamonte, who scored 39 points, with 7 rebounds in the final game.

“That third season was crucial. Everything came together and it still holds up as a great spectacle and truly representative of the best that our continent has to offer. It had stars, great games and the fans were incredible. It was special and brought the league to a whole new level.”, added Garcia.

Argentina was dominating in the first four seasons of the league. Regatas Corrientes won the 2011 after defeating Capitanes de Arecibo from Puerto Rico by the score of 89-73. It was a team effort like the competition had not seen before, led by national team player Federico Kammerichs, who scored 23 points in the victory and was named MVP. It was the last championship won by an Argentinean club.

The following season, in 2012, Pioneros de Quintana Roo from Mexico pulled off the upset and won the championship in Formosa, Argentina over hosts La Union, Obras Sanitarias and Brazil’s Uniceub/BRB. The Mexican club defeated Obras Sanitarias by the score of 87-79 and became the first non-South American team to win the continental championship.

“It became bigger and the international basketball community in the continent started to look to the league for clues as to how things were shaping up in terms of the power structure and future talent pools within the participating countries. It was not a surprise to those that had seen Pioneros win the 2012 edition to then see the Mexican national team win the continental FIBA Americas in 2013 with some of the same players.”, said Garcia. “The platform had given them the experience and confidence to put together the kind of tournament and performance they put together in Caracas 2013. That was big. Suddenly our league transcended the club stage and players started to emerge out of our competition to have real impact at the national team level.”

2013 marked the year where another South American country embarked on a dominating Liga de las Americas run. Brazil’s Pinheiros won it in convincing fashion, led by a Shamell Stallworth (MVP) and Joseph Smith tandem that could not be contained and wreaked havoc on every opponent they faced, including the host Capitanes and Argentina’s Lanus in the Final Four. Pinheiros went on to face Greek club Olympiacos in the official return of the Intercontinental Cup, played in Sao Paulo.

“That was another huge step for the league. To be able to bring back the Intercontinental Cup was a dream come true. We had big crowds and even though Olympiacos won both games, it was still exciting and great basketball atmosphere. And it immediately lifted reputation of the competition. People took notice. Even the naysayers within the international basketball community in the Americas, now wanted to take part in the league to be able to have a shot at playing against the European champion.”, said Garcia. “The following season gained traction because of this incentive and teams began to look at the Liga de las Americas as a priority. They now built their team thinking about our league first.”

The seventh season was truly historic. Brazil’s Flamengo, led by Marcelo Machado, Marquinhos, and young’uns Cristiano Felicio and Nicolas Laprovittola, became the all-time most dominating team in the competition by finishing undefeated and beating out PInheiros in the final game. In front of the 15 thousand plus that packed the Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian club put up an offensive exhibition with Machado as the MVP, with 24 points in the victory.

Then, the team proceeded to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv in order to win the Intercontinental Cup in an emotional ending that had the whole crowd rush the court in celebration.

“Those three events in a row made the Liga de las Americas what it is today. Pinheiros hosting the Intercontinental Cup, Flamengo winning the 2014 edition in a sold out Maracanazinho and then beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv cemented our competition as a legitimate basketball product. We were able to secure a partnership with the DIRECTV that made them our presenting sponsor and enabled us to give out prizes for the winners and huge exposure throughout our continent. The DIRECTV Liga de las Americas is a legitimate international club competition that teams and players are now excited to host and play.”, added Garcia.

Brazil’s Bauru completed the Brazilian trifecta by winning a 2015 Final Four in Rio de Janeiro that was crowded with past champions of the competition. Argentina’s Peñarol, Mexico’s Pioneros and Brazil’s Flamengo all took part in a final weekend that belonged to Bauru, led by Rafael Hettsheimeir with 30 points and Alex Garcia, now on the team, who scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win. Bauru then lost to Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup, played in Sao Paulo.

Last season was also historic. After the three consecutive championship runs by Brazilian clubs, Venezuela’s Guaros de Lara surprised the continent by beating Bauru in the final. It was an a highly competitive match-up that the Venezuelan club won by the score of 84-79 in front of a packed arena in Barquisimeto. The team became the first-ever Venezuelan club to win the competition and then went on to beat Germany’s Fraport Skyliners in the Intercontinental Cup played in Frankfurt.

“Last year was exciting. We had a Guaros team that had most of the players and the coach that won the FIBA Americas Championship and qualified to the Olympic Games. They play together in Guaros and were able to beat the defending champion in front of their fans. The country celebrated their win as if they had qualified to the Olympics for a second time. It was beautiful.”, said Garcia.

The 2017 edition marks the tenth anniversary of the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas and it kicks off in Mexicali, Mexico, the city that hosted the first Final Four.

“We are happy to be celebrating this tenth season. To be able to look back at what was once a dream and recount some of the great moments that have happened in this competition is incredible: Peñarol winning the championship at home, Pinheiros playing in the Intercontinental Cup, Flamengo’s championship run in ending in victory in Maracanazinho, their win over Maccabi, and Guaros amazing performance at home last season. It has been a great ride and there’s more to come. The basketball fans have embraced our league and we are in a position now to give them great content and have them be even more into it than ever before. Here’s to 10 more years.”, concluded Garcia.

For the most complete coverage of the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2017, visit ligamericas.com and its social media channels @ligamericas.

FIBA