PUR - Countdown on for FIBA Americas League

SAN JUAN (FIBA Americas League) - The FIBA Americas League tips off in one month and organizers firmly believe the fifth edition will be the best so far.

Just several months after the national teams squared off in the FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata, Argentina, the top domestic clubs will launch their campaigns to win the continental trophy.

Opening day is February 24.

The FIBA Americas League will have representatives from Argentina, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Chile and Mexico.

The two Venezuelan sides, Cocodrilos and Bucaneros de La Guaira, are based in Caracas – the host city for the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

Bucaneros de La Guaira will host games in Group B with defending champions Regatas Corrientes, a team yet to be determined from Mexico and the side that ultimately wins the Liga Sudamericana.

Group play will also be in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil.

Horacio Muratore, the president of the FIBA Americas, said: "This time is the fifth edition and the FIBA Americas League will be the most competitive that we have had in our history.

"It will be a competition that will show an excellent level of basketball with the clubs of America."

Peñarol Mar del Plata won the inaugural FIBA Americas League in the 2007-08 campaign, and Brazilians Universo/BRB celebrated the championship the following season.

The last two years have seen Peñarol win again, followed by fellow Argentinians Regatas Corrientes in 2010-11.

Group A (Cancún, Mexico)
Pioneros de Quintana Roo (Mexico)
Fuerza Regia (México)
Franca (Brazil)
La Unión de Formosa (Argentina)

Group B (Caracas, Venezuela)
Bucaneros de La Guaira (Venezuela)
Regatas Corrientes (Argentina)
Mexican team to be determined
Campeón de la Liga Sudamericana 2012

Group C (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Capitanes de Arecibo (Puerto Rico)
Leones de Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
Cocodrilos de Caracas (Venezuela)
Joinville (Brazil)

Group D (San Pablo, Brazil)
Baurú (Brazil)
Uniceub (Brazil)
Quimsa (Argentina)
Leones de Quilpué (Chile)

FIBA