SANTIAGO (Chile) – In the third edition of the Women’s Basketball League Americas (WBL Americas), the balance among the teams is one of the competition’s main attractions. Centro Deportivo Ismenia Pauchard Demier in Santiago, Chile, will host six teams competing for the continental title from September 29 through October 4. The participants will be divided into two groups of three. The winners of each group will advance directly to the Semi-Finals, while the teams finishing second and third will face off in the Quarter-Finals for the remaining two spots in the top four. With different types of rosters and no clear favorite in either group, every game could prove decisive.
Group A
Ferro (ARG)
Ferro arrive in Santiago after winning the second tournament of the 2026-27 Argentine league season, with memories of their previous WBL Americas appearance. The Argentine team competed in the 2024 edition, where they finished sixth. They will now look to build on their strong form and produce a different result.
Among their key players is shooting guard Dalma Piri, who made her senior Argentina national team debut this year and played in both the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2027 South American Qualifiers and the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2026 in Mexico. Agustina Garcia brings experience after taking part in three FIBA Women’s AmeriCup editions (2019, 2021 and 2023) and five editions of the Liga Sudamericana Femenina. Brazilian players Sassa Goncalves and Carolina Oliveira, both of whom have experience with the Brazil national team, round out a group of players to watch. Goncalves has been a regular in her national team’s call-ups since 2022.
CDC Leones (CHI)
The reigning Chilean champions arrive at the WBL Americas with several players who have represented their country at the international level. Javiera Campos is one of the team’s key players and is coming off her best performance with the Chilean national team in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2027 South American Qualifiers, where she averaged 12.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
Campos will not be alone. Constanza Cardenas, Macarena Retamales and Gabriela Ahumada were also part of the Chilean team in the recent South American Qualifiers. They will be joined by two international additions: American Jacaira Allen, who recently played in the EuroCup Women with Kosovo’s KBF Peja 03 and averaged 14.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, and Brazilian Lays Da Silva.
Defensor Sporting (URU)
This team knows what it takes to win in Uruguay. They were crowned national league champions in 2025 and recently finished as runners-up in 2026 after losing to Malvin in the fifth and deciding game of the Final. They now have the chance to take that recent experience to the international stage.
The Uruguayan team will feature several players who were part of the national team in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2027 South American Qualifiers, including Josefina Rivera, Maite Pereira and Lara Barbato. Young Julieta Lauber will also be one to watch after averaging 14.7 points and 8.2 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Women’s South American Championship 2025. Among their reinforcements, Defensor Sporting have added American forward Schekinah Bimpa, Brazilian Gabriela Guimaraes, and Argentinians Camila Suarez and Nicole Tapari.
Group B
SESI Araraquara (BRA)
SESI Araraquara arrive as one of the teams with the most recent international experience. They were crowned Brazilian champions in 2025, reached the national league Semifinals in 2026 and also won the latest edition of the Liga Sudamericana Femenina in 2024. The Brazilian team will now look to add another international title to their collection.
Two of the players who played key roles in that Liga Sudamericana title are back to try to repeat the feat: Debora Costa and Aline Moura. Both have also been active with Brazil this year. Moura played in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2026 China Qualifying Tournament, the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2027 South American Qualifiers and the Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, while Costa, a member of the senior national team since 2013, took part in the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in China. Maisa Marcal, who made her Brazil debut this year in the South American Qualifiers and Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, and young Mikaelly Freitas, a member of Brazil’s team at the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2025, will also be names to watch.
Sportiva Italiana (CHI)
Sportiva Italiana also arrive with WBL Americas experience. They were crowned Chilean champions in 2025, while in 2026 they lost the Final to CDC Leones in the fifth and deciding game. In the 2024 edition of the continental competition, they finished fourth, and will once again look to compete for the medals.
Valentina Ojeda, another key player for the Chilean national team, will be one of the team’s main references. She averaged 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2027 South American Qualifiers. Thiare García also took part in that tournament, contributing 2.3 points and 4.8 rebounds. Among the international players, Mexican Anisa Jeffries stands out after being named to the All-Star Five of this year’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, where she averaged 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. American Andrea Daley, who averaged 22.9 points and 11.9 rebounds with Newcastle in the UK league, is also among the eligible players.
Bay Area Phoenix (USA)
Bay Area Phoenix bring a different type of experience to the competition. The American team competes in the Women’s Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) and already knows what it takes to reach a WBL Americas Final, having finished as runners-up in 2024. They will now return to the competition with a revamped roster and look to once again contend for the title.
Of the 2024 team, the only returning player among those eligible is point guard Faatimah A, who also has international experience with Jamaica at the CBC Women’s Championship 2022 and is a co-founder of the WPBA. New faces include Chilean center Isabel González and Japanese player Miyu Mizukawa, while the rest of the roster is made up of American players without previous experience in FIBA competitions, but who arrive with the level needed to compete on this stage.
FIBA