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The Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLA) (Spanish: Liga de Campeones de Baloncesto de las Américas, Portuguese: Liga dos Campeões de Basquetebol das Américas) is Pan-America's premier men's basketball club competition. Founded in 2019, it replaced the FIBA Americas League as the highest level league in the Americas. The winner of each year's competition qualifies to the annual FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
Each season exists of 12 teams that qualify through their domestic leagues and the league is typically organized between December and April of the following calendar year.
Thus far the league has been won by four different teams. Argentine team Quimsa and Brazilian team Flamengo are the only teams to win the championship twice.
History
Background
The first panamerican tournament for men's clubs was held in 1993. The competition lasted until 2000 and in 2007 FIBA started a new league and not a tournament: the top South American teams would no longer play in the Liga Sudamericana.
Launch
On 24 September 2019, FIBA launched the Panamerican competition, which derives its name and branding from the European Basketball Champions League. The competition replaced the FIBA Americas League as premier league in the Americas, President Horacio Muratore stated: "This is not a succession of Liga de las Américas, but rather a new product of our development project that will foster a balance between representation and quality". The competition consisted of twelve teams, which had to qualify through their domestic leagues. The inaugural season started on October 28, 2019. On October 30, 2021, Quimsa won the inaugural championship after winning the final in Montevideo. Canadian clubs Edmonton Stingers and Brampton Honey Badgers are the only North American teams to participate in the competition so far.
Panamerican competitions (1993-present)
Competitions historically considered as the top on Panamerican level
As for the competition's format, the first phase of the BCLA will feature four groups of three teams each, with two qualifying teams per group that move on to the Quarter-Finals, which will be a best-of-three series. The Semi-Finals and the Final will also be decided in a best-of-three format.
Clubs qualify for the competition mostly based on performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Although exceptional, some teams can be wildcarded.
The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Basketball Champions League Americas at any time since its formation in 2019 to the current season.
In selected South American countries, the tournament aired live on DSports. In Puerto Rico, available via WAPA-TV. In the United States, available via FanDuel TV. In Brazil, available via Globo's SporTV. For countries without broadcasting rights, BCLA also available via Basketball Champions League Americas YouTube channel.