2008/09 FIBA Americas League for Men's Clubs

¹²³ · Jan 23, 2009

Liga de Las Americas

Teams Qualified for the Final Four to be played from February 6-8:

Minas Tenis Clube - Brazil
Bigua - Uruguay
Universo BRB - Brazil
Halcones Xalapa - Mexico

¹²³ · Jan 27, 2009

Xalapa, Veracruz, México host of the FINAL FOUR 2009.

The 2009 Final Four will be played in a Round Robin format on February 6, 7, and 8.

The game schedule is:

Friday, February 6:

06:00 pm – Universo BRB (BRA) vs. Minas Tenis Club (BRA)
08:15 pm – Halcones (MEX) vs. Bigua (URU)

Saturday, February 7:

06:00 pm – Bigua (URU) vs. Universo BRB (BRA)
08:15 pm - Minas Tenis Club (BRA) vs. Halcones (MEX)

Sunday, February 8:

04:15 pm – Minas Tenis Club (BRA) vs. Bigua (URU)
06:30 pm – Halcones (MEX) vs. Universo BRB (BRA)

All times local of Xalapa, Veracruz, MEX.

All the games will be televised on FOX Sports en Español and all the games will have live stats and news on www.fibaamericas.com
Click to expand...

¹²³ · Feb 6, 2009

The FIBA Americas Final Four starts tonight with the four best teams in the continent playing to be crowned the new champion of the most important club championship in America. Universo/BRB, Minas Tenis Clubé, Halcones UV Xalapa and Bigua are the four participating teams in the final phase to be played in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.

The Final Four will be played in a Round Robin format on February 6, 7 and 8 at USBI Gymnasium, home of Halcones.

Pitagoras/Minas Tenis Clube is the first team that entered the Final Four after winning Group A in Arecibo, Puerto Rico with a 2-1 record. Minas comes with a new face into their roster after singing former national team player Ricardo Probst. They also have Argentinean guard Facundo Sucatzky who leads the FIBA Americas League in assists with an average of 11.7 in three games.

Minas also have key players like Soró Pinto, Luiz Felipe, Leandro Da Cruz, Joe Shipp and Murilo Becker. In the Brazilian National League Minas has a 1-2 record with losses to Paulistano and Flamengo while their only win was against Pinheiros.

Group B was dominated by Bigua who defeated defending champion Peñarol Mar del Plata, South American League champion Regatas Corrientes and Universidad de Concepción. The Uruguayan team comes from winning the South American Championship for Clubs in Guayaquil, Ecuador and is currently the most dominating team in the Uruguayan League.

Rubén Wolkowyski along with Kevin Young and Mark Bortz are the imports of this team. Bortz debuts in the league after playing for Boca Juniors in Argentina. Leandro García Morales, Mauricio Aguiar, Juan Cambón, Gonzalo Meira, Mathias Calfani, Santiago Vidal, Juan Rovira, Joaquín and Martín Osimani complete the roster.

Universo/BRB won group C, considered one of the strongest in the competition with teams like Flamengo Río de Janeiro, Argentinean champion Libertad Sunchales and Deportes Castro from Chile. The team has Valtinho, Alex García, Marcio Cipriano, Arthur Luiz, Estevam Ferreira, Rafael Rodrigues, André Luis Fonseca, Jorge Duarte, Eneias Martins, Frederico Rossi, David Da Silva and Diego Pinheiro. Universo has a 2-0 record in the Brazilian National League with wins over Unimed/Assis and Bauru.

Halcones UV Xalapa became the second team to be undefeated in the group stage by winning over Soles de Mexicali, Quimsa Santiago del Estero and COOPENAE Liceo de Costa Rica. Abdul Mills, Leroy Hickerson, Samuel Bowie, Omar López, Gustavo Ayón, Victor Mariscal, Victor Ávila, Ray Castillo, Pedro Meza, Luis Pulido, Santiago Ibarra and Ramsés Benitez are part of the team. Halcones finished with a 46-2 in the LNBP regular season and has a 2-0 advantage in the quarterfinals.

The team coached by Andy Stoglin is one of the most balanced in the tournament showing that they can play in a quick pace and also in half court on offense. Abdul Mills has done a great job at the point guard position while Victor Mariscal, Ray Castillo and Victor Ávila give this team power from three point range. In the paint Avila also helps along with Gustavo Ayon and Hickerson on both sides scoring and also avoiding second opportunities on defense.

The games will be televised on FOX Sports en Español and live stats are available on www.fibaamericas.com.
Click to expand...

Link

¹²³ · Feb 9, 2009

Universo/BRB is the champion of America

Universo/BRB won the second edition of the FIBA Americas League by winning the Final Four held in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. The Brazilian team defeated host Halcones UV Xalapa 86-83 in the third and final day of the competition.

Valtinho led the winners with 21 points while Alex Garcia, who was named MVP of the tournament, had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Arthur Luiz netted 13 points and Estevam Ferreira 10.

Halcones started the game with an aggressive attack led by Samuel Bowie and Ray Castillo to give the host a 29-19 lead. Halcones had a 12 points lead (29-17) and Valtinho finished the quarter with a basket for the 29-19 score. The Mexicans shot 11-16 from the field including 4-8 from three point range and 3-4 from the free throw line. Valtinho had 9 of the 19 points scored by the Brazilian team.

The second quarter continued with Halcones dominating and they had an 18 point lead (43-25) after a three pointer by Victor Mariscal but Valtinho along with Alex and Rafael Mineiro started to cut the lead, including a 9-0 run, to finish at halftime 49-43 in favor of the host.

Samuel Bowie led Halcones with 11 points and was followed by Victor Mariscal and Gustavo Ayon with 8 points each. Valtinho and Alex led the attack for the team from Brasilia with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The second half started with an effective attack by Halcones with two pointers by Gustavo Ayon and three point baskets by Abdul Mills and Victor Avila to have a 59-47 lead. Universo answered with four three pointers in a row to tie the game at 59 at the half point of the third quarter. The three pointers continued falling for Universo who had a 70-67 lead at the end of the quarter.

Both teams struggled in the start of the fourth quarter showing good intensity on the defensive side. Halcones and Universo exchanged the lead many times but the Brazilian team lost Diego Pinheiro and Rafael Mineiro due to foul trouble. At the end Halcones forced some plays and lost the opportunity to win the title while Estevam and Valtinho gave Universo the win from the free throw line.

Abdul Mills led Halcones with 21 points while Samuel Bowie followed with 15. The Mexicans shot 9-29 from three point range, a key stat in their loss.

Champions of the FIBA Americas League:

2007/2008: Peñarol Mar del Plata (Argentina)
2008/2009: Universo/BRB (Brasil)

The next edition of the FIBA Americas League will qualify two teams to the FIBA World Club Championship to be played in 2010.
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

2008/09 FIBA Americas League for Men's Clubs

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

2008/09 FIBA Americas League for Men's Clubs

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

¹²³ ¼½¾

Share This Page

Useful Searches