Current season, competition or edition: 2016 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol |
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Sport | Basketball |
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Founded | 1996 |
No. of teams | 16 |
Country | ABASU members |
Continent | South America |
Most recent champion(s) |
Mogi das Cruzes (1st title) |
Most titles |
Atenas Brasília (3 titles each) |
Level on pyramid |
1st-tier – South America (1996–2007) 2nd-tier – South America (2008–present) |
Promotion to | FIBA Americas League (Champion) |
Official website | FIBA Americas.com |
The Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (LSB) (Portuguese: Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete (LSB), English: South American Basketball League) is the second-tier level South American professional basketball competition at the club level, with the first being the FIBA Americas League. It is organized by the South American Basketball Association (ABASU), which operates as a regional sub-zone of FIBA Americas. The winner of each year's competition gets a place at the upcoming edition of the FIBA Americas League.
The league usually includes some domestic champions, and some runners-up, from the best leagues and basketball countries on the South American continent. Depending on the country, places may be awarded on the basis of performance in the previous season's domestic league, or over the previous two or three domestic seasons. The tournament has been played since 1996, with 2003 being the only year in which it was not held.
The South American Club Championship, which was founded in 1946, was the first international competition that was played between basketball clubs from South America, and it was the first-tier and most important club competition in South America until 1996, when the new South American League supplanted it in importance. With the emergence of the new FIBA Americas League in December 2007, the South American League became the second-tier international club championship in South America, beginning with the 2008 edition of the competition.