Basketball Champions League Americas Announces Season Schedule
CEBL Champion Honey Badgers take on top teams from Mexico, Nicaragua in Group Stage play
The Board of Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLAs) and the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced the schedule of games for BCL Americas’ fourth season on Wednesday. The CEBL champion Honey Badgers will represent Canada in competition featuring 12 teams from seven countries in Central and South America.
The Honey Badgers, assigned to Group A of the competition with Real Esteli from Nicaragua and Libertadores from Mexico, begin the first of three competitive windows of play December 9 in Queretaro, Mexico against Libertadores. They’ll take on Real Esteli the following evening.
The second window for Group A will take place in January when the Honey Badgers travel to Managua, Nicaragua where they play Libertadores on January 17, 2023 before taking on the home team Real Estelí on January 18.
The third and final window will be hosted by the CEBL in Canada between February 7 – 9. The Honey Badgers host Real Estelí on February 7, Real Estelí plays Libertadores on February 8 and the Honey Badgers wrap up group stage competition against Libertadores on February 9. More details on location, venue and tickets for the window to be played in Canada will be announced in the coming weeks.
At the end of the group stage, the top two ranked teams in each of the four groups will advance into the quarterfinals and play in a best-of-three game series to determine the four teams that will qualify for the “Final 4”. The Final 4 will be played as single-elimination semifinals with winners advancing to the championship game and the semifinal losers playing for third place. The 2023 BCLA champion will earn a spot into the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup. Sao Paulo, the 2022 BCLA champion, will play in the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
The Honey Badgers become the second CEBL team to represent Canada in the competition after the 2021 CEBL champion Edmonton Stingers competed last season in a group with Real Estelí and Cangrejeros of Puerto Rico. Edmonton tied for first place in the group stage but failed to qualify for the Final 8 due to losing the head-to-head point differential tie-breaker.
The CEBL opens its fifth season in May 2023. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
The Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLA) is the best continental league in the Americas. It’s created through an innovative partnership between FIBA, federations and leagues with 12 teams competing from the continent.