In a Canadian 1st, Calgary will host the Basketball Champions League Americas

Key Takeaways:

The competition features 12 teams from seven different countries in the Americas.
The 3rd window of group stage games for the upcoming Basketball Champions League Americas will be Calgary.

The BCLA features twelve teams from 7 countries in the Americas competing for a spot in the 2023 FIBA International Cup over four months.

The 4 games in Calgary, held March 14-16 at the WinSport Arena, will be the league’s first in Canada.

The Edmonton Stingers, champions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, will play two games during the window against Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros on March 14 and Nicaragua’s Real Esteli on March 16. Cangrejeros will face Real Esteli on March 15.

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The BCLA starts December 13 with Edmonton traveling to Nicaragua to begin pool play.

The Calgary Drillers, which folded late in its only season in 2004-05, and the Calgary Crush, which played here from 2012-15, were the next two American Basketball Association semi-pro teams to arrive.

“In Alberta, we need the north-south rivalry,” said Paul Sir, executive director of Alberta Basketball. “This community requires professional basketball.” Calgary is getting professional basketball (with this event). Now I’m hoping it’ll stay in Calgary.”

The CEBL debuted on Canadian courts in 2019, with six teams competing in the inaugural season.

Since then, the league has grown to seven teams, including the Stingers, Fraser Valley Bandits, Saskatchewan Rattlers, Guelph Nighthawks, Hamilton Honey Badgers, Niagara River Lions, and Ottawa BlackJacks in 2021, and has added three more franchises for next season in the Montreal Alliance, Newfoundland Growlers, and Scarborough Shooting Stars.

The other teams in the competition are: