MIAMI (United States) – Season 6 of Basketball Champions League Americas starts this Thursday with defending champions Quimsa as Group C hosts at Estadio Ciudad in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Quimsa, the only team to have won multiple editions of this competition, will face a pair of old rivals in Biguá (Uruguay) and Minas Tenis Clube (Brazil). The Argentinian club will try to match their performance from a season ago and, while starting off as favorites, they’ll have their work cut out for them against two tough opponents on the way to the Quarterfinals. These are the teams in Group C:
Quimsa (ARG)
After winning BCL Americas, they lost in the Semifinals of Argentina’s LNB last season but remain a threat in both competitions. The team, still being coached by Leandro Ramella, currently has an 8-5 record in their domestic league (at the time of publication) and sits in 6th place in the standings. Appearances (including 2024-25): 6 They have participated in every edition of the tournament and last year became the only club with multiple titles. They won in the inaugural season (2020) and lifted the trophy again in 2024 after beating Flamengo in the Final.
Players to watch From the title-winning squad, they still have key players like Juan Brussino, Emiliano Basabe, Fortunato Rolfi, Bruno Sansimoni and Federico Zezular, but lost other stalwarts like Brandon Robinson, Fabián Ramírez Barrios and Tayavek Gallizzi. Their big additions this season are veteran power forward Nicolás Romano and shooting guard Agustín Pérez. Their foreign players are Arnold Louis (United States) and Tavario Miller (Bahamas). Outlook Their status as defending champions and a good start at Argentina’s LNB are positive signs toward making it to the next round, but winning a third crown will be no easy feat. No one in the history of BCL Americas has won back-to-back championships, but they’ll try to make history once more.
Minas (BRA)
The Belo Horizonte club is back at the most prestigious continental tournament after reaching the Semifinals on Brazil’s NBB last year. They’re currently on a hot streak, sitting atop the standings of their domestic league with a 13-2 record. Leo Costa remains at the helm as head coach.
Appearances (including 2024-25): 4 They only missed the inaugural edition (2020) and the most recent season, but in the ones they participated in (2021, 2022 and 2023) they left their mark by finishing in 3rd place every time. Players to watch They arrive with a loaded roster and plenty of experienced players. Rafa Mineiro, Scott Machado, Danilo Fuzaro and Alexandre Paranhos are their best local players, while the foreign corps include former NBA player Luis Montero (Dominican Republic), Jeremy Hollowell (United States) and Franco Baralle and Juan Arengo (Argentina). Outlook With this much depth, they could likely vie for the first spot in the group. They’re a feared squad thanks to their stars and, after three consecutive 3rd place finishes, their main objective will be to reach the Final.
Biguá (URU)
They accepted the challenge of representing their country at BCL Americas and, after witnessing Nacional becoming the first Liga Sudamericana champion from Uruguay a few weeks ago, they’ll try to reach similar heights. At FUB under head coach Nicolás Mazzarino, they currently have a 3-5 record and sit 5th in the standings. Appearances (including 2024-25): 4 In their previous three appearances (2020, 2022 and 2023), they only managed to make it out of the Group Stage once (2022). But on that memorable occasion, they reached the Final and lost to Sao Paulo of Brazil. Players to watch Forward Juan Ducasse, a member of the Uruguayan National Team, is their best domestic player. They also have point guard Alex López and 43-year-old veteran Federico Bavosi on the roster. American big man Andre Spight, who led BCLA in scoring in 2023-24 (21.0 points per game) while playing for Obras (Argentina) is expected to lead the offense. Their other foreign players are Josh Cunningham (USA), Maique Tavares (Brazil) and Leandro Cerminato (Argentina).
Outlook They will go as far as their foreign players take them, but they’re a stellar bunch. However, on paper they lack the depth of their other 2 opponents. Regardless, they won’t be an easy out for anyone in the group. FIBA