Getting to know Group A: Real Estelí's experience vs. A pair of newcomers

MIAMI (United States) – The table is set for Season 5 of Basketball Champions League Americas (BCLA). The first window will be played from December 13-18, with action in each of the four groups.

Before the start of the tournament, we’ll take a look at each group and the 12 teams participating in the 2023-24 campaign. We’ll start with Group A, where Real Estelí and newcomers Gladiadores de Anzoátegui and Halcones de Xalapa will face each other.

Real Estelí (NCA) 

The decorated “Tren del Norte” had won 5 consecutive titles in the Nicaraguan League (from 2018 through 2022) before losing in the semifinals this year. However, they’ll try to recover during this year’s BCL Americas, a tournament where they’re always dangerous.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 5
This team has participated in every edition of the most prestigious continental clubs’ event, starting in 2019-20 and each time they advanced out of the Group Stage. Their best performance came in Season 2, where they reached the final and finished second.

Head Coach: David Rosario
The Puerto Rican head coach is now basically a local legend. He arrived in the organization in 2019 and since then he’s led them to the title every year until 2023. That disappointment at the domestic level could fuel this team to reach the last stages of the tournament once again.

2023-24 Roster:
Jensen Campbell
Jordan Cintrón
Francisco Garth
Adonys Henriquez
Terrell Holloway
Barthel López
Josmel Martínez
Farell Pauth
Jassel Pérez
Andy Pérez
Ismael Romero
Jared Ruiz
Emmitt Williams

Outlook:
They will start out as the group’s favorites thanks to their previous experiences at the event and because their opponents will play in it for the first time. As usual, they’ll have the top players from the Nicaraguan NT, like Jared Ruiz, Barthel López and Francisco Garth, plus a top foreign player like Jassel Pérez, from the Dominican Republic.

Gladiadores de Anzoátegui (VEN) 

This is a young franchise that was founded in 2019, but from a region very rich in basketball talent and tradition. They arrived to fill the hole for a very successful Marinos squad that subsequently moved locations, and they have had a lot of early success – winning the new Venezuelan Superleague.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 1
They will be the first Venezuelan squad in the history of BCLA and will attempt to follow in the footsteps of other compatriots who’ve had success at the international level, like Gladiadores de Lara (who were South American, continental and intercontinental champions) and Trotamundos de Carabobo, who won the old Sudamericano de Clubes.

Head Coach: Daniel Seoane
This young Venezuelan head coach has worked in places like Israel and Uruguay already. He was recently named as the Venezuelan National Team head coach after being an assistant there and with the Dominican Republic NT.

2023-24 Roster:
Néstor Colmenares
Charles Garcia
Jesús Martínez
David Nickelberry
Nelson Palacios
Antonio Peña
Anthony Pérez
Raymond Rada
Jhon Romero
Yohanner Sifontes
Garly Sojo
Gregory Vargas
Henry Walker

Outlook:
The presence of Venezuelan NT stalwarts like Gregory Vargas, Néstor Colmenares, Garly Sojo and Yohanner Sifontes gives the team plenty of firepower to compete for one of the 2 tickets out of the group. But they haven’t played an official game in several months and will quickly have to find chemistry with the many new faces on the squad, including their coach.

Halcones de Xalapa (MEX) 

The team is facing a new era after several years of absence in Mexican basketball and they want to be at their best in this international competition. During the current Mexican LNBP, they were 5th in the regular season with a 16-12 record and made it to the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated.

Appearances (including 2023-24): 1
They’ll be making their BCL Americas debut. Halcones will be the fourth Mexican squad to participate in the event after Fuerza Regia and Capitanes, who played in the inaugural edition (2019-20), and Libertadores in the most recent one.

Head Coach: Francisco “Paco” Olmos
The veteran Spanish coach is back with the Mexican team after coaching more recently in his native country’s ACB and LEB Oro. He has 3 Mexican championships in his resume with Fuerza Regia, and also took the Puerto Rican NT to the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

2023-24 Roster:
Brian Conklin
David Cubillán
Omar De Haro
Raúl Delgado
Eduardo González
Israel Gutiérrez
Joshua Ibarra
Fabián Jaimes
Dexter Pittman
Jonathan Rodríguez
Alejandro Villanueva

Outlook:
They’ll try to at least improve on what Fuerza Regia and Libertadores did in reaching the quarterfinals in their respective appearances. It won’t be an easy task, but they feature a great coach and a roster full of experienced players at many levels.

FIBA