Uruguay's Federation is ready for their League's most important stage

MONTEVIDEO – The Uruguayan Basketball Federation (FUBB, for its Spanish acronym) is set to begin the Uruguayan League Playoffs for the 2018-2019 season, which will kick off on Monday, March 25. The first stage (quarter-finals and semi-finals) will take place at Palacio Peñarol, the legendary stadium built in 1955, with a seating capacity for 4,700 people.

The finals are scheduled to start on Friday, May 3, and will be disputed at Antel Arena, a venue that was inaugurated on December 29 in the game where the Uruguayan national team defeated Puerto Rico (64-62) in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers. This stadium has the capacity to welcome 12,000 people —10,000 seated— with all the necessary services for the highest tier competitions and meeting the expectations of the best in the world.

The FUBB’s most important tournament is the Uruguayan League, established in 2003 with the goal of bringing together the most important teams in the country in a single competition.

Álvaro Butureira, the Federation’s Marketing Director, said to FIBA.basketball: “The Uruguayan League is a brand that has been growing in the past years through a strategic marketing plan, and through other aspects that, without a doubt, have turned it into the Federation's stellar product.”

“Palacio Peñarol is very comfortable, it's easily accessible because it's in the city center, and has all operational logistics available. All stages of the Playoffs and onward will be played there, and the Final will take place at Antel Arena, a marvelous stadium that has been characterized by FIBA as one of the best stadiums in the Americas, and that is also at an NBA level. Probably mainly because it was technologically built by Antel and it features technical aspects that not all stadiums possess,” he added.

The Playoffs will be defined by eight teams, seven of which have already qualified: Malvín; Nacional; Aguada; Defensor Sporting; Urunday; Trouville, for their position in the Qualifying phase (they then played in the Liguilla 1-6); and Olimpia, who achieved the first place of the Reclasificatorios 7-10 and will play seventh in the Playoffs against Nacional. The final team will be defined this Friday with a tie-breaker between Goes and Bigúa. The winners of this game will play against Malvín, the first team of the Liguilla 1-6.

“We're very much looking forward to this because this is the season's most beautiful stage. These are decisive moments and we're looking forward to it and want to do something important with Nacional. This is a year in which parity has increased,” said Nacional player Esteban Batista, to FIBA.com.

“These two teams are playing as visitors in the Playoffs because they play in neutral courts. There are very good stadiums, and this motivates players even more. This is all planned in a way that’s a beautiful experience for players and for the people. This is when everyone starts talking about basketball. Antel Arena is an NBA stadium. I was lucky enough to play (there) with the national team, and it's very beautiful,” the center added.

The Playoffs will be organized in the following format: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5. The best team will win 5 games. The 4 remaining teams will play to decide who will win the most of 5 matches. The two finalists will be the best of 7.

“Regarding the semi-finals’ logistics, the public will be able to buy the tickets for the games through an official internet site, where there will be a platform that facilitates their purchase from anywhere in the world. This is something innovative for the public, because they’ll also benefit from securing their entrance and paying for their tickets at an exclusive rate,” Butureira pointed out.

“The stadiums are gorgeous. Palacio Peñarol has a great history. It's been remodeled and improved for the Uruguayan national teams and we're making the most of this situation. The people are leaving their mark and for me that’s very beautiful, both as a spectator and as a protagonist,” said Pablo López, coach of current champions Malvín.

The Uruguayan League also grants two spots to the Liga Sudamericana, one of which has already been taken by Defensor Sporting; the other ticket will be for the runners-up, and the champions will grab the sole ticket available for Liga de las Américas.

Malvín are the most recent champions, with titles from the 2006-07, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2017-18 seasons — making them the team with the most wins in this tournament.

Nicolás Mazzarino, several-times champion of the Uruguayan League (3 victories with Malvín) and the Federal Tournament (3 with Welcome, 1 with Hebraica) —as well as being South American champion with the national team in 1997— will participate in these playoffs at the age of 43. He is Malvín’s captain, and he talked to us about the event where he will try to defend his team's title: “Malvín will arrive in first place after a very good streak of winning many consecutive games. The team is doing well, but there's no breadth factor, the only thing that varies are the pairings. The most important thing is to arrive in good rhythm; we're doing good as a solid team. We're the most recent champions and the idea is to keep the title. However, that won’t be an easy task. The competition has been very head-to-head this year and there are many (teams) with the chance of getting to the final.”

For his part, Pablo López stated: “This is one of the more balanced leagues in recent times. This year we're playing with four foreign players for the first time in many years. This has made the tournament to be more leveled and for teams to have other athletic talents. The sports level has increased the physical and athletic quality. We expect this to help players to develop in our league, so that they can become high-performance players and arrive at the national team as soon as possible.”

As a prelude to the Playoffs, the FUBB —pioneers in the FIBA world—turned 104 years old. They will continue their work for many more years, always led by their motto: “Our legacy is our commitment.”

FIBA