New beginnings for Bolivian basketball

BOLIVIA – Since 2018 the Bolivian Basketball Federation (FBB) is undergoing a great moment thanks to the development of a youth league called LIBOMENOR (Bolivian Minor Basketball League), which started in April and is already concluding its cycle with the finals phase. The winner of this competition will go on to play in the South American Men's Tournament in Goiania, Brazil, from July 2 to 6.

FBB President Marco Arze and FBB Vice-President Gustavo Carmona are overseeing this project in their term, whose main objective is to grow minor categories in order to strengthen the major league and, in the future, the national team. “Establishing LIBOMENOR has been one of the greatest challenges the Federation has faced in 2019 to forward for the development of basketball,” assured Carmona to FIBA.basketball.

“This tournament will help us greatly to prepare the children that will be tomorrow’s pool for the adult (league),” assured the FBB President.

The tournament is organized in the Final Four format, where each of the group of four teams plays as locals and the two best go on to a playoff stage of the best of three games. The best two teams in this first edition were Urcupiña and E.J. Plaza, that had already played the first game in a series of the best of three. Urcupiña won 107-88 at the Quillacollo Olympic Sports Complex, the venue of the 2018 South American Games in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Now, they’ll try to get the first title in this new LIBOMENOR tournament.

“The future stars are in these teams, there are children here that possess an incredible talent. A great job is being done for this youth and if there’s continuity it's going to be marvelous. We're focusing on this U13 category for boys and girls and we have the parents’ support so the kids can travel from one city to another and have the chance to not only live an enriching experience but also compete as our major league,” said Antonio Plaza to FIBA.basketball. Plaza, coach for E.J. Plaza, had to take on the coaching role when the tournament started. He’s also one of the club's directives and took them to the final of the first edition of LIBOMENOR. For him, all of this has been a great personal accomplishment.

This edition jumpstarted for the 2018 generation of the U13 category, which means that girls and boys that are or were 13 from January 1st to December 31, 2018 (born in 2005) participated. Only two reinforcements are allowed, be them from the association or nationals with a temporary pass, and that also meet the age standards.

“LIBOMENOR's debut has been 90% positive. The commitment of the children is incredible, as is the commitment of parents that bring their children to play. The tournament is gaining popularity because there are several teams and the level will continue to improve. It's the same system as Mini Basketball because everyone participates and has minutes on the court. We need to make some adjustments, but there’s a positive overall result. The financial aspect is the greatest complication because we need to move the players from one place to another, but that doesn’t affect the idea of developing the competition,” said Coach E.J. Plaza to FIBA.basketball.

“When the idea of establishing LIBOMENOR surfaced, we saw it as something difficult to assume because our situation was very different from other countries. In Bolivia we don't live from basketball, (however) we live for basketball, and this is the sport’s motto in our country. For these kids to practice the sport, the parents must contribute (financially) each month. Believing that a league can be played in Bolivia isn't a possibility sometimes for some clubs, because there are clubs that can’t sustain it. Believing that it could be done was our motivation,” said Marcos Corrales, Club Urcupiña coach, to FIBA.basketball.

“We realized it was possible because 19 teams had signed, and we talked to the parents, who were going to cover the expenses of the tournaments, coaches, trips, etc. Thank God, the parents’ enthusiasm, and the schools, who contributed so that we could participate. The kids sold tickets to be able to cover their expenses. After all these sacrifices, LIBOMENOR was achieved. You couldn't see any kids with potential, but as games were played, they've been showing that, in their own way, they have potential – a lot, in fact. And that's something that in the local tournament we couldn’t have seen,” added Corrales, representative, and coach for Club Urcupiña. He was also one of the school founders, along the school’s Parents Association and the Director of Nuestra Señora de Urcupiña School, Beatriz Céspedes.

“We're demonstrating that, in the leagues created by the Federation, we can have good competition at a local level. If we don’t foster competition, we can't think about participating in international tournaments. We have the talent. Besides, it's very important to share information on our local tournaments in social media, websites such as FIBA.basketball and local media. We won our first game and if we win this Saturday, the title of the first edition will be ours. We're hungry for more opportunities. I see myself as a coach that would like to work at a professional level, but what I want the most is for Bolivia’s girls and boys to have opportunities. The sky is the limit.”

The competition is designed considering the children and includes great projects for the future. We hope that in a 4 or 5-year period, the LIBOBASQUET champion club isn't limited to participating, but can also compete in the South American League and that, also, the national senior team will have a selection of players that have the technical conditions to play in a future qualification to a World Cup.

It's an initial category, but we hope to grow it every year. For 2020 these kids will already move on to the U15 and the year after that to the U17. Later, to the U19 to get to the major leagues with all the formation, foundations and experience of playing as locals and as visitors. Expectations are huge, above all, because of the great interest among parents, who foster basketball in these categories in our nation and around the world,” added FBB Vice-President Gustavo Carmona to FIBA.basketball.

For their part, Santa Cruz's Club Urbari, were one of the LIBOMENOR participants and sent the FBB a thankful letter: “Our students are no longer the same, they have enjoyed this high-level competition. Each one of our students has evolved as players, they all have shown personal growth, and we are very satisfied with these accomplishments because like this our basketball will continue to grow. We must begin from the roots, and these boys and girls are the roots of the new Bolivian basketball. When these children are 18 years of age, we are very certain that they will be the stars of our basketball.”

The most recent accomplishments of Bolivian basketball at an international level have been with the female team, who achieved the Bronze Medal in the 2017 Juegos Bolivarianos in Santa Marta, Colombia; and the Silver Medal in the 2018 South American Games in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

The future of the national teams is in the hands of these boys and girls. Starting to play at an early age and in a special league that fosters basketball development guarantees good results – or at least the intention of getting them. With clear and completed objectives, the FBB is focused on this tournament for boys and girls, with real competitions, in order to get to international competitions and reach the dreams of these young players.

FIBA