The Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol[1][2] (abbreviated as LUB; English: Uruguayan Basketball League) is the most important professional club basketball league in Uruguay. It is organized by the Uruguayan Basketball Federation (FUBB). The Uruguayan Basketball League competition began in 2003. Before that time, the Uruguayan basketball championships were only local metropolitan, and no competitions brought together all the clubs in the country. Until the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol was created, the capital clubs participated in the Campeonato Uruguayo Federal de Básquetbol (Uruguayan Federal Basketball Championship), while the clubs of the rest of the country competed in regional tournaments. The Uruguayan Federal Basketball Championship was founded in 1915, making it among the oldest on the continent.
 | |
| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2003 |
| Country |  Uruguay |
| Confederation | FIBA Americas |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Liga de Ascenso |
| International cup(s) | BCL Americas Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto |
| Current champions | Hebraica Macabi (4th title) (2022-23) |
| Most championships | Malvín (5 titles) |
| TV partners | Tenfield |
| Website | www |
 2023–24 LUB season | |
The first LUB competition had a dramatic end, with a win in the last second, that brought the Uruguayan League title to Defensor Sporting, whom also repeated in the 2009–10 season. Some of the other League champions were: Salto Uruguay in 2004, Trouville in 2005–06, Malvín in 2006–07 and 2010–11, Biguá in 2007–08 and 2008–09, Hebraica Macabi in 2011–12, and Aguada in 2012–13. So far, there are only two teams that have appeared in all of the league's seasons; they are: Defensor Sporting and Trouville.
Format
The LUB is currently played in four stages: Torneo Clasificatorio (Qualifying Tournament), Ronda Título (Title Round) or Reclasificatorio (Requalifier), play-in and play-off.
- In the Qualifying Tournament, the metropolitan clubs play each other twice, home and away, and the first six of the table play in the Title Round, where all is guaranteed to participate in the playoffs. The last six play the Requalifier,
- The Title Round is contested by six teams. The clubs play each other twice. It only serves to organize the positions for playoffs.
- The Requalifier was contested by six teams also. The last two are relegated to the Second Division, to participate in the Liga de Ascenso, the top two advance to the second round of play-in; and the third and four play the first round of play-in, against the finalists of OBL (a tournament with the top-two teams of Salto and Soriano regional leagues.
- The play-in consist of two rounds, with series being best of three series. The first stage is played as: A) 3rd of Requalifier vs. 2nd of OBL, B) 4th of Requalifier vs. 1st of OBL. The second stage pairings are: C) 1st of Requalifier vs. A) Winner, D) 2nd of Requalifier vs. B) Winner.
- Finally, teams competed in the playoffs, with series being best of five. The first stage was the quarterfinals. The qualifiers are played as: E) 1st vs. D) Winner, F) 2nd vs. C) Winner, G) 3rd vs. 6th and H) 4th vs. 5th. The semifinal pairings were: E) Winner vs. H) Winner and F) Winner vs. G) Winner. The winners of these matches played in the finals in best-of-seven serie, with the winner being crowned as the league champions of the LUB.
- The finalists will play the BCL Americas and the losers of the semifinals, the Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto.
Participating teams
Defensor Sporting and Trouville are the teams with the most league appearances, having so far competed in every season of the LUB.
2023–24 season teams
Notes: All statistics are only for the Uruguayan Basketball League (Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol), which is organized by the Uruguayan Basketball Federation (Federación Uruguaya de Basketball). Uruguayan Federal tournaments are not included. The "arena" column reflects the arena where the team plays most of its home games, but does not indicate that the team in question is the owner.
| Club | City | Arena | Capacity | Foundation | Seasons | Championships |
| Aguada |  Montevideo | Estadio Propio Aguatero | 3,738 | 1922 | 19 | 3 |
| Biguá | Gimnasio Biguá de Villa Biarritz[3] | 1,200 | 1931 | 19 | 4 | |
| Cordón | Gimnasio Julio C. Zito Barrella | 710 | 1944 | 14 | 0 | |
| Defensor Sporting | Estadio Óscar Magurno[4] | 800 | 1910 | 20 | 2 | |
| Hebraica Macabi | Gimnasio Unión Atlética[3][5] | 750 | 1939 | 16 | 4 | |
| Goes | Estadio Plaza de las Misiones | 1,800 | 1934 | 12 | 0 | |
| Larre Borges | Estadio Romeo Schinca | 900 | 1927 | 9 | 0 | |
| Malvín | Gimnasio Juan Fransisco Canil | 900 | 1938 | 19 | 5 | |
| Nacional | Polideportivo del Gran Parque Central | 800 | 1899 | 8 | 0 | |
| Peñarol | Estadio Cr. Gastón Güelfi | 4700 | 1891 | 4 | 0 | |
| Racing |  Mercedes | Gimnasio Agrimensor Mario Eduardo Bellini[6] | 400 | 1937 | 1 | 0 |
| Remeros de Mercedes | Gimnasio Agrimensor Mario Eduardo Bellini | 400 | 1916 | 1 | 0 | |
| Trouville | Montevideo | Estadio Club Trouville[3] | 780 | 1922 | 20 | 1 |
| Urupan |  Pando | Gimnasio Santiago A. Cigliuti | 700 | 1924 | 4 | 0 |
Champions by season
The Uruguayan Basketball League competition began in 2003. Before that time, the Uruguayan Federal Championships were only local, and no competition brought together all the clubs in the country.
| Season | Champion | Result | Runner-up | Champion Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Defensor Sporting | 3–2 | Paysandú | Gerardo Jauri |
| 2004–05 | Salto Uruguay | 3–1 | Paysandú | Javier Espíndola |
| 2005–06 | Trouville | 3–0 | Aguada | Alejandro González |
| 2006–07 | Malvín | 3–1 | Biguá | Pablo López |
| 2007–08 | Biguá | 3–0 | Hebraica Macabi | Marcelo Signorelli |
| 2008–09 | Biguá | 3–0 | Defensor Sporting |  Che García |
| 2009–10 | Defensor Sporting | 3–0 | Malvín | Gerardo Jauri |
| 2010–11 | Malvín | 3–1 | Biguá | Pablo López |
| 2011–12 | Hebraica Macabi | 3–2 | Malvín | Marcelo Signorelli |
| 2012–13 | Aguada | 4–3 | Defensor Sporting | Javier Espíndola |
| 2013–14 | Malvín | 4–1 | Defensor Sporting | Pablo López |
| 2014–15 | Malvín | 4–1 | Trouville | Pablo López |
| 2015–16 | Hebraica Macabi | 4–2 | Defensor Sporting | Leonardo Zylbersztein |
| 2016–17 | Hebraica Macabi | 4–3 | Aguada | Leonardo Zylbersztein |
| 2017–18 | Malvín | 4–3 | Aguada | Pablo López |
| 2018–19 | Aguada | 4–3 | Malvín | Miguel Volcan |
| 2019–20 | Aguada | 3–1 | Trouville | Adrián Capelli |
| 2021 | Biguá | 3–2 | Nacional | Hernán Laginestra |
| Biguá | 4–1 | Peñarol | Diego Cal | |
2022–23 | Hebraica Macabi | 4–2 | Nacional | Leonardo Zylbersztein |
Total LUB titles by club
| Club | Championships | Runners-up | Year(s) won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malvín | 5 | 3 | 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018 |
| Biguá | 4 | 2 | 2008, 2009, 2021, 2022 |
| Hebraica Macabi | 4 | 1 | 2012, 2016, 2017, 2023 |
| Aguada | 3 | 3 | 2013, 2019, 2020 |
| Defensor Sporting | 2 | 4 | 2003, 2010 |
| Trouville | 1 | 2 | 2006 |
| Salto Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 2005 |
| Paysandú | 0 | 2 | |
| Nacional | 0 | 2 | |
| Peñarol | 0 | 1 |
Awards
See also
References
External links
- FUBB (in Spanish)
- Liga Uruguaya on Basket Uruguay
- Uruguayan Basketball League at Latinbasket.com (in English)