October 06, 2019

The new FIBA Americas Zone Executive and Zone Board for the 2019-2023 term met for the first time on October 4 and 5 in Miami, Florida, to discuss a wide range of topics and make decisions on future events in the Zone.

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Among others, the  Executive Committee Meeting was attended by FIBA President Hamane Niang, FIBA Honorary President Horacio Muratore, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis, and FIBA Americas President Carol Callan.

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Click here to view some of the topics which were discussed.

October 05, 2019

The NBA has approved a new challenge rule that allows coaches to trigger video reviews of contentious calls.  A version of this rule has been used in the G League for two years and it was used in the 2019 NBA Summer League.

The Coach’s Challenge allows the team one opportunity to review a decision per game. Even if the challenge is successful, the team still only gets one challenge. Basically, coaches better get it right because they’ll only have one moment to challenge in each game.

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Teams can challenge personal foul calls, possession on out-of-bounds plays and goaltending/basket interference calls with the challenge. A team can challenge a personal foul call at any time, but can’t challenge the latter two instances in the final two minutes of the game.

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A team must use a timeout to be able to initiate the challenge. If the team does not have a timeout, it is assessed a technical foul and no challenge takes place. This means coaches will have to strategically have timeouts available at the end of the game in the event they’d need to use the challenge.

September 30, 2019

Team USA's Sylvia Fowles who was named Tournament MVP, headlined the All-Star Five for the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup which recognised the most outstanding players in the tournament.

Joining Sylvia were teammates Jordin Canada and Diamond DeShields. Brazil's  Damiris Dantas and Canada's Kayla Alexander would complete the five. All 5 players play in the WNBA.

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September 29, 2019

Sylvia Fowles, of the United States’ National Team, left no room for doubts as to why she's one of the best basketball players in the world with her performance at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2019.

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The 3 time Olympic Gold winning, 6'6" center led Team USA to the tournament's gold medal, undefeated in six games with an average advantage margin of 38 points. Fowles was the squad’s efficiency leader, with 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists, and 76% in field goals, which is why she was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

September 30, 2019

Team USA  completed their return to the FIBA Women's AmeriCup by beating neighbours Canada 67-46 in the final in Puerto Rico. Struggling with its shooting, the USA women (6-0) turned to its defense and claimed the gold medal with a  over previously undefeated Canada (5-1) on Sunday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The USA, playing in its first AmeriCup since 2007 when it also won gold, ended Canada’s streak of back-to-back AmeriCup titles with its perfect run.

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Brazil defeated the host, Puerto Rico, 95-66, to take home the Bronze Medal.

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The AmeriCup had previously been known as the FIBA Americas Women's Championship, but was rebranded as part of FIBA's new women's national team competition schedule. Ten teams competed, with the top eight moving on to the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in November. Because this was the inaugural version of the new AmeriCup format, Team USA participated despite the fact that it has already qualified for the 2020 Olympics as a result of winning the 2018 FIBA World Cup last summer. 

September 27, 2019

The NBA G League will introduce a new single-shot free throw line procedure for the upcoming 2019-20 season.

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The amount of points the foul shot is worth will be based on the infraction preceding the free throw. If the shooter was fouled on a two-pointer, then the foul shot will be worth two points. If the shot is a three-pointer, then the free throw is worth three points. Foul shots taken after a made basket will still be worth one point.

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The rule change represents an attempt to cut down on game length, according to ESPN. The G League will revert to traditional free throw scoring and rules for the final two minutes and overtimes, but G League head of basketball operations Brad Walker told ESPN he believes the rule will still shave six to eight minutes off the average game.

September 27, 2019

USA defeated Brazil 89-73 to secure first place of Group B and Canada defeated the Dominican Republic 78-50  to secure first place in Group A. Both teams advance as the only two undefeated teams entering  the Semi-Final games of the FIBA AmeriCup Women's 2019 Semifinals.

USA will face Puerto Rico and the defending champions, Canada, will face Brazil. 

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September 24, 2019

The official launch of the FIBA Champions League Americas was held in Montevideo (Uruguay) led by Honorary FIBA President  Horacio Muratore, FIBA Americas Executive Director Carlos Alves, and the CEO of the European Basketball Champions League Patrick Comninos.

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The competition replaced the FIBA Americas League as premier league in the Americas. The first phase of the competition will feature four groups of three teams each, with two qualifying teams per group that move on to the Quarter-Finals, which will be a best-of-three series. The Semi-Finals and the Final will also be decided in a best-of-three format.

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The competition will take place from October to March, with windows in the following dates:October 28 to November 1 (8 games), November 25 to 29 (8 games), December 16 to 20 (8 games), January 14 to 21 (Quarter-Finals), February 14 to 29 (Semi-Finals) and the Final on the week between March 9 and 14, 2020.