Basketball in Spain
The Spanish league teams compete in Europe, under the ULEB umbrella, most notably in the Euroleague and Eurocup, and also under the FIBA Europe umbrella, in the EuroChallenge. The Spanish teams also compete in a national domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, which is played by the top eight teams in the standings of the Liga ACB, at the end of the first half of the regular season.
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[edit] Spanish basketball league system
[edit] The tier levels
For the 2011–12 season, the Spanish basketball league system is as follows:
| Level | League | ||||
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| 1 | Liga ACB (18 teams) (previously Liga Nacional) |
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| 2 | LEB Oro (18 teams) |
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| 3 | LEB Plata (13 teams) |
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| 4 | Liga EBA Group A (23 teams) |
Liga EBA Group B (16 teams) |
Liga EBA Group C (15 teams) |
Liga EBA Group D (9 teams) |
Liga EBA Group E (12 teams) |
| 5 | Primera División (14 groups) |
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| Regional divisions |
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- 1ª División (14 groups, one for each autonomous community except Basque Country, La Rioja, and Navarra, who share the same group, like Valencian Community and Region of Murcia); in Catalonia, known as, Copa Catalunya.
[edit] Evolution of the Spanish basketball league system
| Tier\Years | 1957–78 | 1978–83 | 1983–90 | 1990–94 | 1994–96 | 1996–2000 | 2000–07 | 2007–09 | 2009– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1ª División | ACB | |||||||
| 2 | 2ª División | 1ª División B | 1ª División | EBA | LEB (since 2007, LEB Oro) | ||||
| 3 | 3ª División | 2ª División | EBA | LEB 2 (since 2007, LEB Plata) | |||||
| 4 | Lower | 3ª División | Lower | Lower | Lower | 2ª División | EBA | LEB Bronce | EBA |
| 5 | Lower | Lower | 1ª División | EBA | 1ª División | ||||
| 6 | Lower | 1ª División | Lower | ||||||
| 7 | Lower | ||||||||
[edit] Spanish women's basketball league system
- Liga Femenina (14 teams)
- Liga Femenina 2 (since 2001, 29 teams in 2 groups)
- 1ª División Femenina (inter-regional groups)
- Lower regional divisions
[edit] Spain national basketball team
[edit] Men's team
[edit] Women's team
[edit] Autonomous teams
Like in football, several Autonomous Communities have their own autonomous team. These teams are not recognized by FIBA Europe, and only play in friendly games.
Between 2008 and 2010, the Torneo de las Naciones was played between the teams of Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia, and a foreign national team was invited. The following Autonomous Communities have played at least one friendly game:
On the other hand, Gibraltar has their own national team, and it's recognized by FIBA Europe. 
Gibraltar plays biannually in the European Basketball Championship for Small Countries.
[edit] Other competitions
[edit] External links
- ACB League Official Website (Spanish)
- Spanish Basketball Federation (Spanish)
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