Real Estelí Baloncesto is a Nicaraguan basketball team based in Managua. Founded in 2018, it is the basketball section of the Real Estelí FC football club, which was founded in 1959. The team entered the Liga Superior de Baloncesto (LSB) for its debut season in 2018 season.[1]
| Real Estelí | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | El Tren del Norte (The Train of the North) | ||
| Leagues | Liga Superior de Baloncesto BCL Americas | ||
| Founded | 2018 | ||
| History | Real Estelí Baloncesto 2018–present | ||
| Arena | Alexis Arguello Sports Complex | ||
| Capacity | 8,057 | ||
| Location | Managua, Nicaragua | ||
| President | Fidel Moreno | ||
| Head coach | David Rosario | ||
| Championships | 6 (2018-2022, 2024) | ||
| Website | realestelifc.com/basket | ||
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Real Estelí's home arena is the Alexis Arguello Sports Complex, which was opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 8,057 people.[2]
History
editThe first game of the team in the LSB was played on 9 February 2018 against Leones de Managua.
In 2019, head coach David Rosario took over the team. Before he joined Estelí, Rosario had been the three-time Baloncesto Superior Nacional champion with Capitanes de Arecibo.[3] In the same year, Real Estelí played in the inaugural season of the newly founded, Basketball Champions League Americas.[4] Real reached the quarterfinals. A year later, the team won its first LSB championship after defeating Brumas de Jinotega in the playoff finals.
In April 2021, Real Estelí played in the Final Eight of the 2020–21 BCL Americas and hosted the tournament in Managua. The team managed to reach the final for the first time in club history,[5] where it narrowly lost to Flamengo 80–84.[6]
Real Estelí qualified for the 2021–22 BCL Americas season, which was its fourth in a row. El Tren del Norte was allotted into Group A alongside Cangrejeros de Santurce and the Edmonton Stingers.[3]
On 3 December 2021, the club repeated as LSB champions after beating Brunas de Jinotega in the final. The following 2022 season, Real Estelí captured their fourth title.[7]
Honours
editNational
edit- Champions (6): 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
Carlos Ulloa Tournament
- Champions (1): 2022
International
edit- Runner-up (1): 2020–21
Liga Centroamericana
- Winners (1): 2018
Players
editCurrent roster
edit| Real Estelí roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: December 1, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bartel López | Ponce Ferguson | |
| PF | Andy Pérez | Farrel Pauth | Andy Williams |
| SF | Josmel Martínez | Jensen Campbell | |
| SG | Deo Downs | Franisco Garth | Aaron Torres |
| PG | Romario Ponce | Sharlon Hodgson |
Performance in international competitions
editChampions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Basketball Champions League Americas
editBelow are all the seasons of Real Estelí in the BCL Americas competition.
Champions Runners-up
| Season | League | Result | W–L | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | BCL Americas | Quarter-finals (lost to Instituto) | 5–2 | .714 |
| 2020–21 | Runners-up (lost to Flamengo) | 6–3 | .667 | |
| 2021–22 | Quarter-finalist (lost to São Paulo) | 3–4 | .429 | |
| 2022–23 | Quarter-finalist (lost to Quimsa) | 4–4 | .500 | |
| 2023–24 | Quarter-finalist (lost to Quimsa) | 4–5 | .444 | |
| 2024–25 | ||||
| Totals | 0 titles | 22–18 | .556 |
Notable players
edit- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time.
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
References
edit- ^ "Real Estelí debutará en torneo de baloncesto - Metro". Metro Nicaragua. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ Nicaragua largest sports complex [dead link]
- ^ a b Real Estelí lleva su sabor boricua a la Basketball Champions League Giovanny Vega (El Vocero), 12 September 2021. Accessed 3 January 2022.(in Spanish)
- ^ "Basketball Champions League Americas groups and schedule confirmed". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Real Esteli reaches BCLAmericas Final for first time in club history". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Flamengo wins 2021 BCLAmericas Championship". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "LSB Round 5 of Finals. Real Esteli capture the title". Latinbasket.com. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
External links
edit- REAL ESTELI profile - Champions League Americas
- Real Estelí Baloncesto on Twitter