1997 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol

The 1997 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol, or 1997 FIBA South American League, was the second edition of the second-tier tournament for professional basketball clubs from South America. The tournament began on 18 February 1997 and finished on 9 May 1997. Argentine club Atenas won the tournament, defeating Brazilian club Corinthians in the Grand Finals.

Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol
Season	1997
Dates	18 February – 9 May 1997
Number of teams	15
Finals
Champions	Atenas
Runners-up	Corinthians
Semifinalists	Olimpia Cougar Franca
← 1996 1998 →

Format

Teams were split into three groups of four teams each and one group of three teams, and played each other in a home-and-away round-robin format. The top two teams from each group advanced to the final stage, a best-of-three direct playoff elimination where the champion was decided.

Teams

Country	Team
Argentina	Andino Sport Club
	Atenas
	Olimpia
Bolivia	Ingavi de La Paz
Brazil	Corinthians
	Cougar Franca
	Corinthians de Santa Cruz do Sul
Chile	Español de Talca
	Deportivo Petrox
Colombia	Paisas de Medellín
	Piratas de Bogotá
Paraguay	Sol de América
Peru	Deportivo SIPESA
	Regatas Lima
Venezuela	Gaiteros del Zulia

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Qualification		OLI	PET	SOL	ING
1	Olimpia	6	6	0	12	Advances to final stage		—	109–88	105–86	151–88
2	Deportivo Petrox	6	3	3	9			83–97	—	92–99	127–89
3	Sol de América	6	2	4	8			94–102	87–105	—	101–90
4	Ingavi de La Paz	6	1	5	7			101–114	91–106	120–113	—

Source: FIBA Archive

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Qualification		FRA	PAI	GAI
1	Cougar Franca	4	4	0	8	Advances to final stage		—	118–83	w/o
2	Paisas de Medellín	4	1	3	5			78–108	—	w/o
3	Gaiteros del Zulia^[a]	4	1	3	5			76–86	92–78	—

Source: FIBA Archive
Notes:

1. Gaiteros withdrew from the tournament after playing two matches.^[1]

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Qualification		COR	AND	REG	ESP
1	Corinthians	6	4	2	10	Advances to final stage		—	99–92	106–84	123–122
2	Sport Club Andino	6	4	2	10			87–81	—	94–69	110–81
3	Regatas Lima	6	3	3	9			81–74	62–96	—	97–73
4	Español de Talca	6	1	5	7			80–81	103–94	54–56	—

Source: FIBA Archive

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	Qualification		ATE	PIR	COS	SIP
1	Atenas	7	6	1	13	Advances to final stage		—	103–84	98–82	105–46
2	Piratas de Bogotá	6	4	2	10			57–77	—	87–79	85–77
3	Corinthians de Santa Cruz do Sul	6	2	4	8			91–103	w/o	—	104–77
4	Deportivo SIPESA	6	0	6	6			72–86	65–96	86–96	—

Source: FIBA Archive

Final stage

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Grand Finals
	Atenas	2
	Paisas de Medellín	0
					Atenas	2
					Olimpia	1
	Olimpia	2
	Sport Club Andino	1
									Atenas	2
									Corinthians	1
	Corinthians	2
	Deportivo Petrox	0
					Corinthians	2
					Cougar Franca	0
	Cougar Franca	2
	Piratas de Bogotá	1

Finals rosters

Atenas Cordoba: Marcelo Milanesio, Greg Dennis, Thomas Jordan, Fabricio Oberto, Diego Osella - Héctor Campana, Leandro Palladino. Coach: Rubén Magnano

Corinthians: Luiz Augusto Zanon, Robyn Davis, Oscar Schmidt, Brasilia, Caio Silveira. Coach: Zé Boquinha

Season MVP: Greg Dennis

References

1. Atenas tiene una prueba en Medellín, Clarín, 4 April 1997. Retrieved 22 May 2017.(in Spanish)

• 1997 South American League for Men's Clubs, FIBA Archive. Retrieved 18 May 2018.