The Centrobasket is a
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
-sponsored international
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
tournament where national teams from
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
and the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
participate. These countries make up the Central American and Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CONCENCABA). The top three or four Women's National teams typically earn berths to the
FIBA Women's AmeriCup
The FIBA Women's AmeriCup (formerly FIBA Americas Championship for Women) is the Americas Women's Basketball Championship that take place every two years between national teams of the continents. The Women's AmeriCup is also a qualifying tournam ...
, from which they can qualify for the
FIBA Basketball World Cup
The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's globa ...
or
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
. Teams qualify for these tournaments by finishing high (usually first or second place) in the previous Centrobasket or by placing high at the
FIBA COCABA Championship for Mexico and the seven Central American countries and at the
FIBA CBC Championship for the 23 Caribbean countries. In total, 31 countries have an opportunity to qualify their national teams for Centrobasket, yet all of them do not enter teams regularly.
History
Celebration of the tournament typically is every two years. Initially played only in odd years, the tournament has, in recent years, it has moved to even years since 2004. The tournament was not held in either 1979 or 1983, but with those exceptions, the tournament has been held every other year, excepting for subsequent tournaments in 2003 and 2004.
Eight teams participate at the tournament, divided into two groups. The first round of the tournament consists of a round-robin, and then, in the second round, teams compete to define their final position at the tournament's standing.
Panama and Puerto Rico have been multiple medal winners at this event, both considered the strongest teams in the region, even though the Puerto Rican team almost never sends its best players for this competition (it mostly sends its second team). To date, Puerto Rico has earned large number of medals in every tournament that it has participated in.
Men's tournament
Summary
Performances by nation
Participation details
Women's tournament
Summary
Performances by nation
References
FIBA Archive*
*
*
Virgin Islands Partial History for first two competitions*
{{International women's basketball
Basketball competitions in North America between national teams
Basketball competitions in Central America
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
Recurring sporting events established in 1965