The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October.
History
The league was founded on September 6, 2004 at the Hotel Lina in Santo Domingo as the Liga Dominicana de Baloncesto (Dominican Basketball League), also known as LIDOBA; the founders were a group of investors and former basketball players, supported by the Dominican Basketball Federation.[2] Before the creation of a national league, basketball was practiced at regional and local level.
The teams that participated in the first edition in 2005 were:
The first game was played on July 1, 2005 at the Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto between Panteras del Distrito Nacional and Indios de San Francisco de Macorís: Panteras won, 79–63.[3] The first league champions were Reales de La Vega, that won the title after winning the best-of-7 championship series against Panteras, 4–2.[4]
In 2009, the league was cancelled due to financial difficulties. On May 19, 2010 the league announced its return under a new branding and name, Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (National Basketball League).[5][6][7]
From 2005 to 2017, the league had 8 teams participating every season. In 2018, Huracanes del Atlántico folded, and the league was played by 7 teams (3 in the North conference, and 4 in the Southeast conference).[8] In 2019, Titanes del Distrito Nacional also folded, bringing the team number to 6.[1]
In the first season in 2005, all 8 teams competed in a round-robin tournament, where each team had to play against every other team. In 2006 two conferences were introduced: the Circuito Norte (North) and Circuito Sur (South), of 4 teams each. In 2010, with the league changing name to Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, the Sur conference was renamed Sureste (Southeast). In 2018, with the folding of Huracanes del Atlántico, the North conference included only 3 teams. In 2019 the team number was reduced to 6, and the league reintroduced the round-robin tournament, eliminating the conference system.
Playoffs
In 2005, the first 4 teams at the end of the regular season qualified for the playoffs. With the introduction of two conferences (Circuitos) in 2006, the first 3 teams of each conference qualified for the playoffs. In 2011 this was changed, as only the first 2 teams qualified for the playoffs, thus eliminating the first round of the playoffs. The first two teams of each conference faced each other in the playoffs semifinals, and the championship game was played between the winners of the semifinal series. In 2016, the first 3 teams of each conference qualified for a further postseason round robin tournament, the winners of which qualified for the championship game. This was eliminated in 2018, with the folding of Huracanes del Atlántico, and the league resumed the original playoff format, reintroducing the semifinals.
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