The Centrobasket is a

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

-sponsored international

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tournament where national teams from

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the

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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

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. 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 The CBC Championship or CaribeBasket is a FIBA-sponsored international basketball tournament where national teams from the Caribbean participate. These countries are members of the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC). The top three or four t ...

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 ArchivePanama HistoryPuerto Rico & Dominican Republic HistoryCuba FIBA HistoryVirgin Islands Partial History for first two competitionsCaribbean Basketball Confederation
{{International women's basketball Basketball competitions in North America between national teams Basketball competitions in Central America