It has been six versions since the decision was made to professionalize basketball in Colombia. "This only shows that from the beginning we formed a project and dreamed of something that is now a reality, which has countless things to improve but of which today we feel deeply proud," as expressed by Juan Pablo Rodríguez, Director of Sports Marketing at DIRECTV.
Here are the changes and news for the 2015 II edition:
1. The inclusion of Astros del Valle, a department that will have a representative in the League for the first time. The home of the Vallecaucano team will be the Evangelista Mora coliseum and will be under the technical direction of Guillermo Moreno. "Happy because this new opportunity is presented, because there is a new way to grow with the boys that I trained and who were expectant for this possibility of doing positive things for Valle del Cauca," Moreno said.
2. The U.B.C. Muiscas team from Cundinamarca also joins the League, the home of the new quintet has not been defined yet, but among the possibilities being considered are Tocancipa or Fusagasugá.
3. Carlos Parra goes from coach to president of Club Búcaros. "Sometimes it was difficult for me to plan the training sessions because it overlapped with my role as a manager and the truth is stressful. For the good of the team, I decided to bring in Bernardo González as the coach," Parra told.
4. The return of Halcones de Cúcuta after a year of absence, while refurbishing the Toto Hernández coliseum.
5. The tournament with 10 teams will be maintained this semester: the current champion Águilas de Tunja, Academia de la Montaña, Búcaros, Llaneros Baloncesto Club, Manizales Once Caldas, Patriotas de Boyacá, Piratas de Bogotá, Halcones de Cúcuta, U.B.C. Muiscas de Cundinamarca, and Astros Blanco del Valle.
6. There will be a change in the format of the La Liga DIRECTV 2015-II championship, which will now be played with a round-robin format this semester and the return in the other tournament.
7. The first phase will be played from Tuesday, July 21st, to September 13th. This phase will have a total of 97 games.
8. The top six from the round-robin stage will advance to the playoffs, where the first and sixth, second and fifth, and third and fourth will face each other.
9. The winners and the best loser of these series, which are played in a best-of-three format, will qualify for the semifinals. The top four will compete in two series of the best-of-five games.
10. The grand final will take place from October 9th to 23rd, 2015, starting at the home of the team with the best record in the regular phase of the championship. The champion of the competition will secure a spot in the 2016 South American League.
11. For this occasion, Guerreros de Bogotá will not compete due to losing the sponsorship of Pacific Rubiales. Guerreros de Bogotá had already become champions and represented Colombia in the South American League. Marinos de Cartagena, which had borrowed the spot now taken by Halcones de Cúcuta, and the Cafeteros de Armenia team will also not be present in this version.