Chicano Basketball League - For the Love of the Game
The game of basketball was invented in 1891 by a man named James Naismith, who was a graduate student and a Springfield College instructor. Naismith's idea of basketball would soon evolve into a life-changing sport that has earned hundreds of billions of dollars for players, teams and cities around the world. Arguably one of the world's most popular sports, basketball has been predominantly dominated by one country and most recently, one race, the United States and African-American culture. However, history will show you that Hispanic culture has not been too far behind.
Butch Lee was a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks out of Marquette in 1978. Hailing from Puerto Rico, he is credited with being the first player with Hispanic roots to make it to the NBA. He earned a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980 when they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals. Lee might have been the first but he’s definitely not the last, with other big names like Pau Gasol from Spain making it into the Hall of Fame. Carmelo Anthony, former #2 overall draft pick, 9 time NBA all-star, and Olympic medal winner, was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Manu Ginobili from Argentina, Al Horford from the Dominican Republic, and Brook Lopez from Los Angeles, California can also be added to the list.
The Hispanic culture not only has soccer and baseball roots, but can confidently add basketball to the list. Here in Arizona, there has been one league that for over 2 decades has been making a way and giving a platform to Hispanic basketball players; it is known as the Chicano Basketball League or CBL. The CBL has had players from the Mexican Professional Basketball League (LNBP) as well as professionals from the European leagues all compete in weekend traditional tournaments like the Laughlin, Cinco de Mayo, and Fourth of July Tournaments, to name just a few. This year's 4th of July Tournament was like no other, because it had the most divisions it has ever had, ranging from Junior High teams to 50 & Over teams.
This year’s champs are:
Open division: “Golden Gators”
45 & Over division: “Carnales”
40 & Over divisions: “AZ Unidos”
35 & Over division: “Wolves”
High School division: “Tierra del Sol”
Junior High division: “Golden Gators”
When and why was the CBL created?
The CBL was created 17 years ago with the mission to bring Latino Basketball to light in Arizona for our community and our youth. The adult side of the game aimed to keep the Arizona Latino competitive when the teams go out of state, to compete in other South Western states in Latino Basketball tournaments.
Who created the CBL and who runs the day to day operations?
We have a panel of 12 people that runs the CBL, so to give 1 person the credit would be unfair to the other 11, but the co-founder is Joe Leon.
How do you think the CBL has helped the community and what do you expect to be in the next few years as far as goals you have?
The CBL is not only a basketball organization. It’s also an organization that helps its community through the game of basketball, holding events to raise funds for travel teams uniforms, rental vans, hotels, shirts, food and other traveling expenses to give teams an opportunity to play the game they love out of state and even out of the country. The CBL has also had basketball tournaments for many families that have had youth with cancer, generating funds for hospital expenses. The CBL has helped families with back-to-school shopping sprees, paying for hundreds of kids to go to the Arizona Mills mall to buy school clothes, and school supplies for inner city youth. We have raised funds for funeral expenses for 2 players who passed away. The CBL has also played Santa Claus for hundreds of families during Christmas Time, and for inner city youth and their families to provide them with gifts and food during the holidays.
What do you expect to be in the next few years as far as goals you have?
We want to continue to help in our community through different sports and give our youth a chance to succeed, no matter what demographic challenges they have to make them better people and higher their education. The CBL means hope for our community through the game of basketball, and chances for the communities that may not have many opportunities because of different circumstances. You can look at our instagram page for more information on our mission and goals. We would like to thank the Arizona Latino Basketball Community and all the people that believe in our programs.
The CBL has been a life and community change organization. It continues to give Latinos hope, from youth ages to grown men that are trying to keep the game of basketball alive in their life with positive and competitive dreams.
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