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. 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:
Cañeros de La Romana Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís Constituyentes de San Cristóbal Indios de San Francisco de Macorís Marineros de Puerto Plata Metros de Santiago Panteras del Distrito Nacional Reales de La Vega
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. 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.
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).
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). In 2019, Titanes del Distrito Nacional also folded, bringing the team number to 6.
Teams Current teams Teams participating in the 2024-25 season
Cañeros del Este Gigantes de San Francisco Leones de Santo Domingo Marineros de Puerto Plata Metros de Santiago Reales de La Vega Soles de Santo Domingo Este Titanes del Licey
Format Regular season 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.
List of champions SeasonChampionSeriesRunner-up2005 Reales de La Vega4–2Panteras del Distrito Nacional2006 Metros de Santiago4–3Constituyentes de San Cristóbal2007 Metros de Santiago4–2Panteras del Distrito Nacional2008 Constituyentes de San Cristóbal4–2Reales de La Vega2009 No league held2010 Cañeros del Este4–1Tiburones de Puerto Plata2011 Leones de Santo Domingo4–2Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís2012 Cañeros del Este4–2Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2013 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís4–3Titanes del Licey2014 Metros de Santiago4–2Titanes del Distrito Nacional2015 Metros de Santiago4–3Cañeros del Este2016 Leones de Santo Domingo4–3Metros de Santiago2017 Metros de Santiago4–1Leones de Santo Domingo2018 Reales de La Vega4–2Cañeros del Este2019 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís4–2Metros de Santiago2020 No league held2021 Leones de Santo Domingo4–2Titanes del Distrito Nacional2022 Leones de Santo Domingo4–3Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2023Reales de La Vega4–3Titanes del Distrito2024Titanes del Distrito4–0Reales de La Vega2025Titanes del Distrito4–0Metros de Santiago2026Gigantes de San Francisco4–2Metros de Santiago
Championships TeamChampionshipsRunner-upYear(s) wonMetros de Santiago2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017Leones de Santo Domingo2011, 2016, 2021, 2022Gigantes de San Francisco2013, 2019, 2026Reales de La Vega2005, 2018, 2023Titanes del Distrito Nacional2008, 2024, 2025Cañeros del Este2010, 2012Huracanes del AtlánticoAs Tiburones de Puerto Plata.Soles de Santo Domingo EsteAs Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís.
Awards Most Valuable Player YearWinnerTeam2005 Marineros de Puerto Plata2006 Cañeros de La Romana2007 Panteras del Distrito Nacional2008 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2009No league held2010 Norte: Indios de San Francisco de MacorísSureste: Cañeros de La Romana2011 Norte: Reales de La VegaSureste: Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís2012 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2013 Titanes del Licey2014 Titanes del Distrito Nacional2015 Cañeros del Este2016 (2×) Metros de Santiago2017 (2×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2018 (3×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2019 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2021 Cañeros del Este2022 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2023 Reales de La Vega2024 Titanes del Licey2025 Metros de Santiago2026 Gigantes de San Francisco
Finals MVP
YearWinnerTeam2005 Reales de La Vega2006 Metros de Santiago2007 Metros de Santiago2008 Constituyentes de San Cristóbal2009No league held2010 Cañeros de La Romana2011 Leones de Santo Domingo2012 Cañeros del Este2013 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2014 Metros de Santiago2015 (2×)Metros de Santiago2016 Leones de Santo Domingo2017 (2×)Metro de Santiago2018 Reales de La Vega2019 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2025 Titanes del Sur2026 Gigantes de San Francisco
Statistical leaders Scoring YearPlayerTeam2005 Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís24.62006 Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís21.52007 Marineros de Puerto Plata20.62008 Panteras del Distrito Nacional20.72009No league held2010 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís23.92011 Reales de La Vega21.32012 Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís24.42013 (2×)Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís20.12014 Titanes del Distrito Nacional25.22015 Reales de La Vega23.92016 Metros de Santiago22.42017 (2×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís27.52018 (3×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís25.62019 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís21.7
Rebounds YearPlayerTeam2005 Cañeros de La Romana11.42006 Cañeros de La Romana10.72007 Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís10.52008 Constituyentes de San Cristóbal10.82009No league held2010 (2×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís12.62011 (2×)Cañeros del Este13.12012 Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís11.72013 Titanes del Licey12.92014 Reales de La Vega10.52015 Leones de Santo Domingo15.42016 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís10.92017 (2×)Leones de Santo Domingo10.62018 (3×)Cañeros del Este11.62019 Metros de Santiago12.1
Assists YearPlayerTeam2005 Constituyentes de San Cristóbal5.42006 (2×)Constituyentes de San Cristóbal5.52007 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís5.22008 (2×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís8.42009No league held2010 (3×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís4.62011 Titanes del Distrito Nacional6.32012 Huracanes del Atlántico5.52013 Leones de Santo Domingo3.92014 Cañeros del Este3.82015 Soles de Santo Domingo Este5.02016 Soles de Santo Domingo Este5.22017 Reales de La Vega6.52018 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís5.82019 Metros de Santiago5.5
Steals YearPlayerTeam2005 Cañeros de La Romana3.82006 20072008 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2.72009No league held2010 Reales de La Vega2.42011 (2×)Reales de La Vega2.32012 Reales de La Vega3.82013 Metros de Santiago1.92014 Reales de La Vega2.72015 Reales de La Vega3.02016 (2×)Metros de Santiago2.52017 Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2.22018 Soles de Santo Domingo Este2.62019 Cañeros del Este2.1
Blocks YearPlayerTeam2005 Cañeros de La Romana4.52006 20072008 Constituyentes de San Cristóbal1.42009No league held2010 (2×)Indios de San Francisco de Macorís2.22011 Leones de Santo Domingo3.42012 Huracanes del Atlántico3.32013 Reales de La Vega2.82014 Reales de La Vega2.52015 Metros de Santiago2.12016 Soles de Santo Domingo Este3.92017 Metros de Santiago1.52018 Reales de La Vega2.12019 Cañeros del Este2.5
Individual records Game
Most points in a game 54 by Adris De León, Metros de Santiago (vs. Huracanes del Atlántico) on August 11, 2016 Most rebounds in a game 27 by Jack Michael Martínez, Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís (vs. Cañeros de La Romana) on August 31, 2007 Most assists in a game 15 by Richard Ortega, Indios de San Francisco de Macorís (vs. Cañeros de La Romana) on August 5, 2008 15 by Juan Coronado, Reales de La Vega (vs. Indios de San Francisco de Macorís) on July 9, 2017 Most blocks in a game 11 by Scott VanderMeer, Leones de Santo Domingo (vs. Titanes del Distrito Nacional) on July 15, 2011 Most 3-point field goals made in a game 11 by Courtney Nelson, Huracanes del Atlántico (vs. Metros de Santiago) on September 3, 2011 (11/20) 11 by Adris De León, Metros de Santiago (vs. Huracanes del Atlántico) on August 11, 2016 (11/23)
Season Most points in a season 523 by Gerardo Suero, Indios de San Francisco de Macorís in 2017 Most rebounds in a season 261 by Alexis Montas, Cañeros del Este in 2011 Most assists in a season 159 by Richard Ortega, Indios de San Francisco de Macorís in 2008 Most steals in a season 67 by Carlos Wheeler, Panteras del Distrito Nacional in 2005 Most blocks in a season 76 by Edward Santana, Cañeros de La Romana in 2005
References
External links Official website Dominican league on Latinbasket.com @LNBrd