The history of Boca Juniors basketball section can be traced to 1929, when the club executives decided to open a basketball section, when the sport was still amateur in the country. Boca Juniors started competing one year later, when the club affiliated to "Federación Argentina de Básquetbol", the only regulation body by then.El básquet no se toca! at bocaesnuestro.com.ar
Boca would then play in another basketball associations such as "Asociación de Básquet de Buenos Aires", where most of the football clubs played. In successive years, Boca would win a considerable amount of championships not only in the amateur or semi-professional leagues but also in professional Liga Nacional.
The beginning The basketball section of Boca Juniors was created in 1929, requesting affiliation to the association but it was rejected. In 1930 the club could be registered to Federación Argentina de Básquet (the body that governed basketball in Argentina by then) but only junior teams took part of the competitions. The good results encouraged the club to continue participating in the league. In 1934 the team debuted at second division finishing second.
In 1937, a rift developed between the Buenos Aires Basketball Association and some of its affiliated clubs, including Boca Juniors. Following this conflict, Boca, along with River Plate, Racing Club, Independiente, San Lorenzo, Sportivo Barracas, Estudiantes de La Plata, Lanús and Talleres de Remedios de Escalada, It decided to disaffiliate from the governing body and form a new parallel entity called the Buenos Aires Basketball Association (ABBA), of a semi-amateur nature, with an orientation towards professionalism. In their first participation in the tournaments organized by the new league, Boca obtained four victories and two defeats.
On 27 November 1938 Boca Juniors played United States' team Amateur Athletic Union at the Luna Park of Buenos Aires. Boca won the match 38-33 being the first victory achieved by an Argentine basketball team over a North American side. The line-up was José Giuliano, Víctor Di Vita, Pedro Aizcorbe, Carlos Stropiana y Roberto Contini.
The "all-star" team Between the late 1930s and early 1940s, Boca Juniors won its first titles in Buenos Aires basketball. The team was crowned champion of the 1938 Torneo Apertura (Opening Tournament) undefeated, and the following year, it finished as runner-up in the Torneo Oficial (Official Tournament) with 10 wins and one loss, in addition to winning the Torneo Apertura again without a single defeat.
On June 1, 1940, as part of the celebrations for the inauguration of the La Bombonera, Boca played a friendly match against Estudiantes de La Plata, winning 57-52.
The club also won the Buenos Aires Association's official championships in 1940 and 1941, while in 1942 they finished as runners-up and in 1943 they took third place. The players who made up the squad during that period were, in alphabetical order: Pedro Aizcorbe, Daniel Anglés, Elías Bissio, Roberto Contini, Alberto Dayán, Víctor Di Vita, José Giuliano, Carlos Induni, Felipe Mattianich, Mario Mattioni, Pedro Rodríguez, and Carlos Stroppiana.
In 1947, a conflict arose between Boca Juniors and the Buenos Aires Basketball Association (ABBA), jeopardizing the participation of its representative teams after the club threatened to withdraw from the governing body. The Boca leadership was pushing for a merger between the Argentine Basketball Federation and the ABBA, but ultimately, after a series of negotiations, Boca decided to remain part of the latter.
Return to glory In 1951, the Metropolitan Tournament was created, a new competition that brought together teams from the two rival leagues of the time: the Argentine Federation and the Buenos Aires Association. Starting in 1955, Boca Juniors began a project to regain its prestige in basketball. Rosario natives Enrique Borda joined the team in 1954, and Bernardo Schime and Rubén Petrilli in 1955. The roster also included Fazio, Alberto Noval, and Egidio De Fornasari, under the technical direction of Andrés Rossi.
Between 1956 and 1957, José Olivera, José Novoa, and Luis Pérez joined the team. This group began to achieve outstanding results: Boca Juniors won the Metropolitano Tournament in 1957 and 1959, after having been runner-up in 1958. They also finished as runners-up in the Buenos Aires Association's Official Tournament in 1958 and 1959.
The triple-triple crown
At that time, the stadium used for the sport was the "Salón Azul" ("Blue Hall" in Spanish), located in the same area where the "Museo de la Pasión Boquense" ("Boca Juniors Passion Museum" in Spanish) is currently located.
After Andrés Rossi's departure in 1959, Abelardo Rafael Dasso took over as head coach, beginning one of the most outstanding periods in Boca Juniors basketball history. The roster during those years included players such as Enrique Borda, Jesús María Díaz, Miguel Carrizo, Bernardo Schime, Alberto Desimone, Luis Pérez, Egidio De Fornasari, Alberto Noval, Héctor Vázquez, Rubén Castelli, Juan Carlos Mazzini, Abel Rojas, Luis Torrás, Edgardo Molinari, and Héctor Rosales.
Between 1961 and 1963, Boca Juniors achieved the treble, winning the Torneo Apertura, the Torneo Metropolitano, and the Buenos Aires Association Championship. During that period, they played 93 matches, with a record of 89 wins and 4 losses. Subsequently, they added further titles: the 1964 Torneo Apertura and the Buenos Aires Association Championships in 1965, 1966, and 1967.
In 1969, Boca Juniors again won the Torneo Metropolitano and finished as runners-up in the Buenos Aires Association Championship. The following year, they won the Buenos Aires Association Championship once more, defeating Lanús 91–76 at River Plate's Microstadium. The team was coached by Enrique Borda and featured Juan Carlos Mazzini, Néstor Delguy, Adalberto Gusso, Emilio Dumani, Juan Tito, and Jesús María Díaz.
Economic crisis and restructuring Boca played the 1984 season, the last before the creation of Liga Nacional de Básquet, although the severe crisis of the club by then caused the team went off the competition few days before the beginning of the tournament. Boca made an effort to play in the second division in 1986 but the association did not allow the team to participate so Boca had to play at the last division, the Regional C. The team promoted to Liga B that same year.
First participation in LNB In 1988, Boca Juniors achieved promotion to the top division by winning the tournament organized by the Confederación Argentina de Básquetbol. The team was led by Horacio Seguí, who years later served as coach of the Argentina men's national basketball team.
In the 1989 season of the National Basketball League, Boca Juniors played 32 games, with a record of 12 wins and 19 losses, finishing in 14th place out of 16 participating teams with a total of 43 points. This result resulted in their relegation to the National League B. In 1990, they competed in the second division, reaching the promotion final and finishing in second place. Despite not winning the championship, the team still earned the right to participate in the top division, thus achieving their return to the elite of Argentine basketball.
1996–97 season On June 29, 1996, in a friendly match against Obras Sanitarias, the Luis Conde Stadium, built specifically for basketball, was inaugurated, built specifically for the practise of basketball, then named "Luis Conde" (mostly known as "La Bombonerita") in honour of a recently deceased vice president."Boca lo va a extrañar" , La Nación, 6 March 1998] The game ended 85–74 in favor of Boca Juniors. The stadium's construction was spearheaded by Mauricio Macri, then president of the club, along with Orlando Salvestrini, head of the basketball subcommittee.
In the 1996-97 National Basketball League, the team coached by Julio Lamas had an outstanding initial phase, finishing in first place. In the second phase, injuries affected their performance, causing them to relinquish the lead to Atenas; however, they managed to maintain second place and secured home-court advantage until the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals they defeated Regatas de San Nicolás 3-1, in the semifinals they beat Ferro 3-2, and in the decisive series they beat Independiente (General Pico) 4-1. With an overall record of 42 wins and 16 losses in 58 games played, Boca Juniors became champions for the first time of the National Basketball League.
The team roster was: Byron Wilson, Jerome Mincy, Ariel Bernardini, Luis Villar, Sebastián Festa, Gabriel Fernández, Claudio Farabello, Gustavo Fernández, Diego Prego, Claudio Chiappero, Sebastián Acosta, Esteban Acosta, Fernando Oyarzún and Ariel Eslava. Julio Lamas was the coach.
Golden Era: 11 titles in five years
2002–03 season In 2002, they competed in the 2002 Argentine Basketball Cup, which was introduced as a preseason competition. They were in Group 2 of the qualifying round. In the quarterfinals, they defeated La Unión de Formosa 2-0, in the semifinals they beat Central Entrerriano by point differential (94-96 and 96-71), and in the final they defeated Ben Hur by the same margin (78-91 and 78-63). With these results, they advanced to the final quadrangular, where they defeated Argentino de Junín, Gimnasia (LP) and Atenas, becoming the first champion of the Copa Argentina.
2003–04 season With Sergio Hernández taking over as head coach, Boca Juniors won the 2003 Copa Argentina de Básquet, securing the title undefeated for the second consecutive year. They were placed in Group 2 of the qualifying round, where they defeated River Plate 2–0 in the quarterfinals, Obras Sanitarias 2–0 in the semifinals, and Quimsa 2–0 in the final. In the final quadrangular, they defeated Argentino de Junín, Gimnasia (LP) and Atenas.
In the 2003-04 National Basketball League, the team finished first in the first phase of the South Zone and repeated that position in the second phase, securing home-court advantage in all playoff series. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Belgrano (San Nicolás de los Arroyos) 3-0, in the semifinals they beat Obras 3-1, and in the final they faced Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, losing the first two games at home. They then rallied to win the series 4-2. They finished the season with a record of 44 wins and 13 losses in 57 games, averaging 95.8 points for and 85.0 points against.
2004–05 season In the 2004 Argentine Basketball Cup, they were placed in Series 1 of the qualifying round. In the quarterfinals, they faced Sionista, losing the first game 78-69 and winning the second 95-63, advancing on aggregate. In the semifinals, they eliminated Ciclista Juninense (2-0), and in the final, they defeated Central Entrerriano (2-0). In this way he qualified for the final quadrangular, where he defeated Obras (83-81), Libertad (S) (107-104) and River Plate (94-87), becoming three-time champion of the Argentine Cup.
In the 2004 South American Club Champions Championship, they were in Group B. They debuted with a loss against Guácharos (Venezuela) by 78-76, but then defeated Piratas de Medellín (Colombia) 94-62 and Uberlândia (Brazil) by 94-83, qualifying for the semifinals. There they defeated Deportivo San José (Paraguay) 82-78 and in the final they defeated Delfines (Venezuela) 92-87, becoming international champions for the first time.
In the Top 4 Tournament 2004, Boca beat Libertad (S) 90–70 in the first round, River Plate 79–75 in the second round and Ben Hur 82–81 in the last round, becoming champion of the tournament.
2005–06 season