The Sixth Panamerican Tournament of Best Clubs opens in Santo Domingo Friday afternoon at 6 pm. The event was postponed one day after the ESPN crew which will be transmitting the event to Latin American and Hispanic audiences in the US had removed their equipment as a precaution when Hurricane Lenny was expected. The event will last through 21 November and will take place at the Palacio de los Deportes of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center and some games at the Polideportivo of San Pedro de Macorís. Clubs from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Honduras and the Dominican Republic will be participating in the event. The teams are the Club Universidad Popular Autónoma de Puebla (Mexico), Club Sportivo Independiente (Argentina), Club Welcome (Uruguay), Club Marathon Franca Basketbol (Brazil), Club Nacional de Ingenieros (Honduras), Club Vasco de Gama (Brazil). The Club Mets de Mauricio Báez (national champions, Dominicana) and Club Guloyas de San Pedro de Macorís ( runner-up Dominicana) will also participate. The Games will take place at 2 and 4 pm, 7 and 9 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be games at 11 am, 1, 5 and 7 pm. For a RD$30 admission ticket basketball fans can sit through the four games that start at 2 pm. This is the first time this championship is held outside of South America. The grouping of the teams is as follows: Group A: 1. Champion (Dom) 2. Vasco da Gama (Bra) 3. Welcome (Uru) 4. Nacional (Hon) Group B: 1. Franca (Bra) 2. Independiente (Arg) 3. Runner up (Dom) 4. Champion (Mex) The teams play against all and by points within their groups for three days (19-22) November, with a total of 12 games.
