La Liga del Barrio

La Liga del Barrio is Philadelphia's first Latino youth basketball league and it offers Latino youth an opportunity to develop basketball skills and enjoy the game while also promoting educational achievement. The league is open for boys and girls ages 6 to 16 and consists of 28 teams. Each player receives an official La Liga Del Barrio T-shirt, and selected participants have the opportunity to play on the 76ers home court prior to a game and scrimmage at halftime.

La Liga del Barrio on Univision!

Univison: Andres Nocioni Interview

On Saturday, April 9, 2011, the Sixers' Latino youth basketball league La Liga del Barrio held its 11th annual awards ceremony in Philadelphia's Thomas Edison High School auditorium, following the championship games in each of the league's age brackets.

The celebration of the season tipped off with the introductions of Esther and Ray Alvarez, who signed on as commissioners of the league at its inception, quickly followed by an energetic entrance from Sixers mascot Hip-Hop.

La Liga's honorary commissioners and Sixers players Tony Battie and Andres Nocioni then took the stage to help hand out the awards. Nocioni welcomed the crowd, who enjoyed hearing someone speak a language familiar to them. He closed his introduction with "Me da mucho orgullo estar aqui" - "It brings me much joy to be here."

The auditorium curtains opened to reveal a stage full of trophies and awards. Children were called up by division and presented the awards by Hip-Hop, Battie and Nocioni. Players posed for photos with the children and their families.

After the presentation of awards, families piled into the school's cafeteria, where parents and volunteers had prepared a feast of Latino dishes.

Among the children receiving awards were Rebecca Rodriguez and Greg Davis, both high school students.

Davis said he enjoys the League because it's very organized, and said that, if he weren't participating, he'd probably be at home idle.

Rodriguez said that she loves La Liga because everyone, regardless of skill level, gets equal playing time.

Nancy Ortiz, a mother with two boys in the program, ages 12 and 14, spoke very highly of La Liga. For her family, it is generational, as her younger brother began the program when he was young, and her boys began when they were each 5-years-old. She says that La Liga gives a very positive message: "It gives them something to do besides being in the streets, and everybody enjoys it."