Champions Of Cuba

You can go almost anywhere in the world and find a dedicated basketball community. They might not play to the level of the NBA – “we don’t even have statistics here” – but there are always stories to be told.

This pas summer photographer Mehdi Lacoste travelled to Cuba, where he photographed the Capitalinos – a team who hail from Havana and who are the current reigning champions of Cuban basketball. After gaining a record of 27–0 in the regular season of the Liga Superior de Baloncesto, the highest level of Cuban basketball, they defeated Ciego de Avila for their second championship.

Even here, on an island with a population one third of the size of Canada, there’s an eight-team league that has some historic rivalries, must see games, and one inspirational team in particular. These are the Capitalinos.