Quimsa · History

Asociación Atlética Quimsa was founded on 13 August 1989 in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. It came out of a merger of three clubs from the provincial capital: Inti Club, Santiago Básquetbol Club and Estudiantes Unidos. All three were in financial trouble and agreed to combine into a single institution, with Héctor Manuel Führ as its first president. The name comes from “kimsa”, the Quichua word for “three”, after the three founding clubs. That is also where its nickname, “La Fusión” (The Merger), comes from. The team plays in blue with red trim, and its mascot is Kushi.

The climb to the Liga Nacional

Quimsa spent its early years in the lower divisions. In 2001-02 it won the Liga Nacional B, then the third tier, by beating Olimpia 3-1 in the final series. Guillermo Aliende and Fernando Small were on that team. The title took the club up to the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso, and in 2005-06 it won promotion to the Liga Nacional de Básquet, Argentina’s top flight. It made its debut there in 2006-07. In only its second top-flight season it reached the final, losing 4-0 to Libertad de Sunchales in 2008.

First trophies in 2009

The first silverware came in 2009. Quimsa won the Copa Argentina, played in Trelew, and the South American Club League. The final round of that tournament was held at the Estadio Ciudad, and the team finished it unbeaten. In the 2009-10 Liga de las Américas it reached the Final Four and finished fourth, its best result in that competition. In the 2010 South American Club League it lost the third-place game to Boca Juniors.

A first league title in 2015

Quimsa lost the Torneo Súper 8 finals of 2012, to Regatas Corrientes, and 2013, to Peñarol. A year later it won the tournament against Obras Sanitarias on home court. That set up the 2014-15 season under head coach Silvio Santander. Quimsa won the Northern Conference and met Southern Conference champion Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro Rivadavia in the final. It took the series 4-2, closing it out 70-68 in Game 6 in Comodoro Rivadavia, to claim its first Liga Nacional title. Robert Battle was on that roster, as was Gustavo “Penka” Aguirre, who hit a buzzer-beating three in Game 3 of the final.

Champions of the Americas

In 2018 Quimsa won the Torneo Súper 20 against San Lorenzo. Its big international breakthrough came in the 2019-20 Basketball Champions League Americas. On 30 October 2020, at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, it beat Flamengo 92-86 in the final for its first continental title. The win earned a place at the 2021 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, where Quimsa finished runner-up after an 82-73 defeat to San Pablo Burgos. Also in 2021, it won the 2020 edition of the Súper 20 against San Martín de Corrientes. In the league it lost two finals in a row: in 2020-21 to San Lorenzo and in 2021-22 to Instituto, 3-2.

The Leandro Ramella era

Leandro Ramella replaced Manuel Córdoba as head coach on 1 February 2023. Four months later Quimsa won its second Liga Nacional, beating Boca Juniors 4-1 in the final. It clinched the title on 16 June 2023 with a 77-51 win at the Estadio Ciudad, and Eric Anderson was named series MVP. The club also won the Supercopa de La Liga that year. In the 2023-24 BCL Americas final it faced Flamengo again, this time in Santiago del Estero. On 14 April 2024 Quimsa won 92-80, and Brandon Robinson was named Finals MVP. Later in 2024 it added the Copa Súper 20, beating Ciclista Olímpico de La Banda, its rival in the Santiago del Estero derby, 97-80 in the final. Quimsa finished top of the 2025-26 regular season but lost the league final 4-2 to Gimnasia de Comodoro Rivadavia in June 2026.

Estadio Ciudad and retired numbers

Quimsa plays at the Estadio Ciudad in Santiago del Estero, which opened in 1989 and holds 5,200 spectators. The arena was refurbished in 2013, with new climate control, stands, electronic systems and court, and again in 2021, when a three-storey building and a VIP lounge were added. The club has retired four numbers. No. 11 belongs to Miguel Cortijo, who never played for Quimsa but came through Inti Club, one of the founding clubs. The others are No. 7 for Nicolás Aguirre, No. 8 for Fernando Small and No. 14 for Gabriel Deck. Deck scored the decisive basket against Mogi das Cruzes in the 2016 Liga de las Américas.

Women’s basketball

The club entered national women’s basketball in 2017, in the Liga Femenina. Its team won the 2018 Apertura and the 2019 Clausura, then added the Supercopa in 2024. Quimsa withdrew from women’s competition in 2026.