Gimnasia y Esgrima y Pedernera Unidos

GEPU—short for Club Gimnasia y Esgrima y Pedernera Unidos—is a sports club based in San Luis, Argentina. Founded in 1925, it is best known for its basketball program.

The senior team spent the 1990s in the Liga Nacional, Argentina’s top basketball league, and won two championships there. Today, the basketball side plays in the Torneo Federal, the country’s third division. The club also fields teams in basque pelota, football, gymnastics, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball.

The club began as Club Gimnasia y Esgrima on June 28, 1925, started by a group of friends led by Emilio Perazzo, who became its first president. Fencing was the original focus; instructor Raúl Ruffa later represented Argentina at the 1936 Olympics. In the 1940s, the basketball team from Club Olimpia moved over to Gimnasia y Esgrima, bringing the sport with it.

In 1979, the club merged with Club Pedernera, a local institution known for football and cycling, and the name changed to Gimnasia y Esgrima Pedernera Unidos. Locals soon began calling it GEPU. After the merger, the club added gymnastics, tennis, basque pelota, paddle, and swimming.

The basketball team earned promotion to the Liga Nacional in 1989, finishing second to Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro Rivadavia. It left the league in 1994 after losing in the quarterfinals. GEPU claimed its first Liga Nacional title in the 1990–91 season under coach Daniel Rodríguez. Héctor Campana was named MVP for both the regular season and the finals, scoring 1,448 points over 46 games—an average of 31.5 per game, the third-highest total in league history.

The team beat Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca 4–2 in the finals. The following season, GEPU returned to the finals but fell to Atenas de Córdoba 4–2; Campana, now playing for Atenas, was again named MVP. GEPU won its second title in 1992–93, avenging that loss by defeating Atenas 4–2. Juan Espil was named MVP for both the season and the finals, and led the league in scoring with an average of 28.8 points per game (1,672 total in 58 matches), the second-best mark in Liga Nacional history.

Notable players include Héctor Campana, Hernán Montenegro, Carlos Romano, Juan Espil, Diego Maggi, and Esteban Pérez.

Honors: Liga Nacional (2)—1990–91, 1992–93.