BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Oriente Petrolero were set to be formally crowned with the Bolivian title on Monday, eight days after winning the Clausura championship. At the weekend, Defensor Sporting won the Uruguayan Apertura championship, Libertad took the Paraguayan Clausura title and Universidad Catolica were crowned in Chile. BOLIVIA Wilstermann, who won the Apertura in the first half of the year but finished bottom of the Clausura, lost a protest against Oriente Petrolero that could have cost the champions crucial points. A Bolivian Football League (LFPB) tribunal declared at the weekend that Petrolero were champions and Wilstermann were relegated, and said they would make a formal announcement on Monday. LFPB president Mauricio Mendez, who was voted into office as chairman of Wilstermann, said he would step down. Wilstermann, relegated for the first time, will play in the semi-professional regional Cochabamba league next year as there is no national second division in Bolivia. They will, however, take part in next year's South American Libertadores Cup as Apertura winners, along with Petrolero and Bolivar, who were Clausura runners-up. URUGUAY Defensor Sporting came from a goal down to beat bottom team Tacuarembo 3-1 away to clinch the 2010/11 season's Apertura championship on the final day by one point from Nacional. With the victory, Defensor qualify to meet the winners of the Clausura which will be played in the second half of the season for the national title they last won in 2008. Last season's champions Penarol finished in sixth place after a disappointing Apertura, with coach Manuel Keosseian resigning two matches from the end. PARAGUAY Libertad won the Clausura championship, second of two in the 2010 calendar-year season, after a 5-0 rout of 3 de Febrero, succeeding Apertura champions Guarani as title holders. "Libertad played best. All the teams had their ups and downs but we were the best, deserving champions," the club's chairman, powerful businessman Horacio Cartes, who has his eye on the presidency of Paraguay, told reporters. CHILE Universidad Catolica, coached by Argentine-born former Spain striker Juan Antonio Pizzi, were crowned Chilean champions after ending the season with a 5-0 victory over Everton, their seventh win in a row. Title holders Colo Colo, who had been seven points clear of Catolica with seven matches to go, had a poor run-in and finished second three points behind. (Reporting by Carlos Quiroga in La Paz, Daniela Desantis in Asuncion, Conrado Hornos in Montevideo and Claudio Cerda in Santiago) (Writing by Rex Gowar; Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email [email protected])
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