This study was to analyze and compare the learning acquired by the students in the sport of basketball in two different methodologies. The sample was composed of 40 students divided into two groups. The intervention programs had previously been validated. A descriptive analysis of the learning indicators, a t-test for independent samples to identify the differences between the methods, and a t-test for related samples to analyze the differences in each group were performed. There are differences between the performance profiles of students in the Direct Instruction in Basketball program and those in the Tactical Game in Basketball program in nine variables. Significant differences are found in the situations of dribbling, shooting, passing and movement, spacing, off-ball defense, and help and in the performance indicator for decision making, execution, and total, which are favorable to the Tactical Game in Basketball program. The students of the Direct Instruction in Basketball program only improved in three variables after the program, while the Tactical Game in Basketball students improved in thirteen variables. It is recommended that the teachers at the schools use the Tactical Game in Basketball methodology for their basketball teaching lessons, because student learning is better than in the Direct Instruction in Basketball program.
Keywords: Tactical Game Approach; basketball; physical education; teaching method.