St. Michael?s boys take National Hoops crown
James Adderley, Reporting
Good evening I?m James Adderley with this pre-Christmas dish of Sports Monday. The defending National Secondary Schools Basketball Champion Delille Academy of Stann Creek and the new Belize City champion, St. Michaels College both arrived at the finals of the National Basketball Tournament staged at over the weekend at the People?s Stadium in Orange Walk.
Immediately off the opening tip-off the City team strikes for two via the efforts of Dwight Brown. The reply comes from Paul Hernandez as Delille establishes itself and it quickly becomes clear we?ve got a ballgame on our hands.
St. Michael?s star, Densmore Edwards, then finds Jason Augustine baseline and he reverses for two.
So, Delille Academy goes to its go to player Trevor Ramos who displays a sweet stroke from three point lane.
Off this Paul Hernandez miss Shelton Burgess makes good for the south with the put back. He then shows off his inside move as he raises to sink the eight foot jumper–he would finish with fourteen points.
And Densmore Edwards pulls off his patented sneak play to get an easy two point, he would total a team high seventeen points but St. Michaels?s finds itself down by two points and the end that?s the end of the first half.
In second half action remains tight as Jason Augustine gives SMC two points.
Jay Chavarria who would finish with thirteen points works his magic to score a big time three to make it a two-point deficit for St. Michaels.
And its Michaels with a five point lead when Rafael O?Brien comes up with this left hand basket.
Delille looks to Trevor Ramos for production and he slices through the Michael?s defence for and finish off the lay up and winds up with three points the hard way. Densmore Edwards then pulls back for two points and we?re ties at forty-nine a piece with three minutes to go.
In the meantime, Jay Chavarria comes up with this big basket for St. Michaels. Trevor Ramos replies with this monster three pointer but we?re not sure he called for the back.
Paul Hernandez trails the miss by Anthony Flores to get two key points for Delille Academy.
Ramos is then hammered on this three-point attempt–he would seek all three free throws to knot the ballgame at fifty-seven points apiece with twenty-three second to long whistle.
And folks this frees throw comes in by Paul Bernadez provides the win for St. Michaels College who edges Delille Academy for the 2004 National Secondary Schools Basketball title.
Trevor Ramos was voted MVP of the tournament and we say congratulations.
On the female side, Mopan Technical of Benque Viejo edged out the Toledo Community College twenty-one to twenty for the National title. Genevere Reynolds emerged the MVP and we say good show.
In Cycling news, Family Day was observed by the Cycling Community at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex which hosted the finish of a monster fifty-two miles race, which left Sugar City of Orange Walk featuring all of fifty-one elite and master riders. Most would remain with a shot at the women inside the Marion Jones but this four, Jose Choco, Douglas Lamb, Patrick Benett, and Roger Troyer, are the first to enter the park.
However this hungry pack is chasing at maximum speed so let?s head to the grand finale. Ernest Meighan hangs for the big W, as Big Mike Lewis edged out his brother Charlie Lewis for second place, Mateo Cruz is forced in fourth place while Roy Cattouse rounds out the top five. We look forward to the January first Krem Cycling Classic.
Ernest Meighan, First Place Winner
?If it comes to a field sprint, that?s my job to win the field sprint and I was saving a lot of energy at the end because my team-mate they keep it all together knowing that we have two good sprinters, that?s me and Mateo.?
?Coming in New Years race, the big guys will be here and its going to be a different race. I don?t think its going to be a big sprint coming New Years because when the foreigners are here, they are the ones who separate the men from the boys.?
Ian Smith
?We are focussing for the first of January race and I feel like I am on target with my form. I rode well, I rode strong. It was a very hard race. It averaged, my computer reads, twenty-seven point miles an hour. So it?s very fast. The whole feel was there so it?s hard to judge. We do know Jermain is very strong and he made a move very fast and he won the race. I felt good and my entire team was good.?
Meanwhile folks, Mateo Cruz emerged the Elite rider of the year. He?s the cyclist of the year 2004. He finished with seven hundred and forty points edging out Ian Smith.
Marlon Castillo, as expected, took the Junior edition of this title with a humongous eleven hundred and thirty-five points while Violet Morrison took the female cyclist of the year with seven hundred and sixty-one points, edging out Gina Lovell.
In football news, Lucky Strike Eagles were clubbed five to one in Game II of the Belize Rural Championship yesterday at Sandhill by Pueblo Escondido.
This nice pass from Jack Dawson finds Lewis Ariola who gives Pueblo Escondido a 1-zip lead.
In early second half, Jack Dawson makes a 2-zip lead after beating the keeper in a one-one stickers.
Off this spot kick Jack Dawson gets an opportunity to score another easy goal and he does. Pueblo Escondido goes on to record the five-one big W and the final Game III is set for this Sunday at Sandhill.
That?s it for now folks. We certainly would like to say thanks to our cameraman for the great work over the weekend. Jah over all, I?m James Adderley.
