Semi-pro basketball opens season
Good evening I’m James Adderley and allow me to welcome you to this issue of Sports Monday.
It might not have been properly publicised, and in fact, it did not attract the number of fans an event of this magnitude usually commands, but the Belize Basketball Association nevertheless opening the curtain Friday night on the annual semi-pro basketball season at the City Centre.
We join the action at the tip off with Claude “Too Tall” Jones of the defending champion Raiders against Ernest Broaster of B.T.L. Nets. And well, were into the mix with these two perennials rivals.
Both teams show opening night jitters in the early goings and some degree of rust as its takes all of two and a half minutes before we get the first field goal of the ballgame, thanks to Bart Sanchez of the Raiders.
Nevertheless, it’s the Raiders with the early momentum as Kirk Burgess steals and deals to Darwin Cater, who knows what to do with the pill. The Nets finally get a field goal when Keith Acosta takes this throw in directly to the hoop.
And then Darren Bovell threads the needle to Ernest Broaster, who gives B.T.L. a three-point lead.
Of course the Raiders go for an answer from Darwin Carter, who strikes for three here–and would finish the game with a high of twenty-eight points.
Still down by six points, Carter goes behind the back to Clinton Lamb Fuller, who wound finish with fifteen points.
On this press, B.T.L. shows good interior passing when Acosta hooks up with Leroy Forbes who delivers. But we’ve got to show you this Devon Lozano’s rejection at the hands of Claude “Too Tall” Jones. At the half B.T.L. is up by twelve points.
But it’s the Raiders who take centre stage at the half, when Capital Life Insurance delivers on its promise to provide rings for last year’s semi-pro basketball champions.
This might have woken up Keith Acosta, because he heaps some abuse on Claude Jones with this thunder dunk. The Raiders come back with this alley oop to Kirk Burgess, who converts.
Talk about a long tray people, Darren Bovell hits nothing but the bottom of the net from real long distance, to give the nets a 50-32 lead. B.T.L. would never look back, but that didn’t stop Bart Sanchez from mashing it home for the Raiders.
A crucial moment in the run by Raiders to get back in this ballgame in second half comes when the Raiders turn over the ball to Roscoe Rhys, who makes them pay. Keith Acosta then smokes the three–he would lead his team with nineteen points.
The Nets go on to win opening night 77-70.
In cricket news, after a one-week pause for the visit of the Marylebone Cricket Club of England, the Harrison Parks Cricket championship resumed with game two being hosted by Wicked Eleven Saturday at Flower’s Bank.
Things started out rough for the Wicked ones against a bubbling Berlan bowling with the first batter getting out with only a couple of runs scored.
But in come Winston Flowers to shows up the Wicked Eleven offence as he strikes for four. He wound finish with the game high of seventy-seven runs being batted in before being bowled out.
Flowers had help from Troy Rhaburn, who struck for seventy-two runs as the Flower’s Bank team totalled two hundred and six runs in their turn at bat.
When it was Berlan’s turn, all they could muster were seventy-two runs away from home field against Lawrence Banner, who took five wickets and Troy Rhaburn, who struck for three. The decisive game three comes up this Saturday.
Finally folks, international football comes to Belize on July nineteenth at the Marshalleck Stadium, where the Benque Viejo Fiesta will feature a clash of champions as Sagitun of Belize faces Comunicaciones of Guatemala. These two ball clubs met earlier on, I think last year, and it ended up in a 1-1 tie at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium. Going into the ballgame at the Benque Viejo Fiesta on July nineteenth, you know I’m a Belizean, I know you are too.
That’s it for now, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all! I’m James Adderley.
