Guatemalan wins Tour de Belize
Good evening. I’m James Adderley and welcome to this Tuesday serving of Sports Monday.
Let’s start off with the B.F.L. Football Knock-Out Tournament at M.C.C. Grounds where Acros and the Yabra Sporting Club are locked in a 2-2 draw going into game 2 of this home and away series. In this ball game the winner moves on even if it means sudden death but apparently the Acros team still believes it can continue to squander scoring opportunities like this one. On this move Eldrid “Puntus” Gentle runs past the Yabra defense but fails to finish a very good look at goal.
Meanwhile at the other end Gilbert Brown gets his break away but he needs help from the dread man to impress the scoreboard and Yabra goes up 1-zip. However, Acros responds when McCauly lifts this ball to number 7 and Stanley Jordan gets beaten for a 1-1 tie. But it looks like Yabra’s day today people, because here comes number 14 outsprinting McCauly and hurting the postman for a 2-1 Yabra lead at the half.
So we go to second and goal 3 for Yabra comes when Gilbert Brown crashes this left foot into the back of the net and it’s a 3-1 lead for Yabra. Late in the ball game, this spotkick crashes into the back of the net for Acros but it proves to be a case of too little too late as Yabra Sporting Club moves on to round 2 at the expense of Acros.
In other results from our weekend, Juventus eliminates Southern United 4-1, Juventud Benqueña rallies past Builders Hardware 3-zip. The Dangriga Jaguars get chased 3-2 by San Pedro while Sagitun S.C. of Mango Creek moves on after beating Real Verdes 2-1 at Independence on Sunday.
Changing gears, lets play check-up in the second Crystal Water Cycle Tour de Belize which concluded yesterday after 6 stages and 465 miles. In stage 2 from Orange Walk to Belmopan it’s Roque Matus enduring a three minute lead as he crosses over the Belcan Bridge en route to capital city but it would be short lived as Andrew Smiling would slip stage one winner Sergio Frankie Godoy of Guatemala to take that “W”.
On Sunday we witnessed the conclusion of stage 5 when the two Americans Grant Rotter of Stadium and Ben Bernard of Lotto jumped into the front to finish 1 and 2 respectively. Here we see Ernest Meighan finishing second right behind the American but more importantly behind him is Sergio Godoy beating Quinton Hamilton who trailed by 37 seconds at this point.
And let me introduce you to overall leader Sergio Frankie Godoy and after five days the wear and tear does show. And here’s a shot of the 1-2-3 finishes in the stage 5 and of course Godoy gets a fresh leader’s jersey.
So we come to the final stage a criterion format featuring 45 laps around the Regent Street/ Albert Street circular and we’re praying that Quinton Hamilton will be able to shove off some 45 seconds. Of course it’s a hazardous course made treacherous by a quick downpour and you can see Ernest Meighan not maneuvering the curve correctly. If you don’t believe it’s a sick curve watch Herbert Johnson provide absolute evidence – Johnson would have to abandon the pelaton. It’s some 22 laps to go when Godoy experiences this puncture so he uses his free lap. But Quinton Hamilton just couldn’t maximize that advantage in his pursuit of the leader’s jersey.
Now there are 5 to go in the money time in front of the Nova Scotia parking lot but Douglas Lamb would give way to a puncture. However, the sprint to the tape finds only young Shane Vasquez of Cayo challenging, but proves no match for Sergio Frankie Godoy of Guatemala who holds stage 5, to win 3 of 6 stages to take the 1998 Crystal Tour de Belize.
Sergio Godoy, Winner
“In the first stage, just trying to do my job. I am the fastest guy of this team and I just try to win it but everyday I feel better – everyday in the mountains I feel better. And I am so happy that I won that Tour and I’m so happy about my team. It’s a very strong team and I’m so happy.”
Q: “Was there something the team, the Bel-Chi/Courts Powerhouse coalition could have done teamwise to help you in breaking down some of the time that he was trying to pull out on you?”
Quinton Hamilton, Second Place
“Well they did very well but sometimes I have bad days, you know and three days I have bad days already.”
Q: “When was the worse day when you realized that you were in trouble with this Guatemalan rider?”
Quinton Hamilton
“Today.”
Q: “Today? You couldn’t gain anything on him today?”
Quinton Hamilton
“Too many punctures.”
Finally folks who will be Belize’s marathon runner to be trained at Japan by experts at the Sydney Olympics. They well be representing Belize if they do cut it and make the grade. Well we pick Abre Solomon is on the inside track on this particular initiative especially after yesterday’s tryouts but let’s talk to the organizers.
David Urbina
“We didn’t quite get the number of people that we wanted to because of the shortage of time but the quality of runners we saw, we’re very impressed.
Private soldier from Belize City, Abre Solomon, he was very impressive. We had another race in Punta Gorda the day before and we had a soldier by the name of Pop. The delegation will be coming back perhaps monthly or every other month up until now, until the Olympics. At the same time in this October we will be holding another race and with that results we will be selecting a couple of winners, who if their qualified they have a good chance of being in the Olympics.”
Yasuo Inaba, Consul General
“Two years ago I had called the Prime Minister of Japan Hasimoto. I hope to establish a closer relationship between Belize and Japan so I told him to send as many Japanese as possible to Belize.”
Like we say folks, many are called few are chosen and only the strong will survive.
That’s it, thanks to the work of our great cameramen this week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
