Pumas Girls advance in Female Football championships
The COCABA games are dominating the national airwaves today, but there are a host of other sports whose fans want to know what occurred over the weekend. James Adderley has more on sports.
In football news, game one of the Belize Female Football championships kicked off at Esperanza on Saturday August eighth when Gentle Touch hosted Pumas Girls of Dangriga in a bid to grab the 2009 title. However, it’s the visitors who get the first chance on goal when Nataki Alvarez powers this shot at goal that is deflected by Kendra Gentle who had to make that connection. Some twelve minutes in Abbi Halliday heads to Kimberly Perez, who cuts inside to give Gentle Touch the 1-zip lead. The Griga girls look to respond immediately off this spot kick triggered by Sherlene Nunez, Eden Gentle intervenes successfully. Make it a 2-zip Gentle Touch lead when super striker Abbi Halliday pushes this ball past Shereen Vasquez and the home team now has a commanding lead in the first half. This time the Pumas Girls responds in kind when Nykemah Kuylen attacks off the left wing, her right foot push is deflected off Kendra Gentle and we have a 2-1 score just like that. In the meantime, Gentle Touch dodges a bullet when the Griga Offense lets them off the hook on this miscue in front of their own goal. In the closing minute of the half, Abbi Halliday’s corner kick finds Indira Spain whose strong header is corralled by Shereen Vasquez.
Some five minutes into second half, Nataki Alvarez misjudges this nice center off the right wing and we’re certain she would want this chance back. Griga continues looking fro the tie as Iris Centino fires from long distance only to see the pill roll wide. We’re some sixty-five minutes into the ballgame when Tanisha Tillett takes down Nataki Alvarez inside the eighteen for which a penalty kick is ruled and a yellow card is issued. Pumas Girls send Narita Ramos to spot and the midfielder makes it look easy as the score is knotted at 2-apiece. So Gentle Touch gets going again and it’s only the horizontal bar that prevents Abbi Halliday from making it a 3-2 Esperanza lead off this spot kick. At the other end it’s Griga’s turn to steal the lead when Nykemah Kuylen attacks off the right wing to unleash this push at goal. But again, Eden Gentle handles. The long whistle brings a 2-2 tie in Game one so game two now moves south to Dangriga this Saturday where Pumas Girls will host Gentle Touch at four p.m. Of course, we’ve got to say the Dangriga team will have the edge after having held Gentle Touch 2-2 in Esperanza.
Checking in on the cycling scene, we join the post race ceremony in stage one of the 2009 four stage Jr. Riders Tour, presented by the Belize Cycling Association on August sixth. At the podium is Kristo Jorgenson, who finished the twelve mile time trial event in first place to grab the yellow jersey on day one, while Edward Reyes had the best Belizean finish and Austin Armstrong was deemed to be the best youth in the hunt. We now head to the start of the fifty-nine mile race in stage two at Orange Walk with Jorgenson of the USA South East Regional, wearing yellow. We fast forward to the finish in front of Leslie’s Imports and it’s Neal Forbes of the US grabbing stage two while Tanner Putt, also of the US, pulls up second and Edward Reyes third. The second place finish by Tanner Putt is enough to give him the yellow jersey. Stage three took the race through the Hummingbird Highway for some seventy-five miles. Today Tanner Putt of the US steps up to win the stage and cement his position as tour leader. Stage four finds the race seventy miles leaving Benque Viejo for the big finish in front of Leslie’s Imports seventy miles later. And you know today this is the man to beat. Tanner Putt who wears the yellow, Julio Pedilla, a Guatemalan riding for M&M wins the final stage. Floyd Andrews of C-Rays pulls up second and guess what Tanner Putt pulls up third. It’s enough to give him the tour title after an overall total time of eleven hours, thirty-two minutes, seven seconds. We say congrats to Tanner Putt of the USA South East Regional for his victory. Julio Pedilla of M&M finishes second overall, one minute two seconds behind while Edward Reyes of Smart takes third overall.
Hey folks, that’s our show for today. You know for certain we’ll have more basketball for you. We invite you to join us around two p.m. tomorrow as we’re gonna begin our broadcast. But that’s it for now. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
