National B-ball team hosts Ruff Riders

This weekend the hardwood at the Belize City Centre will echo with the sounds of basketball action as a Belizean All-Star line up takes on a roster of international collegiate players. The match-up is the result of an invitation from the American Airlines Ruff Riders basketball team of the United States challenging our national selection. According to the Belize Basketball Association, while the game is an exhibition event, the association will use the occasion as a fundraiser and practice run as our star athletes prepare to defend their Central American Games title later this year in Guatemala. This afternoon the B.B.A.’s Vice President Brads Neal talked about Belize’s line-up come game time.

Brads Neal, V.P., Belize Basketball Assn.
?What we have this weekend is just a host of local players: Keith Acosta, A.C. Augustine, Darren Bovell, these are guys who have won, who were members of the national team when we won in 2001. We have Coach Seroki; he?ll probably be coaching and playing at the same time for the lack of point guards coming in. But our international players will be coming down when we get ready to formulate the team and travel to Guatemala.?

Janelle Chanona
?Who are the foreign players??

Brads Neal
?We looking at probably Mr. Watson, Darwin Carter, Alex Carcamo, and probably we have a couple more other guys but we can?t mention them yet because we have to get in touch with them first and see if they interested in coming to assist us.?

Reginald Jex, Organizer
?This is to try to keep the sport alive because I notice for this year I haven?t heard anything about a semi-pro or this so I just decided that this might be a great help to them.?

?I want the fans to come out and realize that there?s somebody out there who cares about them and want them to have some fun and entertainment here in the country after all the crisis and situation that they?ve been going through here. Somebody cares.?

The Ruff Riders and their coach Shawn Harris arrive in the country on Friday morning. The action starts at eight that night with a rematch scheduled for the same time on Saturday night. In related news, viewers are advised that the Reginald Jex Football Challenge Cup is scheduled to kick off in July in rural Belize District.