Juventus takes game 1 of Regent’s Cup finals

Good evening, I?m James Adderley with this fresh dish of Sports Monday. Game one of the Regent?s Cup three-game championship series got off to a roaring start yesterday inside the People?s Stadium where Juventus of Orange Walk played host to the defending champion, Sagitun of Independence.

The visitors managed to rouse Charlie Slusher in the opening minutes off this spot kick from Hilberto Muschamp, but the goalkeeper is very alert today.

On this offensive possession, Juventus shows good passing, but Oliver Hendricks fails to finish with the header.

Fourteen minutes into the ballgame Oliver Hendricks works his magic to find Donnie Tun, and yes Donnie you should have scored this one okay.

It?s Juventus with the momentum when Oliver Hendricks fires this left bomb which explodes off the crossbar.

In reply, Sagitun?s Robert Muschamp screams this offering past the near upright.

On this press, Elroy Kuylen gets a full chance to score, but finds himself thwarted by an ill-fated first touch.

Meanwhile, Sagitun gets an open look at goal on this play, but the right foot shot inches outside the sticks.

Just before the first half expires, this spot kick from Benavides finds the head of Christopher Hendricks, but again he fails to convert, and at the intermission it?s still a scoreless ballgame.

Immediately into second half, Oliver Hendricks fires this left foot that somehow gets away from him. Sagitun responds with this press, but both the Striker Elroy Kuylen of Sagitun and the defending keeper Charlie Slusher of Juventus misplays the pill.

Meanwhile folks, Derys Benavides bends this ball around the wall perfectly, but the crossbar intervenes.

Now check out this spot kick from Kello Leslie. It finds the head of Elroy Kuylen in heavy traffic forcing Charlie Slusher to come up with a spectacular save.

Off the subsequent corner kick, the Juventus defence stands firm at first, but they wind up committing the handball offence inside the eighteen and naturally Referee Jones rules penalty.

Sagitun sends for Elroy Kuylen and his conversion is good. However, one of his teammates was deemed to be inside the eighteen?so the shot must be re-taken.

It?s Kuylen again, he steps up and this time he completely misses the target.

We?re eighty-five minutes into this ball game when Christopher Hendricks deals to brother Oliver and Juventus of Orange Walk wins game one with a 1-zip score.

Question: ?Oliver you were trying very hard early in the game. You made some very prolific passes to get to your other players, but you ended up scoring the goal. Tell me about the goal.?

Oliver Hendricks, Striker, Juventus
?Well the goal happen with me and my brother because I guess in the league no one can hold us brothers Hendricks, no one in the league. So I told my brother, if we get in the open we will score anytime, we just need one moment and we will score.?

Question: ?I know that the victory is sweet, but Sagitun did have the opportunities and they missed, even a penalty. Do you think you have to change some of your thoughts and game pay when you head to Independence next week??

Oliver Hendricks, Juventus
?Not exactly because we proved that we went to Sagitun two times in this season and we scored the two times that we went there, so we know that can score there. We will not change any strategy in the next game.?

Question: ?Besides the penalty that you missed eventually, Sagitun did have the opportunities. What kind of adjustments do you see the team have to make on the field of play come next week??

Tony Zabaneh, Sagitun
?It wah be a different ball game in Sagitun, you can better believe that. Sagitun will play a different ballgame in Independence. The Michael Ashcroft Stadium is their home, just like this is their (Juventus) home. And yes, we had opportunities to score and they missed and I have no regrets, I only sorry that the penalty that was kicked, I have no reason to see why they kick it over. And if I go ask I fear that the people will want to charge me money or give me a lot of hard time. I noh see no reason, they can?t give me no reason up to now. I asked, not even my players know why the penalty was kicked over.?

Game two comes up Saturday at Independence where the defending champion must come up with a W or else Juventus of Orange Walk wins it all in 2005.

Turning to the cycling scene, some fifty-four riders suited up for the eighty-two mile Father?s Day Cycle Classic, sponsored by FM 200, which travelled from Benque Viejo border station to the finish line on Coney Drive here in Belize City.

Here comes the finish and indeed it?s of the most controversial sort. The rider you see winning is Hugo Rostrain Monterosa of Guatemala riding for Western Spirit of Cayo. He might not have finished first had it not been for a cruel crash or accident that saw Jose Robles of Mexico absorb career threatening injuries. Mateo Cruz who freewheels in for second is eventually disqualified. So Roger Troyer of Guinness Smiling is given second, while Elbert Pope moves up to take third place. We certainly say congratulations ?Popey?.

Unfortunately, we don?t have picture of the particular crash people.

Mateo Cruz, Santino?s
?Roger stepped it up around by Napa and I followed him and then he pulled off and I took the pace, I took the lead. And I knew if I jumped from there I wouldn?t have won the race. So what I did, I switched on the left and when I switched on the left, unfortunately Robles was in my inside, which he should have been on my outside to pass me. And the same time a vehicle was up there and by the time he yelled out, he was right into the vehicle. Then Hugo Rostrain took over and I was so busy looking at Jose on the ground that I just messed up on the sprint.?

James Adderley
?Is there anything you could have done differently to avoid this particular circumstance??

Mateo Cruz, Santino?s
?Yeah, what I should have done, when Roger Troyer attacked I should have just gotten on his wheel and let him dictate the pace for the sprint. But what I did, I got anxious I jumped and when I jumped I realised I was too far. So all I did, I just flipped cross my left and the same time the vehicle was there and unfortunately Jose ran into the back of the vehicle.?

In the meantime folks, here?s a look at this Mexican rider that rides for Guinness Seahawks Smiling. His left wrist is broken in three places and he had to take on emergency operation to save the wrist last night and was forced to undergo a CAT scan because of head injuries, and certainly he is experiencing a lot of vomiting. More than that, Jose Robles is not a very happy cyclist today.

Jose Robles, Guinness Seahawks Smiling
?I was at about three hundred metres from the finish line when I decided to overtake a rider from team Santino?s. When he saw me coming next to him, he cornered me to the left side of the road, which caused me to crash against a vehicle.?

Andrew Smiling, Owner/Mgr., Guinness Seahawks Smiling
?Well I can?t say it was really an intent to hurt Jose Robles, but the thing is I think Mr. Mateo Cruz, in my view as an ex-cyclist, he did wrong. He shouldn?t have tried to cut off the lane of passing cyclist; that was wrong. I don?t think he had the intent of hurting him, but it happened that way. In my view I think he just misjudged the speed of Mr. Robles coming up on him, behind him on his left and that?s what caused the accident.?

Of course Belizeans, Santino Castillo had a different take than his rival Smiling.

Santino Castillo, Owner/Manager, Santino?s
?Clearly I am very sorry about what happened. I mean Jose Robles is a quality cyclist and we enjoy him competing down here, and Mateo and my team would have liked nothing more than to beat Jose Robles fair and square. Mateo, as far as I am concerned, is not only a good cyclist, but a good sportsman, and on top of that a good human being; you couldn?t find someone of better character. And for anyone to even suggest that what Mateo did was intentionally, is out of the question because only a murderer would do something like that because you could kill a man.

?As far as the disqualification is concerned, I am totally upset about it because as far as I saw it, and I was right behind on my motorcycle, I was the first motorcycle there, it is Jose Robles who chose to go on Mateo?s blindside being the left side. The right side of the road was completely vacant and Mateo was looking to that side, having just covered Roger Troyer?s attack, and Mateo ended up first. So he?s looking on his right now, the road is open, there is no vehicle there. Jose Robles comes on the left, trying to overtake Mateo–that is his blindside, he?s concentrating on the right–all of a sudden the first vehicle comes up. Mateo, the way I saw it, tries to move out of the way to allow Jose Robles to get out of that situation. Unfortunately, at the speed they were going the vehicle came up too fast, bam Jose Robles hit into it. Mateo felt so bad he didn?t even sprint. That alone can tell you, so that is my take on it.?

Folks we certainly wish Jose Robles a speedy and total recovery. He might have won this one, we?ll never know now. Certainly though, we also wish for better times for our Belizean rider, Mateo Cruz.

Hey folks, that?s our show for today, we invite you back same place, same time next week. Jah over all, I?m James Adderley.