Football and cycling action on Sports Monday
Good evening I’m James Adderley with this fresh dish of Sports Monday. Week five of the Regent Insurance Cup Tournament found Builder’s Hardware Bandits of Belmopan hosting the San Pedro Seahawks inside the Isidoro Beaton Stadium Saturday night.
Immediately off the kick off, the Bandits try to grab the lead when Andy Hunt displays nice ball control, but Edmund “The Buzzard” Pandy can’t shake the net from point-blank range.
However, the Seahawks also have plans to establish a quick lead, and when Orlando Pinelo finds Deon Flowers his right foot splice absolutely embarrasses Charlie Slusher for a 1-nil lead three minutes in.
Folks, even before the Bandits can recover from this big body blow, this spotkick filters its way to Jarbi Alvarez who smacks it past Charlie Slusher and Belmopan now faces a two-goal deficit in just five minutes of play.
Of course when the going gets tough the tough gets going, and off this spotkick Edmund Pandy and Andy Hunt converge for the header, which bounces off Bunny Gentle and the lead is halved on a goal credited to Andy Hunt. Can you believe we’re just eleven minutes in people?
The visitors then try to forge ahead off this set piece, but this time Charlie Slusher is wide-awake on the shot from Edon “Yellowman” Rawley.
The Bandits do get a chance to tie the ballgame from off this set piece, but Andy Hunt’s header inches outside the sticks, which leaves the score 2-1 in favours of the islanders at intermission.
We’re some three minutes into second half when Deon Flowers hooks up with Landi Pinelo and his diving header crashes into the net to give the Seahawks a 3-1 lead.
Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth–Hunt sets table perfectly for Dery’s Benavides, but Benavides prefers to fly a kite. Benavides then tries to make amends off this spotkick, but the shot is right at William Johnson.
The host team does get a break when Andy Hunt gets brought inside the eighteen by Kent Gabourel and the referee rules penalty.
Number thirteen Dennis Serrano steps up for the Bandits and he converts to make it a 3-2 deficit and that’s the way it would finish as the Bandits suffer their second loss while the Seahawks pick up their second season win.
In other results from around the league, Kulture Yabra blanked Sagitun 3-zip Saturday night, Hankook Verdes hurt Griga United 1-nil, and Juventus double Calcutta Bull 2-1.
In F.F.B. football news, the A league Tournament kicks off on the seventeenth and eighteenth of April featuring eight teams, so stay tuned.
Turning to the cycling scene, the seventy-mile Junior Cross Country Classic was staged yesterday and we are at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex to see one solitary rider enter for the big finish. Marlon Castillo heads to the finish line and raises his hands as he wins the 2004 edition in a time of three hours, fifty-one minutes, twenty-four seconds, and that’s pretty impressive.
Some eight minutes later, we find an eight-man sprint for second place. Frederick Banner picks up the pace, the challenge from Domingo Lewis is rebuffed and it’s Banner taking second place, Domingo Lewis finishes third, Giovanni Choto fourth, while Dennis Tillett rounds out the top five.
Marlon Castillo, Junior Cross Country Champion
“From the race start I tell them, no junior wah never beat me. They noh deh inna the shape weh I deh inna. Then like Chris di try hold me and I just look pan he and laugh. All the way they hold me, I blow he off like a piece a paper.”
“Thank to my sponsor, team and my team mate Ariel Rosado, Dougie, Mateo, Juan, Skeet, Froggy. I love all ah them.”
Meanwhile folks, the elites come out for the seventy-sixth edition of the annual Cross Country Classic this Holy Saturday. Going in, we have to give the foreigners the edge. They have won six of the last eight. Among the local riders, Ernest Meighan, two-time champion, has the best shot and of course next is Ian Smith. It’s going to be quite a monster for you all, so make sure you get a good seat for the finish inside the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. Of course, I hope I’m wrong, because I know I’m a Belizean and I hope you are too.
Turning to the softball team, the following players have been selected by the Belize Softball Federation to represent the country in the International Invitational Triangular to be staged at the Roger’s Stadium from the seventeenth to the eighteen of April. The pitchers are Mary Flowers, Kenisha Sutherland, Kenreen Gillett, and Sherlene Banner. First base: Molly Coye, Shalini Zabaneh, and Kimberley Vaccaro. Third base: Yolanda Garbutt, Lisa Jones, and Norecia Rowland. Outfielders are Martha Rhys, Lydia Cacho, Greta Davis, Sharlott Lozana, Barbara Cadle, Jolene Davis, Carla Humes and Sharon Robinson. Catchers: Ruth Lamb and Patricia Timbrell. Second base: Talita Cruinshank, Dereen Montejo and Yvette Martinez. The shortstops are Vonetta Gordon and Bridgette Fuller. The manager, Raymond Lashley; the coaches: Luis Ortega and Cardinez. We certainly wish our team well.
And of course, we want to tell you that the mighty Margaret Rose Usher arrives in Belize City 9:15 a.m. on the TACA flight from El Salvador Thursday morning. She will be inducted in the International Softball Hall of Fame on April sixteenth at the Biltmore Plaza. So if you want to greet and meet the great Margaret Usher, she will be here Thursday morning, you can be at the airport for that event. We also want to take this opportunity to give our premature congratulations to Margaret Rose Usher on this induction.
That’s it for now, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all! I’m James Adderley.
