Corozal in, BTL out as BBA prepares for playoffs
The drama of semi-pro basketball’s regular season concluded last night with a team from Corozal clawing its way into the finals. News 5’s Janelle Chanona combined business with pleasure to file this report from courtside.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Despite being a Wednesday night game, the City Centre was packed as basketball fans came out in full force to see if B.T.L. could salvage the last spot in the B.B.A. playoffs. To succeed, the Nets not only had to beat the Corozal Kaus–but had to do it by more than 7 points.
At the tip off, it’s Claude “Too-Tall” Jones and Kirk “Shabba” Smith. A pass from Keith Acosta to A.C. Augustine gets B.T.L. on the board first.
But right away, it’s hot hands Lester Hood who answers with the fake out on Acosta to land the big 3. Same place, same shot and Hood takes the score to 14-10… B.T.L. in the lead.
For a minute it looks like B.T.L. has things under control with this reject from Too Tall, then the pass down court from Frank Lord to David Laqua for the finish.
But when Too Tall tries to pass through the middle again, the long arms of Marlon Meyers go for the intercept and he ends up hurting himself and has to be carried off the court. He would later sit in the stands with a dislocated shoulder.
Despite maintaining a lead throughout the first half, B.T.L. keeps having trouble and Kaus is right there to clean up…
Laqua answers with this 3…But with these 3s from Hood…and Marcus Watkins, at the half it’s even at 36.
With only twelve minutes to go in the second, the pace of the game finally gets an adrenaline shot. It starts off with this intercept by Laqua and the game’s only dunk…But Hood just keeps hitting those shots from outside the service area and this air ball from Laqua translates into the Kaus close from Watkins for 2.
Watkins and Hood would dominate the field goals for Corozal and they keep making it look easy… And again…let that frustration out boy…Watkins hits another 3. Hood would finish with 29 points with Watkins right behind with 21. But for now Kaus is only down by 2. Are all circuits busy on the B.T.L. defence?
With confidence spurring him on, Shabba tries to go for the slam but is oh denied.
With less than three minutes to go, it’s time for a B.T.L. huddle…what to do? what to do?
Keithie says I can do this, but ey, Michael Jones says, me to. And it’s an 8-point lead with under 2 minutes to go.
With 20 seconds on the clock and a 6 point margin…these 2 free throws from Hood and this Acosta air ball all but seal B.T.L.’s fate…and the Corozal contingent knows it.
Desperate times call for desperate measures and with only one second left in regular playing time and 80-78 on the board, Acosta lands a field goal in his own net. The idea is to give the Kaus crew 2 more points to tie the game and force the overtime. But according to FIBA rules, if you deliberately score in your own basket, the other team doesn’t get the points. B.T.L. does get a technical, sending Kaus to the free throw line. Lester Hood isn’t about to get played and he deliberately misses both shots.
B.T.L. wins 80-78 but sorry boys, you are out of credit. For the first time in over five years, B.T.L. will not play in the finals. For the triumphant Kaus, a loss was never so sweet.
Fred Garcia, Head Coach, Corozal Kaus
“How much did the organisation want it. I think they spent a lot of money late in the year acquiring people. It’s kind of sad that they weren’t able to get a good coaching staff to carry this team through. But they really wanted it and they came out and they said look, all five to all ten, we’re gonna go to work. And they went to work and this is the result.”
Lester Hood, Corozal Kaus
“We got a tough task ahead of us with U.B. there. They’re playing extremely well, so we got to come out and play hard and play much better in order to beat them.”
Janelle Chanona
“Are you already planning what you’re gonna be doing, putting together next year’s team as far as making sure that you guys have that team unity there that obviously isn’t working for you guys right now?”
Keith Acosta, B.T.L. Nets
“Well definite. I think that’s a major step for us to regroup from this season. It was a tough season for us, but if we put our heads in it and decide to work with our mistakes and come out next year to be a better team, then hopefully everybody thinks the same way and just use this as a stepping stone to next year.”
Reporting for News 5, I am Janelle Chanona.
The first game of the finals will take place this Friday night between fourth place Corozal Kaus and league leader San Cas U.B. But word out of the San Cas U.B. camp is that the team is facing financial troubles so dire that it might force them to withdraw from the tournament. The Santiago Castillo Group claims to have spent more than ninety thousand dollars already but, contrary to an agreement signed at the start of the season, the U.B. representatives have yet to hand over their share of the budget. News 5 understands that the agreement calls for San Cas to assume two-thirds of the expenses while U.B. would pay the remaining one-third. The team will be on the hardwood come Friday night, but with five more weeks left in the season, their future in the finals is tonight less than a sure thing.
