Central American hoop champs rewarded
Making promises, particularly in the heat of passion, is easy. Making good on those promises, long after the passion has cooled, is much harder. But today, an unusual thing happened: some guys who worked really hard to make their country proud have finally received their due.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
It is probably the only time that our athletes have been truly rewarded for their outstanding performance in the sport of basketball. Last November, the Belize National Basketball Team captured the championship in the Central American Games held in Guatemala. Today, Minister of Sports, Cordel Hyde awarded the men by giving each of them a title to his own plot of land at mile fourteen and a half on the Western Highway.
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Sports
“The land is high, most of them are hundred by hundred plots, it’s ready to build. It’s filled land and the infrastructure is there, so it’s really a nice place to live. We tend to think of it as the Western Highway version of Vista del Mar. It doesn’t have the sea, but it’s cool, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful and it’s developing.”
Jacqueline Woods
“And the ministry plans to continue supporting sport in this way?”
Cordel Hyde
“Of course.”
The athletes say when they first heard about the land titles, they were sceptical because the promise is one that was made to them after they had won the CARICOM Basketball Championship in Belize in 1998; but that was never fulfilled.
Claude “Too Tall” Jones, B.T.L. Nets
“I’m glad for it. That dah one thing one thing we could say we get over, because nuff time we get promises that we wah get this and for the first time we could say we get it.”
Kevin Siroki, San Cas U.B.
“That’s what we always talk about. Even before the championship game against Costa Rica, we’re not even thinking about paying for a gold medal, we thinking about this land and bringing back for the country, so we’re very happy.”
Keith Acosta, B.T.L. Nets
“It’s definitely an excitement to own a piece of Belize and that’s what we have. And being a ballplayer, doing something that you love and earning something off it, you can’t get better than that.”
Darren Bovel, B.T.L. Nets
“Well as soon as I can accumulate enough funds I think I will start building.”
Kevin Seroki
“But mine is next to his, so I don’t know if we wanna build next to each other.”
Meanwhile, the Belize National Basketball Association has a new president. Bernard Wagner says his goal is to strengthen the association to improve the sport for all basketball players.
Bernard Wagner, President, B.N.B.A.
“The players have been complaining that they are always in shape, they are ready to play ball, but the structure which runs the basketball to get them out from point A to point B, has always been a fault. Simple thing like uniforms and keeping them happy, hotel accommodations and those things, have been lacking. So we definitely we will be trying to improve on that part.”
Meanwhile, basketball players in the semi-pro league have been working overtime preparing for the upcoming Capital Life Championship.
Jacqueline Woods
“On Friday, the game get underway at the Belize City Centre. The athletes say the season will be exciting and competitive, but you’ve got to be there to see all the action.”
Kevin Siroki
“Last year with the last game with all the people there, it’s the same for this year, hopefully all the fans will come out and it’s going to be fun. The talent level is going to be just like last year, we’re gonna have a lot of good players, the local guys here are very good and the import players are good, so it’s going to be fun. We’re going to put a great product out there and everybody have fun.”
Keith Acosta
“That’s the ulterior motive, to put a product out there so the fans will enjoy. That’s our main goal, to just go out there and have the fans come out and enjoy themselves.”
On Friday, the season opens with a match between defending champions San Cas U.B. and sub-champs B.T.L. NETS.
Keith Acosta
“We’ve been preparing really well. I think the preparation could have been better, but the time that we had we made very well use of it, so we put in very well preparation.”
Jacqueline Woods
“So what should we expect from B.T.L. Nets?”
Claude “Too Tall” Jones
“Well I think you should look for a more controlled team. And it depends on the coaching and the manager and everything, but with the players, we’re set, we’re ready to go all the way.”
Kevin Siroki
“We’re excited. For myself, I’ve been a bridesmaids the last two years, so we’re hoping to do well. We’re well prepared with Bovel, and we’re going to bring in Darwin Carter, we’re got a surprise for everybody tomorrow, somebody else will come in and so just gonna have fun. B.T.L. is always good with Keith and they’re going to be very good. We’ll just go out and play and have fun; it going to be fun for the fans again.”
The opening ceremony gets underway at 8:30 p.m. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
In addition to the players, a number of coaches and administrative personnel also received lots, including coach Marshal Nunez, manager Hugh Staine, custodian Calbert Wilson and physical therapist Harold Zuniga. Gold medal bodybuilder Rushiel Bevans and high jumper Alton Berry also received lots for their accomplishments.
