Basketball and cycling dominate weekend sports

Good evening I’m James Adderly and welcome to this fresh flavour of Sports Monday. The City Centre basketball season has been slowly building momentum over the past few weeks, so we caught up with Friday night’s schedule.

We join the action at the start of 2nd half with the contest between the Millennium Girls of Orange Walk and Maria Chang Eagles of Belize City locked in for a close struggle with the score tied at 32 a piece when Anna Thurton gives the city team a 2 point lead – she would lead the Eagles with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Gina Young gives the lead right back to Orange Walk with this 3-point bomb and then this quarterback pass from Paula Dawson finds Lyn Garcia, who deals to Gina Young as the Millennium Girls extend the lead. So Anna Thurton keeps the Eagles hanging around with this put back that’s good for 2.

However, the Sugar City Girls bust this thing wide open when Mikara Cadle gets fed from Dawson and she drills it. Delcia Cummings, who would lead Orange Walk with 15 points, then deals to Sophie Davis, who gets 2 and finally Paula Dawson puts things out of reach with this conversion as Orange Walk goes to post 51-44 big W.

In the male game its Arthur Neal of Maria Chang jumping against Floyd Talbert of Kulture Reggae to get the senior contest going. Gadsen Ferguson gets Kulture off by picking the pockets of Myron Flowers to wind up with an easy two. Early in the ballgame, the ball movement from Maria Chang is excellent as Demsley Arnold finishes for a 5-point lead.

Ferguson comes back with this nice individual effort as the Reggae Boys pull closer and on the very next play, strikes with the long bomb for 2 of his game high 21 points. Brian Luna then deals to Palo Musa, who threads the needle to Wilfred “Chiki Blu” Nicholas and Kulture Reggae goes up by 7.

Musa then hooks up with Junior Westby and he knocks down the tray Kulture Reggae goes up. At the other end, Arthur Neal stays with the play to put up the point back and at the half Kulture Reggae is up by 6. Maria Chang comes out firing to kick off 2nd half action as Myron Flowers strikes for 3, but the half totally belonged to Kulture.

Luna deals to Floyd Talbert and he hits the bucket and goes on to convert the 3-point play. Jason Grant picks up this rebound and muscles it up for 2 – he would miss the extra point. Norman “Maca” Lamb and Ferguson hook up here to make the game look easy. Westby finds this loose ball – takes it all the way for 2. Kulture Reggae goes on to post the 78-55 blowout taking its record to 3 wins and 1 loss.

Turning to cycling, the Bel-Chi Mothers Day Classic returned yesterday to the Western Highway after a 1-year absence and as we join the finish at the Constitution Park and no this is not an exhibition – it is Miguel Perez the Guatemalan riding for Bel-Chi, winning handily in 5 hours 12 minutes 36 seconds. He is followed by Hugo Victor Rostrain riding for team Cayo pulls up 2nd.

Now here comes the sprint for 3rd place and its Andrew Smiling finishing 3rd, Quinton Hamilton 4th, Ernest Meighan 5th, Shane Vasquez 6th, Orson Butler 7th, Mateo Cruz 8th, Jose Choko 9th and Kareem Flowers rounds out the top 10.