B.T.L. Nets take game one in semi-pro season
Good evening, I?m James Adderley and you?re totally welcome to this dish of Sports Monday. The Valentine Cycle Classic was unveiled on the Western Highway on Saturday in both male and female categories by the Belize Cycling Association.
We now join the seven Belizean athletes who dared to start this forty-two mile journey from Cotton Tree to Leslie?s Import at the Belize City entrance and, as we say in the business, they?re off.
Shalini Zabaneh jumps out of the pack at mile thirty to grab the first of two preemies on the route. It?s Zabaneh still in control of the pace going into Hattieville as she does try to run away.
But the chase bunch of six do show a determined effort to reel her in as they speed past the Hattieville roundabout.
However, today does belong to Shalini Zabaneh people and she is able to maintain her lead and here she is rounding the curve to the victory tape. Shalini Zabaneh takes the W in one hour, fifty-eight minutes, forty seconds.
Seven minutes, forty seconds later brings up the sprint for second place. Unfortunately, we did not catch Marinet Flowers taking second place, and Marinet we do apologise. But here is Fiona Humes capturing third place, Shanta Morrison pulls up fourth, while Gabriel Lovell rounds out the top five.
We now turn to the male race which started at Armenia on the Hummingbird Highway with a total of fifty-six riders in this fifty-six mile race. We can only go to the finish where Mateo Cruz and Jeffery Zelaya are locked in head to head combat in front of the pack. And it?s Mateo Cruz of Santino?s with the victory sign in a time of two hours, twelve minutes, forty-seven seconds. Obviously Jeffery Zelaya has to settle for second.
Now here?s the battle for third place. Darnell Barrow burns Douglas Lamb, while Fred Usher rolls in at fifth.
In other cycling news, Leon Hernandez of Viper Pratt beat Papa Brown and David Pollard in that order to win the FM 2000 Mountain Bike race which was staged yesterday. And we say Kudos to the organizers.
Turning to the cricket scene, we head to Bermudian Landing for Saturday?s rural match up between the host team Summer Fever and Excellence of Double Head.
Meet Kenny Broaster of Excellence ? the bowler thinks he has him on this move, but a look at the replay in slow-mo shows that it?s the wicket keeper, who falls the wicket and not the ball. With a new lease on life Broaster responds with this monster smash for six runs.
A few minutes later, they got to rack up another six runs for nineteen year old Kenny Broaster?who would finish with all of ninety-two runs batted in?eight short of the century
Broaster, he got help from Percival Flowers, who struck for forty-one runs. Sidney Martinez, he came up with a twenty-three run total and on defence Risen Flowers was big after bowling out all of six wickets in the one hundred ninety-seven to eighty big W. Broaster?s total of ninety-two runs is more than the Landing score of eighty, of which Conway Young came up with half of that amount, which is forty.
Turning to the basketball scene, the semi-pro season took off Friday night and it?s Steven Williams getting the San Pedro Tiger Sharks off with a big time three pointer against the B.T.L. Nets. A.C. Augustine, he responds by pulling out his signature move to get B.T.L. connected to the scoreboard, of course.
In second quarter the Sharks find themselves down by seven when Stephen Williams strikes for another three ? Williams would lead the islanders with twenty-four points while pulling ten boards.
A.C. Augustine comes right back for the phone company with this bucket that sees much incidental contact. A.C. would hit twenty-two points and grab ten boards in this outing.
In heavy traffic Ian Flowers gets the feed as he gets two points for the Sharks.
American import, Lawrence Colver, then comes up with this loose ball to add two points to the San Pedro total. At the half it?s a 34-25 lead for the Sharks.
Folks, it?s late in the third quarter when Leroy Forbes finds Edward Baptist who strikes for three of his game high twenty-six points right here. At the end of three, B.T.L. is down by three.
In the fourth quarter, this put back by Paul Swasey brings his team to a one-point deficit. It?s getting chilly. It?s also getting late, so Ty Bradley spins on the Pedro defence to score two needed points for B.T.L. ? he would finish with twelve.
This monster jam from Kurt Burgess, the only one of the ballgame, pulls the phone company to within a point with two minutes, fifteen seconds to go people.
And then this bucket from A.C. Augustine finally gets B.T.L. the lead.
Top scorer Baptist, comes up with this uncontested two as B.T.L. Nets try to snare the San Pedro team.
Okay, we?re tied at sixty-seven points apiece with five seconds to go in regulation when Kurt Burgess misses the winning shot ? folks we got to go to overtime.
In overtime play the BTL Nets was able to pull it out. They captured the win in a 79-76 final score. We say good show.
In closing folks, we must say we find it difficult to understand the thinking process involved in starting the semi-pro season at this time when Belize will be participating in basketball at the Central American Games, which begins on the third of March and extends to the twelfth. Therefore, there will be a break in the season. It?s all about the sport people.
That?s it for now though. We invite you back same time, same place next week. Jah overall, I?m James Adderley.
