2006 basketball season opens with Tiger Sharks vs. B.T.L.
It’s been missing from the Belizean sports scene for almost two years, but according to the organisers, this season semi-pro basketball is back with a vengeance. News Five’s Karla Vernon has the latest from the hardwood at the Belize City Centre.
Karla Vernon, Reporting
After a two year hiatus, semipro basketball opens tonight with defending champions B.T.L. Nets facing off with newcomers, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks. It?s a game that will post former B.T.L. star Keith Acosta against his old team-mates.
Keith Acosta, San Pedro Tiger Sharks
?From my point of view, we have one of the most athletic teams in this tournament this year and we are looking forward to putting on a good show tonight with our foreign players and our local players.?
Ornell Lennan, B.T.L. Nets
?Well, tonight I just di look fi see a very intense game cause the players, fi we B.T.L. Nets players ready to start up the season and we really want to start the season out with a bang.?
Charles Ellis, Manager, B.T.L. Nets
?We are the defending champs. There was no season in 2005, so we were the champs from 2004 and we are ready and prepared now to win our second championship this year.?
?Our camp actually started earlier this year around the first week of January, but some guys played in competitions late last year and they came into camp in pretty good shape.?
San Pedro Tiger Sharks Coach Brads Neal says ready to a big bite out of B.T.L.
Brads Neal, Coach, San Pedro Tiger Sharks
?As part of the management corps and head coach for the team, we have been practicing for about five weeks to prepare for tonight?s game, and we are pretty much ready. We are one of the few teams that are probably lucky to have our import in as early as this, but our local players are definitely ready.?
Lawrence Culver is the Tiger Sharks ?foreign import.? And the quiet Ohio man promises action where it counts.
Lawrence Culver, San Pedro Tiger Sharks
?I don?t talk much. I?m glad to be here in this country … just show up tonight and you?ll see what you get. You won?t be disappointed.?
Paul Swasey, B.T.L. Nets
?I am anticipating a well competitive game, you know. The guys on the other team are a good set of guys and we have to come out and fight a good fight against them.?
Karla Vernon
?What are your personal strengths??
Paul Swasey
?My personal strengths are down low moves.?
Karla Vernon
?Down low moves??
Paul Swasey
?Yeah.?
Stephen Williams, San Pedro Tiger Sharks
?I am hoping that we get the support of the fans. We will be here, but with the fans, it makes it much better.?
Basketball Commissioner Troy Gabb agrees that fan turnout will be critical to a successful semi-pro season.
Troy Gabb, Commissioner, Belize Basketball Association
?The league has undertaken to do some major restructuring of the game. i.e. we have tried to create parity in the league, we have tried to control our costs, and at the same time trying to bring the most exciting basketball that the fans normally hope for.?
?Starting from September we laid out a structure that first we went into a lottery pick, we did an actual draft. We created A, B and unrated players. So each team are allowed three ?A? players, three ?B? players, and one foreign player, and the rest are local unrated players.?
The game ball heads to centre court at nine tonight at the Belize City Centre. Reporting for News Five, I am Karla Vernon.
Six teams have signed up for this year’s season with squads coming from Corozal, Orange Walk, and San Pedro. As for Belize City, fans will have to choose from three teams for the home games as the University of Belize, Belize Bank, and B.T.L. Nets have all signed up for semi-pro play this year.
