Anything was possible going into yesterday’s last two playoff games in the 2011 Belize Bank Super League Tournament, where defending champion Raymond Gentle-Boys United stood atop the standings with 9 points, followed by both Placencia Assassin and Toledo’s Paradise/Freedom Fighters with 7 points each, and Orange Walk United with 6 points.
The game in Placencia, where they hosted R.G. City Boys United, was originally scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m., while the match-up in Toledo, featuring visitors Orange Walk United against Paradise/Freedom Fighters, was set for 4:00 p.m.; but, realizing the high stakes in the numbers game, Super League organizers opted to put back the Placencia match to 4:00 p.m., so both games kicked off at almost the same time.
It was not a “do or die” knockout situation, as it was further north in the Mayor’s Cup, but a win would certainly guarantee a spot in the playoff for City Boys, Placencia and Paradise; while a win for Orange Walk would put them in strong contention, depending on the other game’s outcome.
Well, it all came down to 1 only goal, scored by Placencia’s Luis Torres from a direct kick around a wall at the 30th minute, to give the Assassin the 1-nil home victory against visiting City Boys.
It was still scoreless at the Toledo Union Field, when the long whistle blew in Placencia, and, in the depressing throes of defeat, City Boys still had hope, and their players waited anxiously for news from Toledo where a couple minutes of injury time remained. And when the cell phone news came that it was a nil-nil final in Toledo, it was jubilation for City Boys players and fans in Placencia and back in Belize City. With a win from either team sending them to the “big dance”, Orange Walk United and Paradise/Freedom Fighters effectively drew themselves out of the finals, and opened the door for defending champion Raymond Gentle-City Boys United to step into another Super League championship final series.
So, it’s Raymond Gentle-City Boys United vs Placencia Assassin in the best-of-3 games championship finals series for the big money prizes: $25,000.00 for the champ, and $10,000.00 for the sub-champ. According to a Super League secretariat release today, “R.G. City Boys United will play at home in the first and third game (if necessary) of the championship, because they were the number one seed from the regular season and they remained number 1 seed throughout the playoff.” With their win yesterday, Placencia finished the playoffs at no. 1 in the standings.
The championship series is scheduled to commence this coming Sunday, July 17, but it then takes a week off, as, according to the same Super League release, the managements of both Placencia Assassin and R.G. City Boys United have requested “a week break due to instances where players have suffered serious injuries during the playoff series.”
Tentative championship schedule:
Sunday, July 17
Game 1 – R.G. City Boys United vs Placencia Assassin – MCC Grounds
Sat. or Sun., July 30 or 31
Game 2 – Placencia Assassin vs R.G. City Boys United – Michael Ashcroft Stadium
Sunday, August 7
Game 3 (if necessary) – R.G. City Boys United vs Placencia Assassin – MCC Grounds