BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 7, 2017-The Belize Basketball Federation (BBF) extends hearty congratulations to the players and coaches of the National Basketball Team for their stellar play which led to bronze medals for Belize in the XI Central American Games being held in Nicaragua. These represent the first medals for Belize at the Games.
In a hard-fought battle, Team Belize played their hearts out and held on to close out a 63-58 victory over Honduras to secure bronze.
While the team was shooting for gold, this achievement against tough competition is encouraging for the BBF’s National Team Programme. Head Coach Milton Palacio, former NBA, Euroleague and Team Belize standout player, has pledged his commitment to continue the process of rebuilding the National Team Programme in developing young players and coaches going forward, and in preparation for the upcoming international basketball competition cycle.
The Central American Games will be followed by our National Team’s participation in the first round of the FIBA AmeriCup competition which starts in February, 2018. The FIBA AmeriCup competition marks the launch of a new competition and Olympic qualifying format, being adopted by FIBA which features a new “home and away” structure for international play. This new format allows exposure of our team and our country in each round, and permits our fans with the best opportunity to provide maximum support when we host our opponents at each stage of play. The availability of the soon to be completed Belize Civic Center, with FIBA approved specifications, is therefore considered very timely.
Belize National Basketball Team: (front row, kneeling, l to r) Leon Jacob, Douglas Valley, Richard Troyer, Stephen “Muerte” Williams, Glency “Coope” Lopez; (back row, standing, l to r) head coach, Milton Palacio; Raoul “Thumpy” Roches, Alex Carcamo, Elsworth Itza, Gene Myvett, Brian “Beso” White, Kurt “Chengo” Burgess, partially obscured by asst. coaches, (l to r) Roscoe Rhys and Darren Bovell. Missing from the picture are team manager, Denvor Fairweather, and player Noel Felix who didn’t make the trip to Nicaragua.
The BBF is a non-profit organization which relies solely on contributions and assistance from the private sector and the public at large for our programmes. We would like to extend sincerest gratitude to the following entities which provided support to the BBF for the Central American Games, and we look forward to continuing partnerships in our efforts to develop the sport of basketball in Belize: BECOL, Belize Tourist Board (BTB), the National Sports Council, the Belize OIympic & Commonwealth Games Association, the Belize Airports Concession Company Ltd., Atlantic Insurance Co. Ltd., Renaissance Towers, Budget Car Rental, Princess Hotel & Casino, Koch Muammer & Celebrity Restaurant, Radisson Hotel, Best Western Biltmore, E-Zone Belize, Speednet Communications, Diversified Life Solutions, Barrow & Co. LLP, Ayinha Adventures, and all those fans and family members who provided moral support and encouragement to the team and coaches.
– press release –
(Sports Ed. Note: Big Big-Up to our National Basketball Team! We’ll work with that Bronze.)