No Limit Soldiers get second straight home win
After the No Limit Soldiers suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Cayo Western Ballaz in San Ignacio a week ago, the Belize City squad regrouped and refocused for their next challenge, which would come in the form of the visiting Belmopan Point Bandits on Friday night, March 14, at Bird’s Isle. Going into the big matchup, the Point Bandits were just ahead of the No Limit Soldiers in the standings, as the Bandits occupied the number 4 spot while the Soldiers were at number 5. Only 4 teams will make it to the playoffs, so every one of the remaining ten games for team No Limit is crucial if they are to make a run at the title.
The Point Bandits opened the scoring in the 1st quarter, as Adam Carswell would convert the put-back layup off a missed shot. After that, the game would remain close for the rest of the 1st quarter and much of the 2nd, as both teams were hungry for a victory. The No Limit captain, Greg “Chippy” Rudon would get hot early, as he scored 8 of the No Limit Soldiers’ first 10 points, with 2 field goals coming from beyond the arc. There were a total of 5 lead changes in the game, including 4 ties, and at the end of the 1st half the score was 31 to 31.
The 2nd half would belong to the Belize City No Limit Soldiers, as they never trailed in the final 2 quarters. The Soldiers would lead by as many as 20, with their largest run being 13 to nothing. Andrew “Mr. Throwdown” Ortiz got in a few rim-rockers in the final stanza of the game, none bigger than the slam over a Belmopan defender that resulted in fans storming the court in excitement to congratulate Ortiz on his spectacular play. The City squad was again great on the glass, as they were able to win the rebound battle 44 to 41, but only had 10 trips to the charity stripe, of which they converted on 6. And when the final buzzer sounded, the score was 73 to 56 in favor of Belize City (Smart) No Limit.
Greg “Chippy” Rudon led all scorers with 27 points, as he shot 4 for 7 from three-point land and hit all 3 of his free throw attempts, in addition to dishing out 4 dimes to his teammates. Kevin Lorenzo was instrumental in the victory for the No Limit Soldiers, as he played the role of facilitator on this night, giving out 7 assists. Andrew “Mr. Throwdown” Ortiz had 12 points and 5 rebounds; Elsworth Itza had 8 boards to go along with 10 points; while the veteran Kevin Domingo added 9 points to the team’s total.
The No Limit Soldiers will be back on the road this week, as they head down south on Saturday to clash with the Dangriga Culture Warriors over at the Ecumenical Gymnasium in Dangriga. The Soldiers and the Warriors both have a record of 3 wins and 2 losses, and currently sit at the 3 and 4 spots in the standings. Every game from here on out has playoff implications, so this game will be a crucial one.