The 2006-2007 Central Division Championship finals demonstrated clearly and in no uncertain terms to the many that crowded the City Center this past week how essential it is to have a first-rate head coach at the helm of your sporting programs. Of course, this is if you as a high school have the aspiration of one day being named champs. Undoubtedly at the end of the day it was the superior coaching of Frank Lord that did in my alma mater – the Anglican Cathedral College (ACC), despite, I must say, a valiant effort put forward by the players.
Wesley College, who won convincingly, 61-44, on Monday night in Game One of the three-game series, appeared more focused and prepared than their opponents in all facets of the game, and as a result were able to jump out to a huge lead, which they never really relinquished. On Monday they were led by the hot tandem of Travis Lennan (22 points) and Gershom Rodriguez (20 points).
On the flip side, ACC did not come out with the necessary energy required in a game of that magnitude. They were flat and appeared anxious, completely out of sync. I believe that first-class coaching may have had different results. Their high men on Monday were Jorret Jones with 22 points and Stafford Green with 6 points.
On Wednesday, the boys of ACC, down one game and facing elimination, once again were slow out of the block and fell behind to Wesley early by the score of 9-2. However, with 6:26 remaining in the first half, ACC then went on a 13-1 run to take the lead, 15-10, with 3:37 remaining until halftime.
Recognizing that his team was under duress, Frank Lord wisely called a timeout and spoke to his team at great length. This I refer to as first-rate coaching. This was Wesley’s trump card. They had it, and their opponents did not. Immediately after the timeout Lord’s team responded and went on a run of their own, outscoring ACC 12-3 in the final minutes as Oliver Solis hit two big jump shots, while Travis Lennan (17 pts) added two field goals and two free-throws as they went into the locker room leading at the half by the score of 22-18.
The second half saw ACC pull to within four points of Wesley, 25-21, early. However, Wesley scored five unanswered points, extending the lead to 30-21 with 9:39 left in regulation. For the next six minutes or so, the teams were unable to stop each other as they both scored ten points each, with Wesley maintaining its nine-point lead, 40-31, with 3:50 remaining in the game.
But with the game coming down the stretch and with no tomorrow, ACC made one final push and they scored four unanswered points to pull to within five at 40-35. Tonight it was Frank Lord’s and Wesley’s night as they showed no signs of panic. They were in charge, and with 2:28 remaining and as cool as the other side of the pillow, they went on a 7-0 run to close out the game, 47-35.
With the win Wesley captured their second straight Central Division title, and their third in the last four years. As an encore, Wesley now head back to the Nationals with one clear goal – to repeat as National Champs. Something I believe they should accomplish, given their trump card, first-rate coaching.
The other high schools should take note of the importance of getting qualified and experience coaches to head their athletic programs.
Tifarah Swift, arguably Belize City high school basketball’s best female player, and her fellow teammates from Gwen Lizarraga High (GLHS) spoiled the celebration party for the girls from Wesley who were hoping to have double-decker celebrations with their male Wesley counterparts.
GLHS seemed motivated and confident about their chances after their valiant performance on Monday last, coming back from a 21-6 first half deficit in Game One to lose only by one point, 33-32. While Wesley appears not overly concerned, I believe they should be wary of GLHS for two reasons, and I will disclose them. The first being that of the first four halves played so far in the 2006 finals, GLHS have won three out of four. Secondly, GLHS have the best female player in their camp – simple as that.
And this was proven on Wednesday as GLHS, spurred on by their team leader – Tifarah Swift (10 points), and Shanice Mendoza (5 points), were able to keep the game fairly close for the entire first half with their suffocating defense. The half ended in a tie, 15-15.
In the second half Gwen Liz extended their defense even further and were able to completely shut down the Wesley offence, limiting them in the process to just one point for the first twelve minutes of play. Wesley got their first point of the second half, could you believe this, with 3:07 remaining in the game and it came by way of a free-throw from Janine Avila. By this time GLHS had opened up a 23-16 lead.
Wesley, however, then outscored GLHS, 6-2, in the final three minutes of play, but still fell short by the score of 25-22. Wesley was led by Shakera Faber and Shenique Michael with 6 points each.
The table is now set for tonight’s Game Three of this best of three series, which according to our reports should start at 7:00 p.m. at the City Center, with the prelude to this game being a match-up between participating coaches of high school basketball versus a group from the referees. I wonder who will officiate this one.