The Belmopan Bandits won their third straight game this past Sunday evening in the ongoing Digicell’s Ballin-4-Life basketball tournament, currently being played at the City Center. As a result of that win, the Bandits now find themselves alone atop the standings with a perfect (3-0) won-loss record. Belmopan got out to a commanding 51-34 lead at the end of first half of play, and so, despite being outscored 50-43 the rest of the way, still managed to hang on for the 94-84 win. Aubrey Lopez had a huge game, totaling 33 pts 7 rebs 3 asst on 10 of 17 shooting from the field. He was followed by Jay Chavarria 20 pts 5 rebs, and Kirk Burgess 16 pts 6 rebs. Meanwhile on the other end, Bros. Habet scoring was led by Greg “Chippy” Rudon 23 pts 7 rebs 4 asst, followed by Delhart Dominguez 17 pts 7 stls, and Elsworth Itza 16 pts 9 rebs. The Bandits as a team showed superiority in all departments, shooting 45% from the field to Bros. Habet 37 %; blocked shots, 6-5; and, surprisingly, on the glass, 48-37. In preceding junior games, it was Truckers over Ghetto Ballers, 77-75, as Oliver Solis hit for 21 pts and Steven Wade 20 pts. Meanwhile, for Ghetto Ballers it was Albert Tasher scoring a season high 42 pts, followed by Clive Standford 8 pts. Other junior ball action saw Orange Walk Runnin Rebels running past NHI by the final score of 95-57. Randy Usher totaled 24 pts in the win, followed closely by Omar Tesecum 20 pts and Michael Martinez 14 pts. NHI, who with the loss now falls to (0-3), was led by Raheem Franklin 20 pts and Egbert Martinez 7 pts. In more junior ball, Belize Bank Bulldogs won their fourth straight game, this time 96-36 over Youth Hostel. Bulldog Matthew Young totaled 25 pts 11 rebs 3 blks, and was followed by Alejandro Baptist 22 pts 7 rebs and Luis Barcelona 10 pts 8 rebs. The Youth Hostel, who must be commended for their courageous play, was led by Stannis Thomas and Darren Longsworth with 12 pts each.
In Friday night senior action, San Pedro Tigersharks, with the help of three foreign players, ended UB’s two-game winning streak, defeating them by the final score of 92-72. Richard Soto 15 pts 7 rebs led the Black Jaguars scoring, followed by Farron Louriano, Winston Pratt and Darren Bovell, all scoring 10 pts each in the loss. Meanwhile, for the Tigersharks it was foreigner Ivan Jackson leading the way with 30 pts, followed by Belizean American Gene Myvett 23 pts, and Lester Cadle with 11 pts. In the female game played on Friday night, Maria Chang Eagles had their way with Mysfits, winning by the final score of 54-30. Shirley Codd had 18 pts 4 rebs and 1 asst in the win, followed by Tifarrah Swift 14 pts and Anna Thurton 9 pts. For Mysfits, it was Glenda Torres totaling 15 pts 11 rebs, while her teammate Candice Neal contributed 6 pts in the loss.