The National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) held its national basketball tournament on Friday and Saturday, December 17 and 18, at the Belize Civic Center, with the male and female champions of the four country zones battling for the National Championship. It was a knockout competition, hosted by Anglican Cathedral College of Belize City, and after four games on Friday, two male and two female teams were left to play for the championship on Saturday, while Friday’s losers played for 3rd place. And when it was all over, the Central Zone’s Gwen Lizarraga High School girls and Sadie Vernon Technical High School boys were both crowned 2010 National Champions.
In game 1 on Friday, Delille Academy females trounced Muffles College, 29 to 10. Glenda Arana had 14 pts and Ethel Martinez 8 pts for the winners, while Marcella Zaldivar had 4 pts for Muffles.
Game 2 saw the males of Georgetown Technical High demolishing New Hope High by a 75 to 56 score. Georgetown was led by Gilbert Lopez 31 pts and captain Adrian Augustine 14 pts; while New Hope had Roger Reneau with 26 pts and Nicky Montejo 10 pts.
In game 3 on Friday, the females of Gwen Lizarraga High were way too much for Belmopan Comprehensive School (BCS), beating them by a whopping 52 to 13 score. Gwen Liz captain Glenda Torres led the way with 26 pts and Adreana Meighan added 6 pts; while for BCS, Jerriann Valencio scored 11 pts.
Game 4, the last game on Friday, was between the males of Sadie Vernon Technical and Belmopan Comprehensive; and this one was another one-sided affair, as Sadie Vernon cruised to a 73 – 34 win. Captain Kachief Thomas led Sadie Vernon with 32 pts and their big man Andrew Ortiz added 11 pts; while for Compre, Akeem Waters had 16 pts and Marlon Salazar 9 pts in the loss.
The female and male 3rd place games were played first on Saturday, followed by the championship matches.
In the 3rd place female match on Saturday, Muffles College easily defeated BCS, 22-6, with Marcella Zaldivar and Deja Cummings netting 6 pts apiece for the winners. And for the boys, it was BCS securing 3rd place with a 66-52 win over New Hope High. Akeem Watters led BCS with 33 pts and Marlon Salazar added 17 pts. For New Hope, Roger Reneau had 26 pts and Leonard Jones 11 pts.
Next was the female championship match, with 4-time national champions Gwen Lizarraga High getting an early scare from Delille Academy, until their captain Glenda Aranda twisted an ankle late in the 2nd quarter. The game was only 9-7 in favor of Gwen Liz at halftime; but Gwen Liz captain Glenda Torres took over in the 3rd quarter, opening the lead to 25-13, and closing the show with a 43-18 victory for their 5th straight national title. For Gwen Liz, Glenda Torres finished with 29 pts 15 rebs, Kenya Brown had 5 pts 5 rebs, and Deandra Coote 3 pts 8 rebs; while for Delille, Glenda Aranda had 8 pts 5 rebs, Ethel Martinez 8 pts 3 rebs and Shirley Castillo 2 pts 5 rebs.
The male finals between Sadie Vernon Technical and Georgetown Technical was even more competitive, although Sadie Vernon “bust it open” in the 4th quarter to win 74-50. Sadie Vernon jumped ahead early, ending the 1st quarter with a 20-9 lead. They maintained the lead through the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but it remained within reach, and at one point it was even down to 3 pts, as Georgetown made a game of it. But Sadie Vernon weathered the storm, pushing the lead back to 9 to end the 3rd quarter up 45-36, and then moved away in the 4th, for the 74-50 final score and the championship. Leading Sadie Vernon were captain Kachief Thomas 26 pts 3 rebs, Andrew Ortiz 20 pts 6 rebs, London Reneau 7 pts 14 rebs and Peter McKoy 4 pts 9 rebs; while Georgetown Technical had Gilbert Lopez with 11 pts 17 rebs, captain Adrian Augustine 9 pts 8 rebs and Joel Major 11 pts 2 rebs.
At the trophy ceremonies immediately following the tournament, it was no surprise that CODICADER stars Glenda Torres of Gwen Lizarraga High and Kachief Thomas of Sadie Vernon Technical walked away with the female and male MVP trophies, respectively.