All three Round 11 back matches to end the regular season in the 2010-2011 BPFL Opening Season for the Caribbean Motors Cup were played last Thursday night, December 23, and the stage is now set for two quarterfinal one-smash encounters this coming Sunday, January 2, to determine the two teams who will join league leaders BDF and F.C. Belize in the semifinals, which will be the traditional home-and-away series.
Up north at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk, Oscar Acevedo gave home- standing San Felipe Barcelona an early lead at the 8th minute over visiting Toledo Ambassadors; but Andres Makin tied things up for Toledo at the 50th minute for the 1-1 final score.
Meanwhile, at the FFB Field in Belmopan, the Belmopan Blaze were being burned to a crisp by the fire power of F.C. Belize strikers Jarrett Davis and Christian Okonkwo, both of whom had hat tricks on their way to a 6-1 F.C. Belize victory. Davis (9, 45 & 48 min) carried his regular season goal total to 8, tied with San Felipe’s Deris “Colombia” Benavides for second place in the goal scoring race; while his teammate, Nigerian Christian Okonkwo (21, 66 & 85 min) took firm control of the Top Goal Scorer position, with a regular season total of 11 goals. The lone tally for Belmopan Blaze was by Bertan Bermudez (28 min). Luckily for the Blaze, Hankook Verdes also lost in their final game, so the Blaze are in the playoffs at the 6th spot.
Farther west at the Marshalleck Stadium in Benque Viejo, the Hankook Verdes game with league leading Belize Defence Force started at 8:00 p.m., a full half hour after the other two games. So Verdes was aware that even a draw could secure themselves a playoff spot, as they had a better goal differential than Belmopan Blaze, who were just bombed by F.C. Belize. Unfortunately for Verdes, playing in front of their home fans, they were unable to come up with the equalizer, after midfielder Richard “Cheety” Jimenez gave BDF the lead at the 34th minute. The long whistle signaling the 1-nil victory for BDF also signaled the disappointing end of the season for Hankook Verdes, who have thus failed to make it to the playoffs.
According to BPFL Manager Marvin Ottley, the quarterfinals will be one-smash affairs, with the home teams being the 3rd and 4th ranked teams at the end of the regular season. 3rd seed Toledo Ambassadors will meet 6th seed Belmopan Blaze, and 4th seed Griga United tangles with 5th seed San Felipe Barcelona, in do or die games this Sunday. The two winners go on to the home-and-away semifinal series along with 1st seed Belize Defence Force and 2nd seed F.C. Belize.
Do or die one-smash quarterfinals:
Sunday, January 2, 2011
4:00 p.m. – Toledo Ambassadors vs Belmopan Blaze – Toledo Union Field
4:00 p.m. – Griga United vs San Felipe Barcelona – Carl Ramos Stadium