BELIZE CITY, Thurs. May 25, 2023
The Belize Elite Basketball League’s 2023 tournament playoffs are once again scheduled to start this weekend after its regular season concluded two weeks ago in a swirl of controversy.
Statistically its winningest team is not the number one seed, and even though it is the second seed it was scheduled to play its first game on the road.
The BEBL apparently still does not have a duly constituted “Appeals Committee” in place, and its “Disciplinary Committee” continues to hear and rule on protests. That tribunal ruled yesterday that a protest by the Hurricanes has no standing, and the Commissioner acted within his authority to declare that they had forfeited a previously postponed (between them and Tiger Sharks) back match with the San Pedro Tiger Sharks, therefore they had lost a previously awarded point in the standings.
They wrote: “This is an administrative matter within the Commissioner’s Terms of Reference (TOR) as the person charged with running the league smoothly and efficiently. Therefore then, this committee declines to address this matter.
“Notwithstanding the above, this committee wishes to put in writing our grave concern regarding the collusion amongst teams to manipulate the awarding of points and thus the final team standing. This goes against the spirit of competition and sports itself, while at the same time shortchanging the fans, sponsor and all other concerned members of the basketball family. We urge the league to review and amend the league by-laws concerning forfeitures/refusing to play games with a view to significantly increasing the penalties so as to avoid a similar scenario from occurring in the future. Such incidents must not be allowed to occur if this league is to have credibility and long-term visibility”.
The letter to Commissioner Chris McGann was signed by the tribunal of Daniel Fabro (Chairman), Glenn Gill and Marvin Garcia (members). It was thought to have cleared the way for the playoffs to begin on Saturday night with games in Dangriga and Orange Walk Town, but it was rumored that the Hurricanes objected and threatened to recourse to the nation’s judicial system.
The first seed Orange Walk Running Rebels would host the fourth seeded San Pedro Tiger Sharks there, but the second seed Benny’s Belize Hurricanes objected to traveling to play the third-seeded Griga Dream Ballers at the Russell Chiste Garcia Auditorium in Dangriga this Saturday.
Presumably their second and a third game, if necessary, would have been played on their home court at the Belize City Civic Centre which is booked out for the Holy Redeemer Credit Union’s annual general meeting.
Late this afternoon the Commissioner presumably posted a release on the BEBL Facebook page. It read: “The BEBL would like to apologize to its fans for the constant shifting of the schedule. The Belize Civic Center, which is home to the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes has been booked for this entire weekend. To accommodate the change, it was proposed that the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes play the first game on the road and then back-to-back home games if the series would go to three games. Ultimately, those negotiations fell through. Game 1 of the 2 vs 3 matchups has now been officially set for Friday, June 2, 2023, inside the Belize Civic Center.
“There will be no changes to the standing; the match-ups remain the same. (1) Orange Walk Running Rebels vs (4) San Pedro Tiger Sharks, and (2) Benny’s Belize Hurricanes vs (3) Griga Dream Ballers
“Game 1 of the 1 vs 4 matchups will play as scheduled on Saturday, May 27, 2023, in Orange Walk.
“The updated schedule will be posted shortly….”
The Rebels beat the Tiger Sharks twice during the regular season, while the Griga Dream Ballers and the Hurricanes split their regular season matchups.
A post today by a Facebook Belize media showed photos of the Rebels import and leading scorer Stanback getting on and taking a seat on a plane. Our reports are that he flew out yesterday after a dispute with his head coach which is rumored to have turned into an altercation that may have involved a gun.
AMANDALA was unable to confirm unverified reports that the Rebels’ other American import Bryan Hudson was booked on a flight to leave Belize today, but apparently changed his plans. The loss of both Hudson (17 ppg) and James Stanback (20ppg) would irrevocably diminish the Rebels’ chances.
The men had been reportedly advised to leave Belize by their agent whom they share.