by Charles Gladden

NEW YORK, USA, Mon. May 29, 2023

A team consisting of 9 basketball players from Belize traveled to Long Island, New York, and participated in the 17th Annual Masroor International Sports Tournament (MIST) over the weekend, and went undefeated in the entire tournament.

The tournament began on Friday, May 26, and ended on Sunday, May 28, featuring over 500 athletes from America, Belize, Canada, and several European countries in two disciplines – football (soccer) and basketball.

The tournament initially began in 2004 with 50 athletes as a small local tournament and was named after Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the current Khalifa of Islam.

The Belize team played all their games at the Long Island Post University, winning their first 3 games on the first day of the tournament, advancing to the semi-finals which they won against Canada by 12 points, and the USA in the finals by 5 points, with the MVP of the tournament going to Nigel Jones, an American who plays for Belize City Defenders.

In our Friday issue, we will be speaking with players about their experiences at the tournament.