Aero Dispatch are the current leaders in division B of the 2008 Interoffice basketball championship. The Dispatch crew from Philip Goldson International Airport made easy work of Milo Fortifiers last week Friday night at the City Center, destroying the Fortifiers by the score of 57-44. Kelvin “Kelly B” Gillett spearheaded the Dispatch attack, totaling 13 pt 6 rebs 4 asst 3 steals. He was aided by the play of his center, Floyd “Bol” Talbert, who came three blocks shy of recording a triple double, as he struck for 10 pts 16 rebs 2 asst 7 blocks and 1 steal. Milo Fortifiers, who now fall to (1-1) was led by Kent “Skull” Young 11 pt 4 rebs and Ashley Hemsley 10 pts 10 rebs. Meanwhile in the opening game played on Friday, Tuff E Nuff squeezed out a narrow 55-53 win over KHMH, behind the duo of Glen Flowers and Ellis Eldon, who totaled 13 pts each in the win. KHMH, on the other hand, had solid play from Ryan Miller and Rodney O’ Brien, who scored 15 pts and 8 pts, respectively. BWS Pressure made it difficult for Home Protector/Tropic Air in game two, blowing them out by the score of 57-40. Karim Thompson from BWS had 15 pts 8 rebs, followed by Evon Lino 12 pts 3 rebs; while Home Protector/Tropic Air scoring was led by Albert Zelaya 16 pts and Carlton Humes 7 pts.
On Sunday, despite threatening weather, five games were played on the schedule, with Central Bank posting their first win of the season over Atlantic Bank Ltd. by the score of 60-56. Edward “Thugs” Baptist had a huge 24 pt effort, while his teammate Christopher McGann contributed 17 pts 6 rebs in the win. On the opposite side, Andrew “Head” Staine from Atlantic Bank Ltd. was the game high scorer, totaling 37 pts, while grabbing 9 rebs.
The Police Department staked their claim for the leadership of division A by winning their third in a row with a 63-55 win over GPO/Grace Kennedy. The Police had a balanced attack, led by Derrick Gideon 21 pts 6 rebs and Davis Guzman 15 pts 12 rebs; while for GPO/Grace Kennedy it was Fenton James 17 pts and Andrew Moses 14 pts leading the way.
In game three, behind Frank August 19 pts 3 rebs and Lloyd Burgess 16 pts 16 rebs, Belize Healthcare Partners was able to post their first win of the 2008 campaign, as they avoided being crushed by CSB Crushers, and actually turned the tables, defeating them by the score of 45-42. Omar “Stitchy” Gordon had 14 pts, followed by Ishmarley Clarke 10 pts.
In the fourth game of the day, Belize City Council kept pace with the Police Department, winning their third game in a row, as they edged out Port of Belize by the score of 55-52. The Council had Kenroy Usher with 15 pts 6 rebs, followed by Godsend Ferguson 14 pts 4 rebs. Meanwhile, for Port of Belize it was Raymond Rivers and Raymond Arnold scoring 16 pts and 11 pts, respectively, in the loss.
The upset of the day reared its ugly head in game five, as BWS surprised the defending champs Belize Telemedia Ltd., trampling them by the score of 59-47. The defending champs on Sunday had no answer for Karim Thompson, who scorched them for a game high 20 pts to go along with 10 rebs. He was complemented by the wired play of Keith “Dos” Pollard 16 pts 10 rebs. Belize Telemedia Ltd. seemed out of it, and played lethargic basketball, with Devon Lozano being only able to muster a miserable 10 pts.
On Monday night, the action resumed with Tuff E Nuff narrowly defeating the Bar Association of Belize by the score of 39-37. Tuff E Nuff’s Eldon Willis and Kano Green scored 9 pts and 8 pts, respectively, in the win; while Andrew Marshalleck led the Bar with 15 pts, followed by Andrew Robateau with 9 pts 18 rebs.
Port of Belize avenged Sunday’s loss with a convincing 46-37 win over Belize Healthcare Partners. Raymond Rivers totaled 12 pts 2 rebs in the win, followed by Kent “Asha” Marfiled 9 pts 12 rebs. Meanwhile, for Belize Healthcare Partners the veteran Joseph “Wrecking Joe” Martinez had one of those nights that comes by occasionally in an athlete’s waning years – a breakout night, as he totaled 12 pts 12 rebs 2 blocks 3 steals in the loss.
In Monday’s nightcap game, Aero Dispatch humiliated Central Bank by the score of 70-47, behind Kirk “Chengo” Burgess 22 pts 16 rebs and Kelvin “Kelly B” Gillett 20 pts 1 reb. Central Bank, who appeared overmatched in this one, only bright spot was the play of Edward “Thugs” Baptist, who totaled 17 pts 3 rebs in the loss.
2008 BECOL BASKETBALL INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
The organizers of the 2008 Becol Basketball Championship this week announced this year’s individual award winners at all four levels. In the U-17 and U-20 category, Sacred Heart College’s Shimeon Simpson led both categories in scoring, averaging 22.5 ppg and 12.6 ppg, respectively. U-17 Shelton Defour from LA Tigers led the league in rebounds, averaging 7.7 per game; while teammate Christopher Waight won the assist award, averaging 1.0 apg. Steals leader was Elliot Bermudez from LA Tigers, who averaged 2.0 spg.
The U-20 division rebound leader was won by Evan Brown, who averaged 11.4 rpg. Garrett Bermudez 1.6 apg was tops in the league, while Shimeon Simpson from Cayo Ballers was the leader in steals, averaging 3.0 spg.
In the big leagues, Lester Cadle from the Belize Bank Diamonds led the league with an average of 22.0 ppg. E Three Stars’ Mark O’Brien 10.8 rpg was tops in the league, while Jovian Urbina from Maratown Patriots captured both the assist and steals category, averaging 2.3 apg and 4.4 spg, respectively.
In the Over 35 group, Benque Rockers’ Maino “Skull” Bevans was tops in the league in scoring, averaging 22.3 ppg; while Dean Bermudez from Hydro Power won the rebound category with his 11.0 rpg clip. The assist leader was won by Belmopan Bandits’ Clifford King, who averaged 3.3 apg; and the steals leader was captured by Efrain Phillips, representing Benque Rockers; he averaged 2.2 spg.