This makes the second year in a row that the ?Police? team have been eliminated in the semi-finals after enjoying a successful regular season.

The 2005 finals promises to be an exciting series. The two combatants have contrasting styles: one loves to run, while the other wants to punish you in the paint. ?BWSL? enter the finals tonight as underdogs. They were not supposed to be here. But they are, because of the inspired play of small forward Jamir Enriquez, who, by the way, is averaging 33 points in the playoffs, the precision passing of point forward, Patrick Simmons, along with the inside thunder of Benson Matthews, Deon Andrews and the slashing ability of Jason Munnings.

On the flip side of the coin, ?Mesop/Guardian?, while on the young side, are just as good as their opponents. They have enjoyed a winning season in just their first year in the league, and during the regular season and the playoffs have demonstrated good team chemistry. As a unit they appear cohesive. This bunch is talented, athletic and has a good understanding of what it takes to win. They are clearly quicker than their opponents and will pose major problems defensively for the slower players of ?BWSL?. For them to enjoy sustained success, however, they will first need huge contributions on the glass from frontcourt players such as Bijon Griffith and Zachary Young. In addition, their bench players must produce. Jamil Garbutt will have to add scoring, besides offering relief to Felix. Remo Williams will have to help out on the boards, while Walford will have to produce offensively.

The ?Mesop? team enters the finals on a high note, filled with confidence that they will be able to handle the task at hand. But they should tread lightly and not let the confidence spill over into overconfidence. This would be a shame and could spell disaster for them. ?BWSL? are a very dangerous team. They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. After all, it was the ?Police? team that was supposed to be here.

How did we get here? Well, on Monday night in a quarterfinals match up, it was ?Aero Despatch/Customs? downing ?Belizean Shores? by ten, 53-43. ?Belizean Shores? in the early part of the first half were able to dominate the game behind the play of Roger Pandy (10 pts 10 rebs) and Junie Black (8 pts), resulting in an early 17-7 lead. But late in the first half, ?Aero Despatch? began to gather momentum with a couple baskets in transition. Nevertheless, the half ended 20-16 in favor of ?Belizean Shores?.

In the second half, ?Aero? started out fast as Ronald Alarcon hit for 16 of his 18 pts and teammate Myron Flowers got their fans in the game with a huge block against Roger Pandy. This was just the start of their run, as they outscored their opponents 37-23 in the second half on their way to the win.

In the second quarterfinals that night; underdogs ?BWSL? shocked the (6-1) Port of Belize by soundly defeating them 59-50. ?BWSL? were fast out the tracks and never did look back. Jamir Enriquez appeared on a mission, hitting for 17 of his 30 points in the first half, though his team only led 31-27 at the half. In the second half it was downhill for ?Port of Belize?. They only managed to score 13 points, settling for the three-pointer shot without making any attempt to attack the interior of ?BWSL?.

Meanwhile ?BWSL? continued hot and consistent, scoring 27 second half points on their way to the Final Four.