BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 24, 2015–The Belize District Basketball Association’s (BDBA) Firms Basketball Tournament 2015 held its knockout semifinal games on Friday night, August 21; and it was right into game 1 of the best-of-3 games
championship finals series on Saturday night, August 22, at Bird’s Isle.
The semifinal opener on Friday night featured a battle of the banks, as Central Bank disciplined Heritage Bank, 82-66. Leading Central Bank were Jacob Leslie with 32 pts 6 rebs 4 assts, Dave Apolonio 21 pts 2 rebs 3 assts, and Farron Louriano 15 pts 8 rebs 2 assts; while Heritage Bank was led by Marvin Skeet 19 pts 8 rebs 3 assts, and Winston Pratt 14 pts 3 rebs 3 assts 3 stls. The semifinal nightcap was a much closer contest, as Bulldogs pulled out the 71-68 win over Central Health. For the victorious Bulldogs, Brian White had 22 pts 8 rebs, Rupert Brown 22 pts 2 rebs 4 assts 2 stls, and Tarique Gabb 11 pts 4 rebs 2 assts 2 stls; while Central Health was led by Neil Nicholson 33 pts 3 rebs 3 stls, Travis Bernardez 11 pts 3 rebs 2 assts 2 stls, and Lonnie Trapp 10 pts 5 rebs 2 assts 2 stls.
With one day rest only, the two winners then clashed on Saturday in game 1 of the best-of-3 games finals series. And it was Bulldogs taking game 1 over Central Bank by a 60-42 score. Top scorers for Bulldogs were Rupert Brown 16 pts 3 rebs 3 assts 5 stls, Brian White 11 pts 5 rebs 2 assts 4 stls, Roscoe Rhys 11 pts 5 rebs 4 assts, and Marcel Orosco 9 pts 8 rebs 2 assts; while Central Bank had Farron Louriano with 11 pts 5 rebs 2 stls, Mark Swift 11 pts 2 rebs, and Jacob Leslie 6 pts 4 rebs 2 assts 2 stls.
On Saturday, the Association also announced the following BDBA Firms Tournament 2015 Awards: Most Rebounds – Lennox Cayetano (Digicell-4G); Most Steals – Jacob Leslie (Central Bank); Most Assists – Steven Wade (Central Health);
Regular Season MVP – Raheem Staine (Digicell-4G); Finals MVP – to be determined.
With game 1 “in the bank,” the Bulldogs can clinch the championship with a game 2 victory this Friday night.
Finals schedule:
Friday, August 28
8:00 p.m. – (Game 2) Bulldogs vs
Central Bank
Saturday, August 29
8:00 p.m. – (Game 3, if necessary)
Central Bank vs Bulldogs