Photo: Glen Gill, New Commissioner
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 22, 2024
The Belize Elite Basketball League (BEBL) is gearing up for its 2024 season, with opening night being scheduled for Friday, January 26, at the Belize City Civic Centre, where defending champions, Belize Hurricanes will be facing sub-champs San Pedro Tiger Sharks.
Seven teams from different sections of the country will be participating in the 2024 season – Belize City Defenders, Belize Hurricanes, Belmopan Trojans, Cayo Western Ballaz, Griga Dream Ballers, Orange Walk Running Rebels, and San Pedro Tiger Sharks – with last season’s participant, Punta Gorda Panthers being out of contention due to financial limitations.
This BEBL season will see a new commissioner, Glen Gill, who has earned the respect of his peers within the basketball world for his vast experience and knowledge of the sport, and will be replacing Chris McGann, who served for a single season.
In a press conference held by the league today, Gill outlined to the national media that major changes have been made for this season and future ones.
“This year, there has been a huge change in the way business will be conducted. The owners of the teams are now the owners of the league, and [this is] exciting because new partnerships have been created, and there is a new vision and a new direction [that] promises to produce a higher level of basketball in the league’s [games],” he said. Gill further mentioned, “We have introduced new stakeholders to the league, and it is no longer an individual struggle. This affords us to have a smoother environment [for] potential new games. This is caused [by] the league eliminating individual hardships, [and] meeting operational budgets.”
Gill explained to the media that this new change will have teams [bearing] less of a financial burden, as three of the seven teams will be hosting their home games at the Belize City Civic Centre, which will cost an estimated $10,000 a month per team.
“The teams decided to pool their resources, and so the entire league takes care of expenses during the season. The commissioner’s office will be the one to monitor what gets paid; for example, players will be paid by the league this year, not [by] the teams; so, because of that, now we are minimizing cost,” he said.
“This is [the] first season we’re trying it, and we’re hoping that it works so at least,” said Troy Gabb, Jr., co-owner of the Orange Walk Running Rebels. “The larger market [will] be able to assist the smaller market; so, when they’re having constraints, then, of course, the larger market [will] be able to assist them. And that happens in the NFL, that’s in the NBA; it’s the same structure that we’re trying to apply here in the Belize basketball league,” he continued.
During his opening remarks, Commissioner Gill described last season as a “roller coaster”, as there was one fiasco after another, with one of the most egregious of these taking place at the Hurricanes’ home opener, when one of their players attacked a referee mid-game. Gill noted that this year, the officials have been trained in dealing with such situations.
“The correction for that this year is how the referees [are] better trained. Trained referees control the game; things like that should not occur. I’m not saying that players won’t get upset, and they won’t do things that they deserve some kind of penalty for. But once the referees are trained, they will know how to deal with those situations,” he said.
He also noted that the league will be introducing a ticketing system for spectators along with heavier sanctions for players on and off the court.
The BEBL, previously known as the National Basketball Elite League (NEBL), was rebranded to its current name during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a halt to public games for two and a half seasons.