Game 2 of the best of 3 games championship series in the U26 Basketball Competition was a real nail biter, coming right down to the wire, but when the final buzzer sounded last Thursday night, March 27, the Belize Bank Junior Bulldogs had claimed their second victory in a row, and with it the championship of the 2008 U26 basketball competition.
The game started in similar fashion as game 1, with UB leading at the end of the 1st quarter, 20 – 17, and Belize Bank at the end of the 2nd quarter, 34 – 33. At the end of the 3rd quarter it was UB again leading 50 – 47. In the 4th and decisive quarter, the Junior Bulldogs’ defense turned up the pressure, holding the Jaguars to their lowest points per quarter, and outscoring them, 16 – 11, to win the game.
Travis Lennon got fouled with 1 second remaining in the game for a chance to send it into overtime, with the score at 63 – 61, but he missed the first free throw. He then intentionally missed the second, and Stephen “Muerte” Williams also had a chance to tie the game, but missed the put-back at the buzzer.
Belize Bank Junior Bulldogs were thus able to tame the Black Jaguars and become the 2008 U26 Basketball Champions, racking up a spectacular 17 – 1 record en route to the championship.
Leading the victorious Bulldogs was Greg “Chippy” Rudon with 20 pts (including 4- 3’s) 4 rebs 2 assts, and Darwin “Puppy” Leslie with 10 pts (8 free throws) 9 rebs 4 assts 2 blks 7stls. For second place UB Black Jaguars, Lennox “Bo” Bowman had 14 pts 7 rebs 2 assts 1 stl, and Stephen “Muerte” Williams added 13 pts 8 rebs 2 assts 1 stl.
Ladyville Junior Tournament going into Playoffs
Last Saturday Night, there were two games on the schedule between the 4 top teams. In game one of the night, it was defending champs Killers going up against the Young Guns team. Killers were on top of their game and came up with the 72-62 victory. Roman Garcia came up big for Killers with 23 pts, while teammate Jason Duran scored 8 pts and pulled 22 rebs. For Young Guns, it was Kareem Young dropping 23 pts 4 rbs, while teammate Alex Evans had 13 pts 14 rebs. In game two of the night, Lords Bank Bullets came up victorious against Grand Hustle by a score of 54-44. Ceejay Barrera had 16 pts 2 rebs, followed by Tyrone Green with 14 pts for Bullets; while Felix Martinez had 12 pts, followed by teammate Steven Wade’s 10 pts for Grand Hustle.
The league jumps into playoffs this weekend with four teams qualifying. The # 1 team, Killers goes against the # 4 team, Lords Bank Bullets; while the # 2 team, Grand Hustle faces the # 3 team, Young Guns. The best of three series begins tonight with the showdown between Killers and Bullets; while Grand Hustle will battle Young Guns on Saturday night. Come out and cheer on your teams to victory.
BECOL Basketball Tournament update
In Under 17 basketball on Friday night, L.A. Tigers (3-0) remained undefeated with a 44-29 whitewashing of winless Wolves (0-2). Elvis Usher, Jr. 14 pts 3 rebs and Shelton Defour, Jr. 10 pts 8 rebs 2 blks led the Tigers to victory; while Amir Westby 11 pts 5 rebs and Michael Williams 6 pts were big men for the losers. The second game for the night was an Under-20 match-up, with St. Ignatius High School (4-0) putting a similar thrashing on Young Stars (2-1), beating them 51-37. Top scorers for St. Ignatius were Frank Fuller 12 pts 4 rebs, Omar Yacab 10 pts 2 assts, Elliot Bermudez 10 pts 3 rebs and Garrett Bermudez 10 pts 3 rebs. For Young Stars, Julian “Rrah” Maldonado had 13 pts 3 rebs 2 stls and Regis Morris 12 pts 3 rebs. The nightcap featured the Seniors, and saw SHJC/BNE (3-2) defeating Belize Bank Diamonds (3-1) by a 66-55 score. For SHJC/BNE, top scorers were Elton Moore 19 pts 2 stls, Halil Alcoser 13 pts, and Kirk “Chengo” Burgess 9 pts 10 rebs 4 pts. In a losing effort, Belize Bank Diamonds was led by Lester Cadle 21 pts 9 rebs, Milron Hoare 12 pts 3 rebs and Emerson “Emo” King 10 pts.
Three more games were played on Saturday night. In the Under-20 division, Hydro Power (2-2) emerged 45-35 winners over West Side (0-3). Hydro Power was led by Johann “Cutto” Bermudez 16 pts 6 rebs 4 stls, Derrick Garbutt 10 pts 9 rebs 4 stls and Lloyd “Lepp” Molina 8 pts 5 rebs 2 assts 2 stls. The losing West Side had Joe Luis Pech 9 pts 9 rebs and Cesar Castellanos 6 pts 5 stls. The Seniors game which followed saw Christ for Life (2-2) as the 51-41 victors over Maratown Patriots (0-3). For Christ for Life, Mark Gentle had 12 pts 7 rebs, Lindy Gill 12 pts and Keith Acosta 10 pts 8 rebs 2 stls 2 blks. And in the nightcap Over-35 match, Belmopan Bandits (3-1) got a close win, 52-48, over Hydro Power (1-3). The Bandits were led by Clifford King 15 pts 5 assts 5 stls, Clive Sutherland 9 pts 3 assts 3 stls and Marlon Tillett 8 pts 6 rebs. The losing Hydro Power was led by Gerald “Hedge” Usher 16 pts 3 assts 3 stls, Steven Usher 11 pts 13 rebs, Douglas “Doc” Smith 8 pts 7 rebs and Ramon “Doc” Figueroa 8 pts 3 stls.
In games for this coming weekend, the first game starts at 6:30 p.m. sharp.
Friday night: Game 1(U – 20) – West Side vs. Young Stars
Friday night: Game 2(Seniors) – Maratown Patriots vs. E-Three Stars
Friday night: Game 3(O – 35) – Belmopan Bandits vs. ICB Veterans
Games on Saturday night will be played at Sacred Heat College campus, for their annual school fair. Entrance fee is only $1.
Saturday night: Game 1(U – 20) – St. Ignatius High School vs. Cayo Ballers
Saturday night: Game 2(Seniors) – Venus Warriors vs. Christ for Life
Saturday night Game 3(Over – 35) – Esperanza vs. Benque Rockers