The Belize City (Smart) No Limit Soldiers made the journey to the Y-Not Island in Dangriga to take on the hometown Culture Warriors. The Soldiers made the trip along with some No Limit fans early Saturday afternoon, as they departed from Belize City around 2:30 p.m. The team managers made it a priority to have the Soldiers in Dangriga early, so they could have sufficient time to stretch and warm up properly for the game. This was definitely necessary, because in past road games the Soldiers would often struggle in the 1st half, before hitting their stride in the 2nd. On this day, however, the Soldiers were early, so early, in fact, that they had time to walk around and soak in the culture capital of the country. The people of Dangriga welcomed the No Limit Soldiers, and were very hospitable to the visiting team for the duration of their stay.
The Dangriga Culture Warriors are a very young, athletic and exciting team to watch, and it’s because of that the Soldiers made every effort to slow down the game to negate the speed of the young Warriors. As a result of the game being slowed down, the score was slightly lower than what the Belize City No Limit Soldiers would normally produce. They were very much in control through the 40 minutes of action, as the team continues to improve their shooting. Team No Limit shot 21 for 36 (58%) from the charity stripe, and even shot a better percentage from behind the arc than they did on 2-point field goal attempts, as they hit 50% of their shots from the land of 3 and only 34% on 2-pointers.
The game was still fairly close at the end of the 1st half, as Belize City enjoyed a 33 to 27 lead over Dangriga. The rebound battle was a close one, as the Warriors edged out the Soldiers in that regard, 39 to 38. Things would open up in the 2nd half, as the Soldiers further asserted their dominance, eventually leading by as many as 15 in the 4th quarter. As the game drew closer and closer to the end, the Warriors implemented a trap defense in an effort to force a No Limit turnover; but the fast hands and overall speed of No Limit point guard Kevin Lorenzo would leave the Dangriga defenders frustrated, as they simply could not take the basketball away from him.
When it was all said and done, the Belize City (Smart) No Limit Soldiers emerged victorious over the Dangriga Culture Warriors with a final score of 66 to 53. Greg “Chippy” Rudon led the Belize City squad with 23 points, as he shot 11 for 13 from the free throw line and pulled down 4 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. And Andrew “Mr. Throw Down” Ortiz got yet another crowd pleasing rim-rocker slam, that even fans of the Warriors had to appreciate. Ortiz finished the game with 13 points and 6 boards.
Next up for Belize City (Smart) No Limit is the Orange Walk Running Rebels in Orange Walk. Then on Friday, April 4, the Soldiers return to Bird’s Isle in Belize City, as they play host to the visiting Corozal Heats.