_{Photo: Porfino’s Future Shock basketballers win Copa Caribe U19 and U22 championships}

by William Ysaguirre

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Jan. 9, 2025

Belize’s Future Shock basketball teams, sponsored by Portofino Beach Resort, won the  2024 Copa Caribe Basketball U19 and U22 championships,  hosted by the Comision de Deporte de Quintana Roo (CODEQ) in Chetumal, Quintana Roo from Friday to Sunday, December 13-15, 2024.

_{Photo: Coach Clinton Pulu Lightburn with trophy and awards from Senator Eduardo Segura Vasquez}

MVP Michael Caceres led the U-19 Future Shock team to a 64-60 win over Cancun in the Under-19 finals to bring home the championship. The team included Triston Perriot, Randy Henry, Kelvin Cumberbatch, Roy Blades, Ashaun Castro and Edward Thompson. There were only 4 teams in the U-19 male category, which played a single round robin for a total of 6 games. Future Shock won all 3 of their games in the first round, to advance to the final against the 2nd ranked team – Cancun.

MVP Shane Pratt led the U-22 Future Shock men to dominate the Potros of Cancun, 61-25, in the Under-22 championship final. Other U-22 players were Leroy Betson, Tyrell Griffith, Jayden Garcia and Elijah Gabourel, as well as all seven U-19 players. There were 6 teams in the U-22 category, which played a single round robin in two groups of 3. In the group stage, Future Shock dominated its opponents Maricnatios Chetumal and MonStar Cancun by an aggregate score of 121-43, and they overpowered ECLAC Chetumal in the semifinals to meet the Potros in the final.

Michael Caceres won the Most Valuable Player award in the U-19 category, and Shane Pratt won the MVP award for the U-22 category. President Eduardo Angulo Bernal of the Club Delfines of Chetumal also recognized Future Shock coach Clinton “Pulu” Lightburn with a lifetime achievement award for his legendary contribution to basketball as player, coach and mentor.

The tournament coincided with the State of Quintana Roo’s 50th anniversary celebrations as a free and sovereign state. It saw participation of more than 50 teams from all over the State of Quintana Roo, as well as the Conquering Lions of Belize who competed in the intermediate U-13 category. Over 1,000 players competed in several age categories from Pre-Infants (Under-10); Mixed Infants for boys Under-13, Under 15, Under-17; and for male and female in the Under-19, Under-22 and Open categories; as well as a 3×3 wheelchair category for paralympic players. The games played at six different venues around the city of Chetumal, including Casitas, Parque del Queso, Hábitat 2, Alphas, CODEQ, and the Technology Institute of Chetumal (ITCH).

(AMANDALA Ed. Note: Unfortunately, detailed information on the games was very limited on Facebook, as the tournament was not under FIBA or CentroBasket.)