SMILING KRUZZARS CRUISE TO
79-69 WIN OVER ACC DEACONS IN BELIZE CITY U-17 TOURNAMENT
Coach Matthew Smiling has his Kruzzars U-17 team in cruise control throttle at a perfect 3-0, as we enter week 4 of the 2011-2012 BDBA U-17 Championship. In a show of muscle and league superiority, the Kruzzars cruised past the ACC Deacons last week Friday night at the City Center with a 79-69 showing. The Kruzzars had four players scoring in double figures, led by Daniel Sanchez 22 pts 2 rebs. His teammate Devin Daly had his third straight double-double, totaling 18 pts 13 rebs, while Tariq Middleton and Winston Reynolds contributed 11 pts and 10 pts, respectively, in the win. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum it was Terrique “The Future” Gabb totaling 26 pts, followed by Travis Bermudez with 23 pts 10 rebs. As a unit the Kruzzars made 32 of their 59 attempts from the field for a field goal percentage of 54%; they shot 12 of 31 from the charity stripe for a shooting clip of 39%. In contrast, the Deacons could only muster 22 of their 68 shots from the field for 32%, however made up at the line, hitting 18 of 28 for a 64% shooting performance. However, they were outrebounded by the Kruzzars, 47-33, and subsequently lost the battle in the paint, 56-30, as well as the battle of the bench, 52-1.
In the early game, it was Caye Caulker winning in resounding fashion over Civic Ballers by the final score of 68-31. Charles Hinks led Caye Caulker with 19 pts 6 rebs, followed by Osmin Arana 12 pts 5 rebs. The Ballers from Civic were clearly at a disadvantage, with the only bright spot being the play of Godwin Neal, who totaled 11 pts 2 rebs in the loss.
On Valentine’s night, in U-15 play, Dog Pound Boys took a bite out of YMCA, winning by the final score of 33-30. Damian Leslie led Dog Pound with 11 pts 4 rebs, followed by Karl Smith with 9 pts 6 rebs. Meanwhile, for YMCA it was Jovani Usher totaling 12 pts 15 rebs in the loss.
In the nightcap game, Complex Admirals destroyed Civic Ballers by the final score of 84-36. Kadeem Olivera totaled 21 pts 6 rebs 2 asst for Complex Admirals, followed by Ryan Michael 14 pts 10 rebs, and Akeem Watters 12 pts 13 rebs. Civic Ballers, who now with the loss find themselves in the cellar, were led by John Young 14 pts and Dijon Smith 9 pts.
Wednesday night’s score had Truckers subduing the Eagles by the score of 35-18, behind Anfernee Brooks 13 pts 7 rebs, while for the Eagles it was Kevaun Pascual totaling 8 pts 23 rebs. In the late show, U-17 Hattieville posted their first win of the tourney, overcoming rivals Ladyville by the final score of 61-57. Faisal Ahmad led Hattieville with 14 pts 4 rebs, followed by Benedict Pascascio with 11 pts 7 rebs. Meanwhile, Ladyville scoring was led by Darren Longsworth 20 pts 4 rebs and Denroy McCord 11 pts 5 rebs.
HARLEM CLOBBERS TRAILBLAZERS IN DANGRIGA U-17 OPENER
Three U-17 games were played this past Saturday, February 12, at the Delille Academy basketball court to mark the opening of the 2011/12 DBA U-15 & U-17 Basketball Tournament.
In the first game, Harlem overwhelmed the Cadet Trailblazers, 71-14. Harlem featured four players with Dangriga Basketball Association (DBA) U-19 tournament experience, as well as much anticipated 5’-7" point guard Brandon Castillo. Castillo did not disappoint in his DBA debut, netting 15 points, 6 steals and 2 assists to power the Harlem attack. While Castillo controlled the perimeter, Dominique Nicholas and Shai Peters dominated the paint with 18 and 12 rebounds, respectively, while adding 10 points each. While the Cadets were clearly out-matched, Francis Noralez did manage to slip in 6 points and 10 rebounds to be the lone bright spot for his team.
Game 2 was a much more even match-up, as the competing teams Hopkins and Back-a-Town Warriors were even in terms of talent level. The Warriors, powered by 6’-2" Georgetown Technical Center, Brandon Flowers, and 6’-3" Frank Williams, edged out a lead at the end of every quarter, to walk away with the 32-24 victory. Flowers imposed his way to 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, while Williams poured in 8 points, to go with 16 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The defense of the warriors, anchored by Flowers and Williams, held all Hopkins players in single digits. Hyden Casimiro, of the DBA 2010 U-19 championships Hopkins, finished with 7 points and 9 rebounds. Joshua Rodriguez contributed 9 points and 5 rebounds, while Adrian Casimiro had 10 rebounds.
The late evening third game featured the Foreshore Spartans, with 7 players returning from their DBA 2010 U-19 team, which finished that tournament with a 2-5 record. This year, however, with one year experience under their belt, the feeling is that they are the team to beat in this U-17 tournament. After a slow first-quarter start, the Spartans were able to build a 5 point halftime lead, propelled by standout point guard Hubert Usher, who tallied in 10 points and 7 steals. The Spartans increased their defensive pressure in the second half to seal the 31-19 win. The Blazin Heats did not seem to be able to mount any sustained run in the second half, but were somehow kept in the game by the poor, free-throw shooting of the Spartans. Trevon Mitchell had 8 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists for the Spartans, while Hasaan Lucas and Highking Roberts, of the Heats, both had 5 points in the loss.