Rising Stars are Belize City’s 2011 Telemedia U-15 Basketball Champs. The Brads Neal led group won all nine of their games played in the tourney, and last weekend capped it off with two nail-biting finishes over Belama Hittaz in the finals, winning 53-51 on Friday night, and 51-49 on Sunday evening. Adrian Cardona was instrumental in his team’s win, hitting two tie-breaking shots in the waning moments of both games to propel his team to their first ever U-15 Championship. In Friday night’s game Cardona led his team with 13 pts 5 rebs, and on Sunday contributed 12 pts in the win. Meanwhile, his teammate, big man sensation Zachary Usher, son of Belize basketball legend Marion Usher, had a double-double, totaling 18 pts 24 rebs on his way to claiming the Most Valuable Player award. Other awards were given to Raheem Staine from Belama; he led the league in rebounds, while Auburn Rivero from ACC Deacons led the league in assists, and Rodney Morris from Blazing Ballers led the league in scoring.
KRUZZARS – U-17 2011 CHAMPS
The Kruzzars are the 2011 Telemedia U-17 Basketball Champs for Belize City, after they swept their best of three finals against the ACC Deacons last weekend, winning the two games by an average of almost 18 pts per game. The Kruzzars clearly were the more focused and organized bunch, and to some extent intimidated the Deacons, who in both games seemed timid. On Friday night, the Kruzzars won running away by the score of 76-49, while on Sunday the game was a bit more competitive, 91-80, if you consider double digits loss competitive. On Friday, Devin “Daily Double” Daly struck for 19 pts 14 rebs, while his teammate Tariq Middleton had 17 pts 7 rebs. On Sunday, it was more of the same, as four players scored in double figures for the Kruzzars, with Winston Reynolds totaling 22 pts, Brian White 21 pts, Devin “Daily Double” Daly with 16 pts 14 rebs, and Kyle Middleton with 10 pts. In other awards dished out in the division, Alejandro Baptist from Belama walked away with both the scoring and rebounding title, while Lincey Lopez of the Kruzzars was awarded the hardware for the most assists.
2011 BECOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Scores from the BECOL basketball tournament had Golden Boys defeating Hydro Power in U-18 play by the score of 46-34, with Elvis “Zui” Usher totaling 28 pts 17 rebs for Golden Boys, and Tommy Yu totaling 21 pts 11 rebs for Hydro Power. In U-21 action, it was Hydro Power over Belize Bank Bombers by the score of 54-41, as Daniel Nolberto totaled 18 pts 12 rebs in the win. In senior play, Hydro E3 Stars prevailed over BWEL Accolades by the score of 56-49, behind Kurt “Chengo” Burgess 18 pts 8 rebs and Shelton Defour 16 pts 4 rebs; while in U-18 play, Rising Stars got the better of Benque Eagles, 37-34. Hydro Power overpowered Mega Foods 52-46 in Over-35 action, and in other senior action, Shell V Power knocked off Christ for Life, 59-53.
INSIDE TELEMEDIA/DANGRIGA U-15 & U-17 TOURNAMENTS
The Foreshore Spartans end their regular season undefeated with a sixth straight win. They capped off their impressive season so far with a win over the Hopkins U-17 team that was fighting to gain the fourth seed and a playoff berth. It would not be a walk-over for the mighty Spartans, but they powered their way through, with power forward Trevon Mitchell and his 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Spartans center Jordan Walters continued to be a defensive presence in the middle with 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, but more imposing was his season high offensive output of 14 points. Hopkins kept the game close, behind the efforts of Deshawn Nunez and Hyden Casimiro, who had 10 points apiece. That wasn’t enough. Foreshore squeezed out the 41-36 victory and clinched the number one seed going into the playoffs. In the second game, the Back-a-town Warriors, like Hopkins, were trying to secure the fourth seed and a chance at redemption with a playoff berth. Their opponents, the Cadet Trailblazers were simply trying to secure their first non-forfeit win of the season. The Cadets played like the team with more to gain, and they led almost the entire game; but their hopes were dashed when Jonathan Cal missed the first of two free throws with 0.1 seconds on the clock and his team down by two. Cal made the second, but it was not enough to force overtime. Cal finished with 12 points to lead the Trailblazers, while Francis Noralez added 4 points and 13 rebounds. The Warriors guard Aaron Castillo led his team with 14 points and 5 rebounds, while forward Marton Alvarez had his best game of the season by contributing 12 points and 9 rebounds.