BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 20, 2018– The National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) held its National High School Basketball Championships on Friday and Saturday, December 14 & 15, in Belize City, with games being played at the St. Catherine Academy Auditorium and at the Belize Civic Center. The tournament featured the four zone champions – North, South, East and West – for females and males, and followed a simple knockout format; and when it was over on Saturday, San Pedro High School (SPH) girls and Sadie Vernon Technical High School (SVT) boys were crowned National High School Basketball Champions 2018.
Friday 1st round games
In the female first round on Friday, St. Catherine Academy (SCA) won, 29-19, over Sacred Heart College (SHC). SCA was led by Briah Clarke with 15 pts and Afeni Lamp 10 pts; while Thania Warrior had 11 pts for Sacred Heart. And in the other first round game, San Pedro High School emerged 39-36 winners over Delille Academy females. Normalee Gomez had 28 pts for San Pedro, while Delille had Shanell Thomas with 18 pts and Taryn Arnold 12 pts.
Also on Friday, in the male first round, Sadie Vernon Technical blew out Belmopan Comprehensive School (BCS) by an 80-58 score. Sadie Vernon was led by Tyrese Usher 28 pts, Ashton Alvarez 18 pts, and Shawn Ortiz and Dre Gladden with 10 pts each; while Roderick Castillo was top scorer for BCS with 24 pts. And in the other first round male clash, it was Ecumenical High School (EHS), 49-35, over Orange Walk Technical High (OWT). Leading Ecumenical were Matildo Gordon 19 pts and Cylen Wade 12 pts; while OWT had Rasheed Reneau with 20 pts and David Smith 11 pts.
Saturday 3rd place and championship
The female 3rd place game was a one-sided affair, as Delille Academy made light work of Sacred Heart College, beating them 42-11, with Shanell Thomas leading Delille with 23 pts along with Edith Engleton 8 pts and Nadia Casimiro 7 pts; while Thania Warrior had 7 pts for Sacred Heart.
The male 3rd place game was much more competitive, with Orange Walk Technical edging Belmopan Comprehensive, 52-50. OWT was led by Rasheed Reneau with 29 pts and David Smith 15 pts; while BCS had Ajay Augustine 18 pts, Roderick Castiloo 14 pts and Eyon Anderson 13 pts.
In the female championship game, San Pedro prevailed, 39-25, over SCA. Normalee Gomez led San Pedro with 26 pts, while Briah Clarke had 11 pts for SCA.
The male championship game came right down to the wire, with Sadie Vernon Tech gaining the 1 pt victory, 67-66, over Ecumenical High School (EHS). Top scorers for Sadie Vernon were Tyrese Usher 22 pts, Dre Gladden 18 pts, Ashton Alvarez 10 pts, and Dejaun Harris 9 pts; while Ecumenical was led by Matildo Gordon 20 pts, Guy Sutherland 18 pts, and Cylen Wade 14 pts.
Individual awards went to:
Females: Most Rebounds – Normalee Gomez (8.5 per game – pg, SPH); Most Assists – Sophie Guan (4.0 pg, SPH); Most Blocks – Taryn Arnold (2.0 pg, Delille); Most Points – Normalee Gomez (27 pg, SPH); Most Steals – Beyonce Villafranco (3 pg, SHC); MVP – Normalee Gomez (SPH).
Males: Most Rebounds – Rasheed Reneau (16.5 pg, OWT); Most Assists – Cylen Wade (3.5 pg, EHS); Most Blocks – Matildo Gordon (2.5 pg, EHS); Most Points – Rasheed Reneau (24.5 pg, OWT); Most Steals – Cylen Wade (2.0 pg, EHS); MVP – Tyrese Usher (SVT)