Anthony Mahler, B.T.B. Mundialito Tournament Returns

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. We begin tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday with the return of Anthony Mahler and B.T.B.’s Under-thirteen Mundialito tournament.  The tournament began on Saturday morning with an opening ceremony at the Berger Field. Fourteen teams, ten male and four females, lined the field as they were encouraged to play hard and play fair.

 

Iris Centeno, Director, NSC

“This morning I can see a big crowd and I am very happy to see even girls involved and we are giving priority to the females as well.”

 

Nicole Solano, Chief Executive Officer, B.T.B.

“I wish all our players a very successful day. I like the comment of nobody getting hurt today but play hard and everybody work their best to win.”

 

Sergio Chuc, President, FFB

“We are achieving our mission and I want to publicly thank the BTB for partnering with the FFB in doing this program.”

 

The day began with a match between the defending champions, Belize United and last season’s sub champion, Ladyville Rising Stars. Both teams went through their warmup routines before taking to the field ahead of the starting whistle. Within two minutes of the first of three periods, Rising Star’s Nigel Hulse stuns his opponents with the first goal of the match. Hulse found himself in front of the goal with a loose ball and he capitalized on it. A shot certainly worth celebrating. And the defending champions certainly would not take that one sitting down. Belize United’s Shae Gordon made quick work of a pass inside the penalty box. With a defender and the goalkeeper locked in on him, Gordon managed to slip the ball into the net, tying the game at one a piece. And that is how that one ended.

 

The second match between Tut Bay F.C. and Phoenix F.C. was less competitive. It was a blowout, in fact. Tut Bay FC scored twelve goals while their opponents finished with zero. On average, a goal was scored every three minutes of play time. The first goal was scored by Tut Bay’s Tyrone Guy Junior in the first minute. A minute later, Kyrone Martinez beats the only defender on him inside the penalty box and puts one past the goalkeeper. Asher Welch scored back-to-back goals in the fifth and eleventh minutes of the first period. Kyrone Martinez came back at the twelfth minute; dribbles past the goalkeeper and puts it in with ease. He finished with a hat trick. So did Adolfo Gomez.

 

Now let’s move on to some football action at a different level. We are talking about the semifinals in the William Dawson Peace Cup. Four teams competed on Sunday inside the MCC Grounds to see who the top two finalists will be. Tut Bay FC and Fort George played each other in the first match. As the rules mandate, players from both teams lined up and greeted each other at the start of the game as a show of sportsmanship. The starting whistle is blown with Tut Bay FC in control of the ball. Eight minutes into the match, Fort George gets an opportunity by way of a spot kick a short distance outside the penalty box. That translated into a corner kick that was quickly cleared out by defenders. At the twenty-ninth minute, a header off a corner kick almost made its way into the net for Tut Bay. A good stop by the goalkeeper. Nonetheless, this shot at target by Marques Stomp from a difficult angle flew right past the goalkeeper and into the net. Up by one goal to zero, Tut Bay would go on to win the match.

 

The second match was between Ceaser Ridge FC and Hattieville. It didn’t take long before Ceasar Ridge was on the score board. But this goal was not of their own doing. It was an auto goal, scored by Hattieville’s Brandon Rogers in front of the goal. There is a look of immediate regret. It was not until deep into the second half, at the seventy-seventh minute, that Hattieville would redeem itself with a goal by Alex Henderson. That one left the goalkeeper standing clueless. Tied at one goal each, it is now anybody’s game. After eighty-nine minutes of regular time, it seemed as if this one would go into overtime. But not so fast, a kick from midfield had Hattieville players raising their hands for an offside call. But there was no whistle from the referee. Jalen Babb scored the final goal of the match for Ceasar Ridge FC. The official on the line officially raised her flag for an offside, but after a moment of deliberation it was declared a goal.  Hattieville walked off the field and the victory went to Ceasar Ridge FC, the second team to make it to the finals.

 

And finally for tonight, the BEBL hosted a successful all-star evening on Sunday. Devon Campbell from the Belize City Defenders won the three-point shootout and secured the cash prize. Nigel Jones, also from the Belize City Defenders, successfully defended his all-star slam dunk title. He walked away with two thousand dollars cash. And, in the all-star game, the home team, led by Jayden Lopez, defeated the away team, one hundred and twenty-two points to one hundred and twelve points. The MVP award went to Sidibe Bourama.

 

Well Folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.