Belize National U-18 Basketball Team Falls Short of Placing in Americup  

Belize’s National Under-Eighteen Basketball team fell short of its goal to become one of the top four teams in FIBA’s Americup 2024. A place in the top four would have secured Belize’s ticket to FIBA’s Under-Nineteen World Cup 2025 in Switzerland. After losing three of four group games earlier this week, Belize faced off against the Dominican Republic, the number one ranked team in their group. And it almost went down to the wire. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

It was team Belize’s last chance to qualify for FIBA’s Under-Nineteen World Cup in Switzerland next year. After Wednesday night’s upset against host country Argentina, team Belize played against the Dominican Republic this afternoon. The winning team secured a spot in the 2025 FIBA World Cup. Early in the first quarter, the Dominican Republic led by eight points, following this jump shot from Wilmer De La Rosa. Belize finally got on the scoreboard with two free throws from Josiah Moseley. Just under two minutes left in the first quarter. Moseley had two defenders on him, he spun around, jumped and made the two.   The first quarter ended with Belize trailing by one point.

 

In the second quarter, Belize took an early lead. Moseley at the three-point line extended that lead to five points. Adrian Brito cleaned up under the rim for the Dominican Republic and they regained the lead. The Dominican Republic was up when Moseley found his way through their defense and got to the rim to cut down the lead. Just over a minute on the clock in the second quarter, De La Santos from the three-point line brought the DR to thirty-four points. The half ended at thirty-four a piece after this huge effort from Wilford Dawson.

 

 

 

The Dominican Republic went on a seven nothing run early in the third. Dawson broke that run with a smooth two-point jump shot. With just under three minutes left in the third, team Belize was only trailing by two points when Felix Jorge caught a three-point to extend his team’s lead. But the game was not ever for team Belize. They fought to keep this one within range. Eighteen seconds left on the clock and Dawson again, this time tying the game at fifty-four points to end the third quarter.

 

 

 

The fourth quarter decided this one. A minute and a half into the fourth with Belize up by one point, Moseley points it up over two defenders and extends Belize’s lead to three points.  The opportunity to make an appearance in FIBA’s 2025 U-19 World Cup quickly began to slip out of the hands of team Belize in the final five minutes of this one. De La Rosa drives, makes a big pass under rim and extended their lead to nine points.  `The DR’s lead was at eleven points when Parham came up with the steal and sprinted down the other end to bank a three-point shot. Unfortunately, it would not be enough to overcome the DR’s late fourth quarter run. Dominican Republic’s won the match seventy-nine points to sixty-nine points. Belize plays over the weekend for the fifth to eight positions in the Americup.

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.