Category: Sports

Good evening and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday. I’m Paul Lopez. The Belize District Football Association’s First Division Tournament heated up this weekend with three exciting matches on Sunday. Tonight, we bring you the highlights from the showdown between Kelly Street Bombers and Tut Bay Football Club.

 

The starting whistle blows on this one. Kelly Street advances the ball, but Tut Bay quickly snatches it away. Kelly Street regains possession, only for Tut Bay to take it back again. A powerful kick from midfield lands just outside the penalty box. Raymond Gentle gained control from beyond the penalty area and launched a rocket towards the goal. That kick was on target. Tut Bay scored in the first fifteen seconds of the game. Devin Thurton. Twenty-five minutes into the game, Tut Bay made a big defensive play, gaining possession near the goal. A one-man breakaway led to an attempt at a pass in front of the goal, but a Tut Bay player went down inside the penalty box. The referee called a foul and awarded the penalty kick to Tut Bay. Devin Thurton took the penalty shot and sent the ball into the goal.. In the end, Tut Bay triumphed with a solid 3-1 victory.

 

The tournament continues this weekend. On the other hand, the Premier League of Belize concluded its closing season on Saturday. Verdes F.C. took on San Pedro Pirates for game two of the finals inside the Marshaleck Stadium. After a hard-fought battle, Verdes F.C. clinched victory with a 1-0 win. This marks their fifth championship since the Premier League of Belize was established in 2012. Verdes F.C. is now set to represent Belize in the CONCACAF Central American Cup. We will be following.

 

And finally, in the world of football, the Belize District Football Association’s Under-Fifteen Female Tournament also continued over the weekend. We have some highlights from two of the matches played. We begin with the game between Alvian Strikers and KP Strikers. In this one, Alvian Strikers completely dominated their opponents, winning the game with seven goals while holding their opponents to zero. Treniece Amaya scored three of the seven goals, finishing with a hattrick, while the remaining four goals were split between Aisha Reyes and Camryn Henry equally. In the second match, Royal Fusion took on Goal Getters.  Royal Fusion dominated the match, scoring five goals while their opponents managed just one. Jocelyn Zuniga was the star of the game, netting three of Royal Fusion’s five goals and finishing with a hat trick. Sheren Humes and Maleah Bladen scored one goal each to round off Royal Fusion’s five goals. Adeliza Bowen scored the only goal for Goal Getters.

 

This past weekend also saw the Fourteenth Annual Weekend Warriors Cycling Classic. The race, from Spanish Lookout to San Cas Plaza in Belize City saw prizes in three categories. We heard from the champion, Greg Lovell Courtesy Ordonez Bike Shop.

 

Greg Lovell, Winner, Weekend Warriors Cross County

“What happened I ride the Holy Saturday Cross Country. And, that put me in a condition to finish that race. It put me just enough to get into this weekend warrior cross country. It was well done. I ride aggressive. I realize the Weekend Warriors guys like to open gaps. They make you go up front and if you are not careful you can get in the breeze and unable to catch back up. I try stay at the front and work with the guys at the front.”

 

And finally, here’s the latest on the athletes expected to compete in the upcoming Belize Premier Basketball League. Of the seven teams set to participate, the Capital City Kings from Belmopan have revealed the most players on their roster. Let’s go over some of the names: the Kings have secured former Hurricanes player Brandon “Puddy” Flowers, BEBL Most Improved Player Jayden Lopez, the dynamic and versatile John Kelly, Jevaughn McKenzie, Elvert Ariola, and Nisani Mendez. EZ Investments Griga Dream Ballers have announced the signing of 17-year-old Michael Pipersburgh, Kevin Laurie, Alexander Ariola, and Raheem Thurton. The season opener is scheduled for May 16th. Well Folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.

The much-awaited Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic has come to an end. As you might already know, British rider Jim Brown clinched the victory for his team, the Miami Blazers. The first Belizean rider finished in fourth place, just like in 2024. Tonight, we’ll hear from the champion and other riders who performed exceptionally well under the scorching heat. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The Ninety-Fifth Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic saw British Cyclist Jim Brown from the Miami Blazers emerge victorious. This was Brown’s first time riding the race, and he completed the entire ride in five hours, forty-five minutes and forty seconds.

 

Jim Brown, Winner, 95^th Cross Country

“Super difficult to be honest. I am really not use to this hot weather, so that was really difficult part of it for me. But, I will take the win.”

 

Marion Ali

“Tell us how the ride went, where you made the decision to make a breakaway and how difficult it was to hold that?”

 

Jim Brown

“To be honest, I was not feeling good at all in the middle part of the race, in the early middle part of the race. I told Kory, our team leader, I said to him I am not in a good day, I will just try to and follow moves and hopefully we can set the race up for you. So I took it upon myself to follow the defending champion because I saw him ride away and then two more came across. We were a good working group and I think the cohesion was not good behind. We just took off and that was that.”

 

At mile twenty-seven, heading into Belize City, Brown was a part of a four-men breakaway group leading the race with a one minute time gap.  Defending Champion, Luis Lopez was among the four riders. No Belizean was present. Luis Lopez was dropped at mile twenty-six, while three riders pressed on. As the race headed into Belize City, the leading trio became a duo. Jim Brown secured the victory with a thrilling sprint finish, while Alfredo Bueno from Legions of Los Angeles took second place.

 

Alfredo Bueno, Second Place, 95^th Cross Country

“It was hot, very lots of bad luck. I was kind of on the back foot all day. I just stayed locked in my mind and ended up riding to every move I missed. I ended up riding with Jim that ended up being the one, so I am pretty happy with my racing tactics today.”

 

Mation Ali

“What happened, why Jim beat you at the tape.”

 

“I think there is a simple answer to that. He is just better. This guy has won races way. I actually felt pretty good and he did too. Me and him felt fine. It is just like in these types of races he is superior in every way. He has done well in flat races in the past also.”

 

Tenis Star Rider, Omar Espinosa finished in third place, rounding off the top three.

 

Omar Espinosa, Third Place, 95^th Cross Country

*In Spanish*

 

The results mirrored last year, with no Belizean rider finishing in the top three. Just like in 2024, the first Belizean to cross the finish line came in fourth place. This time, it was G-Flow Rider Derrick Chavarria, who was warmly embraced by Cycling Federation President Glenn Flowers at the finish line.

 

Derrick Chavarria, Fourth Place, 95^th Cross Country

“Yeah, so I am fourth place and the strategy honestly we slip up the get somebody in that key break away around mile thirty-one and form there everything gone south. If we had a representative I would have been proud. But nonetheless we have to go back on the drawing board and start again for next year.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

While the Cycling Federation of Belize has addressed these pressing concerns, there’s a bigger conversation happening about the future of female cyclists in Belize. With only ten registered female cyclists in the country, the federation is working to boost that number in the coming years. One of their strategies is to provide bikes for junior riders who are serious about both cycling and their studies. Here’s more from the federation.

 

Glenn Flowers, President, Cycling Federation of Belize

“We are trying to see how we can best enhance the female cycling for the next year. Presently we have about ten or so bikes that we are trying to get the females to come on board and start riding. The bikes are only to be given to females that are attending school and what to participate in the classics.”

 

Leticia Westby, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of Belize

“Our goal is to try to partner with the Ministry of Sports to get them to support us and through primary and high school to integrate cycling as a sport in similar fashion to basketball and volleyball, football competition, to incorporate cycling. This is one of the sport that has been around for ninety-seven years and we are heading to an hundred and it is not integrated in schools. It is one of the more demanding sport that keeps kids engaged.”

 

Former Women’s Cross-Country Champion Kaya Cattouse was a no-show for the thirty-fourth race on Sunday. She was expected to compete, but a few days before the race, she raised concerns that might have led to her withdrawal. On Facebook, Cattouse claimed that the Cycling Federation approved junior women riders to race on Sunday, not to support their development, but to meet a sponsorship quota. She argued that the federation was taking the easy way out by putting these young riders in a competition that’s not suitable for their age, instead of doing the hard work to develop female cyclists. The federation responded, saying the decision had nothing to do with sponsorship. We spoke with President Glenn Flowers and General Secretary Leticia Westby.

 

Glenn Flowers, President, Cycling Federation of Belize

“There is a lot of challenges coming towards it and we made a decision. We contacted the CCU  and our counterparts outside. We asked the question and they said it is ok as long as we monitor it and have a timeframe that you can cut off. Clearly it speaks for itself that the kids are ready and they did well.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Was any sort of winds taken from your sails given that former cross country champ Kaya did not participate yesterday?”

 

Leticia Westby, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of Belize

“I would say that she has been the role model for female cycling in Belize. Her not participating yesterday, I perceive the competition yesterday covered that. It was a good competition. Yes her being there would have added and could have produced a Belizean win. But the young girls she was stating was not ready for the competition, we saw differently. It was not us asking them, it was them asking us if they can participate. Of course we know we had an event for them specifically because that is how we are trying to develop women cycling.”

 

Glenn Flowers

“What the junior cyclist came to me and said is that in their preparation for their championship they were practicing a hundred miles and they were not doing the exact miles. They were convincing me that they were ready because they were not only training for their race. They were doing a hundred miles so they know they could compete and do well.”

There’s a new basketball league coming to town. The Belize Premier Basketball League will start its season in four weeks. The seven teams in the inaugural season will be introduced on opening night at the Belize City Civic Center. Among them are four familiar organizations and three new ones. The BPBL has named Claudio Leal as its league commissioner. We spoke with Leal earlier today.

 

Claudio Leal, Commissioner, Belize Premier Basketball League

“Very significant is that within this league there are three championship cups. We are doing it just like the NBA format. We are going to have what we call one cup in the north, the north and the south, the Maya Cup. Then we have a cup in the east and west, we call that the toucan cup. These two will play and the winners of that cup will get five thousand each and then those two will play for the finals of the championship cup or what we call the Jaguar Cup. The winner will walk away with fifteen thousand dollars, with twenty gold rings and all the niceties. So it is twelve players, each team comprised of twelve players, on foreign player from any part of the world, one Belizean American and ten players. Out of those ten players, one has to be under twenty-one. That is the new format that we have introduced and that is what we are going with. The commissioner’s office also have two deputy commissioners, the first deputy and second deputy, Mr. Francis Arzu and Mr. Amir Garcia, Arzu first and Garcia second. Those two young men brings a lot to the table. I am very comfortable with the by-laws and the regulations we have in place. What makes this league different is the structure,, not only of the management, the executive but all the other committees that have pledged their commitment to serve as a part of this league. So success, the probability of success for this league is huge. It is paramount to understand that this league is not like any other league. This league will raise the level of basketball in Belize.”

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Thirty-Fourth Annual Women’s Cross Country Cycling Classic was held on Sunday. Nine riders took their positions at the starting line in San Ignacio for the seventy-mile race to the Digi Park in Belize City.  Here is an overview of the race with the help of the Cycling Federation of Belize.

 

In Georgeville, eight riders were racing together, with only one lagging behind. Leading the pack was American elite rider Jade Stevens. The federation also allowed two junior riders and one youth rider to join the big race. That group of eight dwindled down to four riders in Roaring Creek Village. Francine Gigli broke away in front of Garbutt’s Puma Gas Station with sixteen-year-old junior rider Irene Baki on the chase. Gigli ultimately secured a twelve-hundred-dollar station prize at the Belmopan roundabout. The race took on a new dynamic outside of Mahogany Heights when Baki broke away from a group of five lead riders. Baki continued to pry open a gap as the sole lead rider until American Jade Stevens rode across the gap alone and caught up with her eight minutes later.

 

Stevens and Baki shared the lead, with a six-minute gap between the chase group, all the way up to the entrance to Belize City. Stevens launched an attack against Baki at that point and rode away from the junior rider. Folks, Stevens rode across the finish line at the Digi Park all alone with more than a minute to spare before fans caught sight of Baki turning the corner towards the finish line. Stevens is now the Thirty-Fourth Women’s Cross Country Champion, with Irene Baki finishing in second place. The race for third was a thrilling sprint to the finish between Francine Gigli and Junior Rider Lianni Choto, with Gigli clinching the third spot. Interestingly, Baki, Choto, and Chelsey Gillett all competed in last week’s Junior Cross Country Cycling Classic, where Baki came out on top. We heard from both Stevens and Baki after Sunday’s race.

 

Jade Stevens, Champion, 34^th Women’s Cross Country

“Very competitive, very strategic in the beginning. I thought we could work together, but I could see that sometimes it was either people trying to slow me down or come behind me or try to make me do more work. That is how it goes, strategy, trying to make me do some work. That was very strategic, shout out to Lovell team for putting on the pressure.”

 

Irene Baki, Sub-Champion, 34^th Women’s Cross Country

“To be honest I feel great, because I could not believe that I actually come in second and I actually manage to come in with the foreigner, until she let me go. But that is fine, because I feel like I did a lot and achieve a lot. So I feel very happy about this. And I just did a cross country last week and I came in first and now this one I came in second, I am really proud.”

Proud, as she should feel, congratulations to all the ladies that competed in this one. It was nothing short of a thrilling race. The final showdown of the cycling season takes place on Saturday. Yes, I am talking about the Ninety-Fifth Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. Glenn Flowers, the President of the Cycling Federation of Belize and Secretary General Leticia Westby gave us some insight into what can be expected of the highly anticipated showdown.

 

Glenn Flowers, President, C.F.B.

“I am anticipating that this is going to be one of the biggest, best cross country coming up. We have our local guys and a few foreigners that will be contesting us, but I am looking for a fantastic race coming up this Holy Saturday.”

 

Leticia Westby, General Secretary, C.F.B.

“We have on a norm we have about seventy to eighty riders that will be participating. This is where we have the influx of Belizean Americans that will be enjoying the sea and sun and we have already approved twenty-five foreign riders, talking about Canada, U.S.A, all the way down to Venezuela, Honduras.”

 

And now, let’s switch gears from cycling to football! The Belize District First Division Football Closing Season is heating up, with Ceasar Ridge FC on a winning streak. They faced off against Old Road Defenders and dominated the match, finishing with a 2-0 victory. The first goal was scored early in the second half by Jacon Joseph. His shot towards the goal was a second attempt by his team after the goalkeeper deflected the first shot towards the goal. The second goal came late in the second half. And it was a very costly one. A hard tackle by Old Road’s goalkeeper sent Ajani Vaughn to the ground. The ball still went into the goal, but Vaughn suffered a serious foot injury. He was attended to by medics and taken off the field on a stretcher with what appeared to be a displaced knee.

 

That is how this one ended. We also captured highlights from the match between Kelly Street and Hattieville United. Kelly Street defeated Hattieville United by three goals to zero. The first goal was scored by Delroy Andrews in the twenty second minute. Steven Baizar came from behind in the fifty-first minute to put his team up by two goals. Francis Andrews sealed the game for his team with the third goal one minute before the end of regular time. Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. I am Paul Lopez.

The Belize Chess Federation is excited to send two talented chess players to Tegucigalpa, Honduras next week for a regional tournament. The stakes are high, as the winner will earn a spot at the Chess World Cup 2025. Nathaniel Reyes, a proud member of the Belize National Chess Team, shares more about this thrilling competition.

 

Nathaniel Reyes, Chess Player, Belize National Chess Team

“So the tournament is being hosted in Honduras, in Tegucigalpa and it’s a pretty big one. Many countries will be participating such as Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and more.  The tournament is going to consist of nine rounds, a Swiss system, with every match being ninety minutes with thirty seconds increment.  The tournament includes many prizes.  First place wins the person a coveted spot in the Chess World Cup, and second, third, fourth, fifth, and below come with cash prizes, trophies and more.”

 

Isani Cayetano

“Let’s talk a bit about your love for chess and your involvement with the sport at the federation level.”

 

Nathaniel Reyes

“Chess has always been a sport that I love dearly.  I learned how to play chess when I was eight years old.  My father taught me.  Chess has always been something that I play from time to time, over the years.  But as of a year ago, I started taking it a lot more seriously.  Last year was the first time that I represented Belize internationally in September, for the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary.  I’d say that was the one event that really made me, really inspired me to pursue chess more seriously and professionally.”

 

Isani Cayetano

“How are you guys preparing, either individually or as a team at the federation level for the tournament on May thirteenth?”

 

Nathaniel Reyes

“So, as of right now the Belize Chess Federation is sending two players.  My teammate, Charlton Roches, and myself.  Me and my teammate, we’ve been getting together for practice games, studying together for the past few weeks and we feel like we’re well prepared for this tournament coming up.”