Category: Sports

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. We begin tonight’s coverage with some Saturday night softball action in Sand Hill Village. This is the Belize Rural Softball Fast Pitch Tournament. Double Head Cabbage’s male team took on Biscayne’s male team.

 

Double Head started off the game batting at the top of the first inning.  The batter hit the ball towards the short stop which gave the runner on third base a chance to score the first run. There is a strike, the throw to third base and an opportunity for Double Head to secure a second run in the first inning. Number nine for Double Head with the popup ball towards center field. It landed just before the fielder could get there. A third run for Double Head.

 

 

 

 

Now at the bottom of the second inning, bases are loaded with Biscayne’s number seventeen Lindsford Gideon up to bat. That one is going, going, gone. Run one and two for Biscayne. Biscayne’s number ten up to bat with runners on second and third. He sent a low-ball flying across left field. That converted into two additional runs for Biscayne.

 

 

 

 

A steal to the home plate for number ten puts Biscayne at five runs. Biscayne made its sixth run off this hit into the right field. And just when there was some hope for Double Head to subdue Biscayne, the left field fumbled a ball, giving way to a seventh run in the first inning. And they were just getting started as they went on to make four additional runs at the bottom of the first inning to bring it to eleven runs in total.

 

 

 

 

Down twelve runs to three, Double Head finally got something going at the top of the third inning. A big home run hit from Gareth Banner across center field added three more runs to the score board for Double Head. But their third inning performance would not be enough to overcome Biscayne’s fourth inning run. In the end, Biscayne defeated Double Head eighteen to eight runs.

 

 

 

 

 

From softball we move into some basketball action. We are talking about the Belize Basketball Association’s Master Over-Thirty-Five League. On Saturday afternoon, team Nash from Belize City took on the Orange Walk Brotherhood.

 

An early steal by Fenton James for Nash to put his team on the scoreboard with two points. On the other end, a steal by Brandon Mckoy and a bucket under the rim to give his team their first two points. Kenrick Deshield flexing under the rim as he puts up the layup. Jervis Lockwood working his way around three defenders to get the bucket. Lupito Acosta with the jumper over Deshield.

 

 

 

 

 

The first quarter ended with Nash on top, sixteen to thirteen points. Second quarter, lucky bounce for Mckoy off the jump shot to count the two-point basket. Mckoy again, gets the offensive rebound and makes the basket count. Mckoy to Ryan Gentle for the easy layup. That basket cut a seven-point Nash lead down to one point. Brotherhood outscored Nash by six points in the second quarter to take a three-point lead at the end of the first half.

 

 

 

 

The third quarter ended with Brotherhood still in the lead, with forty-one points. But it was only a one-point lead as Nash had forty points. Now in the fourth quarter, Acosta from coast to coast got under the rim easily and made the layup. Acosta again twisting and turning around defenders, like he is in his early twenties, to make the layup.

 

That puts Brotherhood up by five points, with the game now at forty to forty-five points. Acosta again showing his strength and size under the rim, a bit of celebration after that play. Orange Walk Brotherhood would go on to win the game with fifty-eight points to Nash’s forty-eight points.

 

 

And for some Belize Elite Basketball League news update. On Friday, Commissioner of the league, Glenn Gill told News Five, that the league’s appeal committee came to a decision on the protested game three of the 2024 finals. The committee essentially decided that the game must be played over in its entirety.  July twenty-sixth was identified as the date to replay game three. But, since then, the Defenders have reportedly asked for the date to be reconsidered because it clashes with the Belize International Music and Food Festival in San Pedro. A meeting was to be held over the weekend between the owners, but that did not occur due to the weekend weather. That meeting is to be held as early as possible this week and a new date is expected to be set. It is possible that game three will be replayed on a weekday.

 

 

Glenn Gill, Commissioner, B.E.B.L.

“The unfortunate thing is that one will like it and one won’t. I guess it is the nature of these situations. For me I believe it is the fair thing to do, play over the game not just the last minute of the game or anything like that. I know they looked at it. I was forcing them to make a decision earlier and they did not have enough time. I know they went through everything and I am sure they uncovered all they needed to do.”

 

 

 

 

And finally, for tonight, the stage is set for the Belize Volleyball Association to host the Under-twenty-one Women’s Central American Volleyball Championship. Five nations will compete inside the Belize City Civic Center from the sixteenth to the twentieth of July for the coveted tittle. We will be bringing you more from the team as the week goes by.

 

 

 

 

 

Well folks that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. I am Paul Lopez.

An unendorsed letter purportedly written on behalf of a group of concerned athletes, takes up issue with the Belize Athletics Association. The letter criticizes the President of the association, Cojac Smith for not providing the necessary funds for the national track and field team representing Belize at this weekend’s CADICA Senior Championship. The author of the letter states that this has led to a situation where U.S.-based athletes who have never competed in Belize’s national championships but have the financial means are now the primary representatives for Belize at these competitions. It goes on to point out that local athletes who have met the qualifying standards during the 2024 Belize Athletic Association National Championships are left on the wayside because of their inability to pay their own way. The author also asks that the National Olympic Committee take immediate action to address the issue. But today Smith told News Five that this was simply out of his control, and he says the letter is misleading and unfair.

 

Cojac Smith, President, Belize Athletics Association

“We at the Athletic Association want to encourage athletes and have them participate in these events. However, truth be told, we just don’t have the funding, Marion. We sent the CADICA Junior teams earlier this year, just based on the ministry being able to provide us the entirety of the budget to go to Kadika. However, we’ve been trying from since then to get the funding to send these athletes. We even went through a rigorous selection process where the athletes did compete at the national. And we selected them based on the qualifying standards they met and everything. And we went through the entire process and by the books. However, the truth be told is that we were expecting some funds earmarked that the association normally gets. However, due to some technical difficulties outside of our own hands, we were unable to get the funds and the funds are still delayed. So that’s the reason why we weren’t able to finance the trip for the athletes to go. Now, in terms of the athletes that are local, and the thing is that we look at Belize, regardless of where you’re living, you’re a Belizean regardless. Looking at it from the athletes that we’re not giving the local athletes a chance to represent the country is really not true and unfair. If you look at our Kadika team, Junior that win, majority of them were living in Belize. And we were open and honest with the entire selected athletes that if it is that you can provide the funding with the association, whenever we do get these funds that are pending, we will reimburse you the funding. I don’t think that part of it was on the press release as well, and while it was a short timeline we gave them, we asked the Kadika officials because we were trying to get the funding to send everyone that was selected at the A standard. We literally just came in about two months. So we’re, hitting the ground running and we’re doing our best. several other initiatives as well as trying to gain funding. One of the steps and the directions we’ve been taking is to try and build corporate relationships with different entities and businesses in Belize. However, it’s a new association based on the executive and we’re trying to gain some kind of accountability. So with that being said, we have to get our house in order, for these businesses to feel as though they can put funding in the association.”

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The B.E.B.L. 2024 best of five finals series began on Friday night and, folks, tonight we have a series.

 

The Benny’s Belize Hurricanes played their first two home games over the weekend. The Hurricanes made a statement in game one, defeating the Defenders by twenty-four points in a game that ended eighty-seven to sixty-three points. And when you look at the stats for game one, Glency Lopez and Amir Ross played big minutes and contributed eighteen and nineteen points, respectively, to the win. Marquise Cunningham, who always finds a way to get the inside opportunity, finished with thirteen points on Friday night. Daniel Estes also scored some big points in game one for the Defenders. He finished with nineteen points.

 

 

 

We have also been seeing more by way of play time and performance from Devin Daly who finished with eleven points on Friday night, right in front of Richard Smith who ended the game with ten points. 2024 B.E.B.L. M.V.P. Nigel Jones left a lot to be desired in that game, securing only nine points for his team off four field goals. So that is basically game one in summary.  But game two was a different story for both teams. At the end of the first quarter Defenders led the game by six points with a score of nineteen points to Hurricanes’ thirteen.

 

 

 

A steal by Devin Daly at the start of the second and a foul at the other end. Daly using his size advantage. Victor “Vito” Evans on the other end of the court with the And-One finish. Devon Campbell guarded heavily by Amir Ross. Ross drew the foul and took a moment to celebrate with fans. Devin Daly putting his body on the line there to secure the rock.

 

Down by two points with seconds left in the second quarter, Glency Lopez worked his way along the baseline and made an impressive shot under the basket to tie the match at thirty points apiece at the end of first half. Early in the third quarter things got a bit physical between Campbell and Ross. Ross was initially T’d up after he head butted Campbell in the chest. But after reviewing the play, the referee found that both players were at fault. Campbell and Ross were kicked out of the game.  Less than three minutes later, Hurricanes called for change to bring in Sidibe Bourama. Seemingly upset by the decision, Alex Carcamo took off his jersey and left the game. He walked back to the locker room. The Hurricanes were trailing by three points.

 

 

 

Moments later, Hurricanes’ Assistant Coach Bart Jones picked up his backpack and followed behind Carcamo.  The match was tied at fifty-one a piece at the end of the third. Hurricanes down by one with seventeen seconds left on the clock, Kirk Smith Junior made a massive bucket to give his team a one-point lead. The Defenders were down with eight seconds, but certainly not out. Nigel Jones with the ball. He drew the foul on the inside and missed the bucket. Jones to the line. The first free throw to tie the game is good. Arguably his biggest free throw of the season, Jones banked it and gave his team the one-point lead. Evans tried for a two-point jump shot and missed. Eyan Rene with the second opportunity and he missed. The Civic erupted and the Defenders tied this best out of five series. Game three goes down on Friday night inside the Civic.

 

In some regional volleyball news, Belize’s Under- twenty-three National Female Volleyball Team is currently competing in the Under-Twenty-Three Central American Volleyball Championship being hosted by Honduras. Team Belize faced off against Guatemala on Sunday afternoon in their first match of the tournament. Despite the valiant effort, Belize fell to Guatemala in the fifth set. Tonight, they go up against Nicaragua.

 

 

 

 

Let’s now move into some football action. Belize’s football future is in good hands. The team to watch in this year’s Anthony Mahler Under-Thirteen Mundialito Tournament is Berger United. They may be newcomers but Berger United is dominating. On Saturday, they played against Ebony Lake inside the Berger Field.

 

One minute into this one, Berger’s Camron Brown cleaned up after Ebony’s goalkeeper stopped two attempts at goal. Two minutes later, Breylin Middleton found an opening in front of the goal and made it count.

 

Five minutes in and it was Middleton again with a long range shot direct to goal. Berger United went up by three goals. A minute later, Ebony Lake got some relief with a corner kick from Niroughn Arzu that hit target, much to the surprise of everyone on the field. Berger United won that game eight goals to two.

 

 

The third matchup of the day was between Sampson/Brown and Reality Youths. This one was a though matchup and it ended one goal to zero in favor of Sampson/Brown. At the twenty-sixth minute, goalkeeper Zion Clarke sent a ball flying to the other end of the field. It bounced once just outside of the penalty box and dropped over the goal keeper’s head and into the goal. The goalkeeper was clearly frustrated with himself.

 

 

 

 

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

Over the weekend, The Belize Athletics Association held a first-of-its-kind workshop led by athletic coaches from Jamaica. That Caribbean nation is known for producing world-class athletes in various disciplines. They were here to impart some of their knowledge and experience to those in Belize who are passionate about advancing sports and athletes. Those discussions proved to be fruitful in concept. We spoke with a couple of the coaches, as well as the president of the Belize Athletics Association about the way forward.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Four athletics coaches from Jamaica were in Belize over the weekend for a first-of-its-kind sports workshop. Organized by the Belize Athletics Association, the theme of the workshop was Structuring Belize Athletics for Success.

 

Cojac Smith, President, Belize Athletics Association

“One of the things that came out which we all agreed on was the lack of communication and collaboration among various disciplines and the shortcoming with funding, infrastructure and facilities. So those were the major points as I am sure you are aware of and everyone is aware of. We are all facing the same challenges. So we need to come up with a community effort and mitigate those issues going forward.”

 

 

 

The Jamaican coaches agreed that one of the areas of improvements that is needed to advance sports in Belize is increased collaboration with the Ministry of Education. We spoke with a couple of the coaches about how this concept is being implemented in Jamaica.

 

Neil Harrison, Track and Field Coach

“It is imperative that you have a designed curriculum that every school in Belize is following this kind of curriculum. From an academic and theoretical perspective, the kindergarten, the primary Shcools, the high schools, coming straight up to the tertiary institutions and once you have this kind of structure it lends itself to a much better product in terms of how do we find talent in Jamacia. It is through the PE classes and the PE teachers just seeing the boys running up and down, climbing and they say based on this one, based on the kind of a activity they are doing, we can put them into various discipline.”

 

 

Marlon Gayle, Lecturer, Physical Education

“Sports are driven back home by our principals, from the primary level and secondary. At both levels you have their association then ensure the quality of sports from one level to the next helps that sort of transition to the next level. Our principal plays a key role along with staff. So every school has a setup to harness these talents.”

 

 

 

And with every discussion related to sports in Belize, a lack of adequate infrastructure is always raised as a talking point. This weekend was no different and varying views were shared. Physical Education lecturer Marlon Gayle had his thoughts on the conversation.

 

Marlon Gayle

“We are faced with the same situation like every other Caribbean countries and countries outside the Caribbean as it relates to sports and so forth but that dedication and commitment ultimately drives coaches to do very well. We don’t have all the necessary resource. We don’t have all the tracks in every area. What we have now is as a result of the work that has been done over the last hundred years. But the thing is, these did not just come as a result of government funding. It was a result of the work we put in then we realized what our potential was. Then our investment in it ultimately overtime would have taken us to that point. The same thing can happen here and greater. Our kindergarten and primary schools they all train on grass. Belize has a lot of land. There is absolutely no excuse for Belize and other country that we don’t have  certain resources.”

 

One thing was agreed upon by all four coaches and those in attendance at this week’s training, there is a need for greater collaborative efforts among all the sporting associations and federations in Belize. A suggestion has been made for the development of a unified sports strategy led by those passionate about seeing greater advancement in the various disciplines. These four coaches noted that Jamaica does not have a secret formula outside of passion and dedication to sports.

 

 

 

 

Neil Harrison

“I don’t think Jamaica has adequate funding to support sports in its entirety but I do believe when you are a winner you have many mothers and fathers. When you are a loser you become an orphan. So as coaches, the kind of level of passions we do have and how we try to unearth talent and you just want to get one person that is going to do well and that is going to sell your country and the powers that be is going to do everything to get that funding because remember Jamaica is known because of not only we are Jamaica, Jamaica is know because we have someone who can run fast or some footballers who play good football or some netballers or the Sunshine girls. We are well known because of sports. Everywhere you go people can tell you about a Shelly-Anne Frazer, an Ellaine, a Usain Bolt. We started with some simple athletes who are now world beaters.”

 

Cojac Smith

“One of the things that came out, would athletics take the lead and we don’t mind taking the lead. We will take the lead and lead the charge in order to get everyone more collaborating and communicating so we can collectively move sports in Belize forward.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.