Defenders Headed to Finals; Jyven Gonzalez Gets Silver in Honduras

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Belize Elite Basketball League’s finals have been set.

The Benny’s Belize Hurricanes will face off against the Belize City Defenders. The Defenders secured their spot in the finals on Friday night after bringing down the San Pedro Tiger Sharks inside the Belize City Civic Center. It was a close one. The Defenders only defeated the Tiger Sharks by three points. The first quarter saw both teams scoring equal points. The Defenders outscored the Tiger Sharks by four points in the second quarter and three points in the third. But that still did not deter the San Pedro Tiger Sharks as they were looking to repeat their trip to the finals. The Tiger Sharks outscored the Defenders in the final quarter by four points. This one came down to the last twenty seconds.

 

 

Down by one point, Tiger Sharks was in possession of the Ball. Conorque threw it in to Williams. He found Arana, Arana back to Williams. Williams tried to drive and he is guarded heavily. He went back to Arana and Arana turned over the ball. There is a scramble for the ball and on the other end, John Kelly extended the Defenders’ lead to three points. Coach Rico Black called an immediate timeout and protested a non-call by the referees.

 

 

 

After review, the initial decision was upheld, and Sharks had possession with four point seven seconds left on the clock. Thurton threw the ball in, Conorque tried to find Williams and ended up turning over the ball on the most critical play of the game.

 

We spoke with a couple of the players following the playoff victory.

 

 

 

Devon Campbell, Belize City Defenders

“It means a lot for us. It gives us a chance to win the championship and everybody in the city wants to see the two city teams in the championship. So, this is big, it makes basketball great again.”

 

 

 

 

 

Nigel Jones, Belize City Defenders

“Last year it didn’t end how we wanted it. We had a couple set backs last year and we just wanted to come back and like you said it is a redemption tour for us and the same way we went out last year we want to take out everybody one by one this year. So we handled our business in San Pedro this first round. Now we have Hurricanes. We will just go out and keep out and keep fighting the way we are and we feel like we can handle business in the finals.” 

 

 

 

And, as the Belize City Defenders prepare to face off against the B.E.B.L. Defending Champions, the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes, the nation’s Under-Eighteen Basketball Team is on its way home from Argentina after placing eight in the 2024 FIBA AmeriCup. After they were unable to win their FIBA World Cup qualifier match on Friday, team Belize fell to Venezuela on Saturday in a game that went to overtime and ended eight-six to eighty points. And then on Sunday, they faced off against Puerto Rico and fell to that team in a game that ended seventy-nine to forty-nine points. Eight teams competed in the AmeriCup tournament. Belize finished in the last position.

 

 

In Cycling, Jyven Gonzalez secured a silver medal in the Under-Twenty-Three Central American Honduras Tour. The eighty-mile race was held on Sunday.

Two hours and twenty-eight minutes into the race and Jyven Gonzalez was the only Belizean among a lead group of six riders. His name rang through the ears of spectators as the announcers kept repeating it in awe of his endurance. But, twenty minutes later, Gonzalez experiences some mechanical issues and fell behind. The lead group was now down to four. And with just a mile left in the race, Gonzalez made a surprising come back. Gonzalez sprinted to the finish line behind the winner, Costa Rican, Kenny Chavez.

 

 

 

Jyven Gonzalez, Belizean Cyclist

“Dah mih wah solid race today. Finally could talk in a little creole. I had to talk English for so long. But yeah, dah mih wah supper hard race. This was no joke, but everybody know from my physic I am not a pure climber. But I had to just fight through and push myself.”

 

 

 

 

 

From cycling we move into some football action. We continue our coverage of the Anthony Mahler Under -Thirteen Mundialito Tournament.

 

Tonight, we bring you highlights from a matchup between Ebony Lake F.C and Phoenix F.C. Ebony Lake sought to make a statement early in this one. In the first of three periods they scored three goals. The first goal was scored by Edgar Diaz Junior two minutes into playtime. Diaz fired from the center field line. The goalkeeper was unable to keep it in his hands.

 

Two minutes later, Denzi Jones puts in this beautiful left foot kick that proves to once again be too much for the goalkeeper. And just a minute later Jones again, was able to secure a third goal for Ebony Lake.

 

Phoenix F.C did not go down without a fight. It took them thirty-five minutes, but just before the game-ending whistle was blown Camron Gordon secured a goal for his team. That one ended three goals to one, in favor of Ebony Lake F.C.

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, for tonight, here is a sporting discipline that does not get much coverage in Belize, table tennis. The Belize Table Tennis Association hosted its Junior Table Tennis Tournament over the weekend inside the Swift Hall. Each competitor in the tournament took turns to play against each other. The games then went on elimination rounds. Ten-year-old Jorge Espat emerged victorious as the tournament champion. We send our congratulations to the organizers on a successful tournament.

 

Well folks that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday

 

Catch you in the next one.