Electrifying Weekend in Sports Across Disciplines

Good evening and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I’m Paul Lopez. You might be wondering if the Belize District Football Association plans to finish its first division tournament. The tragic murder of Brandon Baptist during the semifinals at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex a few weeks ago is still fresh in everyone’s minds. The final showdown between Survivors F.C. and Tut Bay F.C. is now set for March 1st. We spoke with Ian Gaynair, an Executive Member of the football association, about the upcoming match and the security measures in place.

 

Ian Gaynair, Executive Member, BDFA

“I like that both sides have a lot of big fan base. I think the energy is high and everybody is looking to the finals. They are asking me when is the finals, when is the finals. And now, we had to set the final game for, we want to play it last Saturday, but because players from Survivors said they are not fully recovered, so we had to give everyone a fair chance. We cant play it this Saturday due to some players from Tutbay about five of their platers are still high school students and they are going to the nations. Being very considerate, we will push it until next week so that nobody has any issue and everybody is ready. The team that win the champion will go and represent in interdistrict. We went to police station to have a discussion with some of the higher-ranking police for the safety of everyone that will attend he game. It will play four-thirty on Saturday March first. We will safeguard everyone from the parking lot the bears and the field, officials everybody will be safe. We will bring out a lot more police.”

 

So, that tournament is set to conclude on March first. As Gaynair mentioned, the Secondary School Football Nationals are set for this coming weekend. Pallotti and Gwen Lizarraga High Schools will proudly represent Belize Central in the tournament. This decision was made over the weekend at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. Pallotti High School took on Saint Catherine’s Academy for the spot. The rain that came down the night before left the football field wet and muddy.

 

The first goal of the match came from SCA’s Maliyah Garcia. She sent the ball flaying towards the goal and got the bounce over the goal keeper’s head. A foul on SCA’s number nine sends her plunging into mud and water and a read card for Pallotti’s Arriyannie Hernandez. Early in the second half, Pallotti’s Jasha Bernardez gained control from midfield, sprinted towards goal and gently tapped the ball over the goal keeper’s head to put her team on the score board. Five minutes later, SCA’s Maliya Garcia once again from out of nowhere sends the ball into the goal and regains the lead for SCA.  Bernardez scored again in the sixty-second minute of the game with a corner shot that bounced off the keeper and went into the goal, tying the game at two apiece.Bernardez later scored a penalty shot awarded to her team from a foul inside the penalty box. She scored and completed a hat trick. Her team took the lead with three goals. The match finished with that score, sending Pallotti High School to the national tournament. We heard from Bernardez.

 

Jasha Bernardez, Captain, Pallotti High School.

“I saw my team struggling a little bit. So, during the second half I told my coach that I think we should make a change which is putting me at the top and put two other persons where I was defending before, so that we could score and when we are finished scoring defend. So, I guess that is how the game ended in our favor.”

 

The boys’ game was a whole different story. Gwen Lizarraga’s team absolutely crushed Wesley’s boys, ending the match with a staggering ten-zero score. From the very start, it was clear which team was superior, and Gwen Lizarraga dominated the field. Wesley opened the game with possession of the ball. It is cleared with Gwen Liz Calvin Thurton hot on its heels. A clean tackle leads to a turnover and a goal for Thurton six seconds after the starting whistle was blown. Thurton went on to score an addition three goals for four at the end of the game. The remaining goals came from five other Gwen Lizarraga players.

 

Now, let’s paddle away from football and dive into some thrilling canoe racing action. The La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge is upon us. The last race ahead of that grand slam event was held on Sunday. Paddlers raced from Burrell Boom to Belize City. We’re now at the final stretch of the La Ruta Maya competition, with a total of eighteen canoes racing to the finish line. And, the paddlers are off. Early in the race there was at least one spill in the river. Just outside of Ladyville, heading into Belize City, three teams are in the lead, stern to stern, Guava Limb, Memory Lane Global Missions and Team Lucas Oil Mixed. Heading into Belize City at the Haulover Creek Bridge, Global Missions gained a slight edge over Guava Limb as they pressed on to the finish line.

From the Riverside Tavern, where the finish line was set, spectators watched as Global Missions paddled ahead with a commanding lead over Guava Limb. They crossed the finish line in first place, leaving Guava Limb to take second. Team Lucas Oil, featuring one female paddler, secured third place. We caught up with the victorious team for their thoughts.

 

 Amado Cruz, Memory Lane Global

“I want to say thanks to my two teammates, Christian and Carlos, they are good paddlers. I mean, training is everything and once you put in the work you get good results.”

 

Paul Lopez

“Talk about when you all let go of Guava Limb, because going into the channel you are were neck and neck, and what is the competition like with Guava Limb.”

Amado Cruz

“You cannot underestimate anybody right now and Guava Limb is the defending champions of La Ruta Maya. We got a break in the channel, and we did a move, got an advantage over them and kept that pace and ended up holding that first place.”

 

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