Belize Jaguars Victorious And Office Ballers Impress

From the fields to the finish lines. Good evening, Belize. This is Sports Monday, where Belizean sport takes center stage. This edition is once again sponsored by the National Sports Council of Belize. Let’s get straight to it.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

The Belize Jaguars were stingy hosts to the St. Marteen national team at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan on Saturday. Belize dominated the possession game, controlling the ball an astonishing sixty-six percent of the time and taking five shots at the goal to St. Marteen’s zero. The most important of those shots was this left foot rocket from Nhajib Guerra that ricocheted off the keeper and into the top left corner of the net for the game winning goal! Once again Woodrow West anchored the defense in the goal:

 

Woodrow West, Goal Keeper, Belize

“ I was glad to see the turn out. I mean, we could do much better but it was good enough and I felt good that we gave them a victory which we owe them for quite a while now. Our last game was in couple years ago. We have won against French Guyana and that was our last victory so far and it’s been a while, so it’s good to be back home winning again.”

 

Belize’s next game is on Tuesday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Opening kick is at 8 p.m.

 

Woodrow West

“Come and support mein . It’s something big. Like I said, I’ve been to Gold Cup already. It’s something huge. These guys are very young. The Gold Cup could change some of their lives.”

 

Belize City was on the move this weekend as runners took to the streets for the sixth annual Belize City Half Marathon. From the grueling 21-kilometer race to the 10K and 5K events, scores of runners came out to test their endurance. For some, it was about competition. For others, simply making it to the finish line was the victory. But regardless of the distance, the challenge was the same, just keep moving.

 

Eluide Miller, Deputy Mayor, Belize City

“I think you see it out here, the comradery. We have a lot of running clubs in Belize, and so we have to offer them the opportunity to come out and continue to train and they’re already telling me that they’re looking forward to our triathlon that we’re gonna have in December. And so I look forward to seeing this group out here once again”

 

Deputy Mayor Eluide Miller was not just handing out medals. He also laced up and took on the five-kilometer challenge himself.

 

Eluide Miller

“It’s a race, as you know, but I wasn’t racing. I just come out every year to participate, and to encourage others who come out and show support for our half marathon. I think this is probably the fifth or sixth year that we’re having the half marathon. It’s an excellent initiative.”

 

But when the dust settled, the spotlight belonged to the athletes who conquered the 21K. On the women’s side, Dorsha Sabido of team Quench Your Thirst crossed the finish line first.

 

Dorsha Sabido, Half Marathon Winner

“It was difficult. It’s, it’s okay but, you know, challenging.”

 

Shane Williams

“What’s your message to other people who are thinking about taking on long distance?”

 

Dorsha Sabido

“Train properly, you know. Get a, get a plan, follow it, hydrate, fuel properly and you should be successful.”

 

And in the men’s race, Leon O’Brien claimed the top spot. He has been dominating Belize’s long distance circuit for many years.

 

Leon O’ Brien, Half Marathon Winner

“It was good, especially the start was nice. We start early, then the humidity picks up. Then I was going on a one-ten pace and then I dropped off ’cause there’s no competition. I just decide to finish the race.”

 

 

The winners took home cash prizes but the biggest takeaway from the sixth annual Belize City Half Marathon may have been the number of people willing to simply show up, run with an inspiring determination to finish.

 

At the Belize Civic Center, the Interoffice Basketball League delivered three roller coaster games on Friday night, each coming down to the last shot as teams fought for playoff spots and seedings. “Game one came down to this heave from Arnold with one-point-three seconds remaining and Heritage Bank down three to Caye Caulker. In Game two the Ministry of Defence jumped out to a twenty-two point lead against BWS. But BWS kept crawling their way all the way back and send the game to overtime with this clutch shot. But the military men found another boost of energy in overtime and overwhelmed the BWS squad with pressure defense and rim attacks.”

 

The biggets upset came in game three when the tenth ranked Atlantic Bank High Court team handed Bowen and Bowen their first loss of the season.  This weekend’s playoffs games will be hot! Well, that’s all we have for you this week folks. This edition of Sports Monday was brought to you be the National Sports Council of Belize. I’m Shane Williams reminding you that friendly competition unites and balling is life so keep balling Belize!

 

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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