Tut Bay FC Back-to-Back Peace Cup Champions

Good evening, I am Paul Lopez with this week’s installment of Sports Monday. We begin tonight with the championship match in the William Dawson Peace Cup. This one saw defending champions Tut Bay FC face off against Caesar Ridge FC for all the marbles. Here is how the match played out.

 

Corner kick for Tut Bay. The ball was cleared from in front of the goalpost, but it hit the arm of number six for Caesar Ridge. The referee caught the play and called for a penalty kick. Devin Thurton took the shot and scored an easy point for his team. Tut Bay up one. Man alone with the ball inside the penalty box for Caesar Ridge at the seventeenth minute, but he placed too much power behind that one and sent the ball flying over the goalpost, much to his dismay. The first half ended, one goal to nothing in favor of Tut Bay.  Second half action, a throw in for Tut Bay, Raymond Gentle cuts across in front of the goal. A gentle pass followed and Gentle puts it away. A smooth play for Tut Bay that translated into a second goal. Caesar Ridge defenders were caught sleeping at the wheel.

 

Caesar Ridge finally found some hope at the seventy-fifth minute. A corner kick found Lawnie Leslie at the far post and he did not waste the opportunity.  And when the stakes are high, things can get a bit heated. With only twelve minutes left in the game, physicality increased. A chaotic sequence with bodies falling led to a tussle between two opposing players. The referee issued red and yellow cards, cooler heads prevailed, and the game continued. In the end, Tut Bay FC walked away with the victory. They secured back-to-back Peace Cup Championship titles. We spoke with Tyrone Linarez about the victory.

 

Tyrone Linarez, 2025 Peace Cup Champion

“It was a great season, we had ups and downs, but everybody played hard and give it their all. That is why we make it to the finals and win.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What do you think about how this tournament brings together young men from different communities, sometimes rivalling communities, together on the field? Do you think it achieves that?”

 

Tyrone Linarez

“Yes I think it achieves that. Everybody just come together and show one love and talk ball and focus.”

 

Numerous individual awards were distributed at the end of the night. Here is a quick look at some of the participants that received awards. And speaking of Tut Bay FC, they now have their set on the inter-district championship title. We have some highlights courtesy Accion Deportiva Belize. On Saturday night, Tut Bay took on Napoles in the Inter-District Football Semifinals in Belmopan. There was a great deal of controversy heading into this one, because Napoles was recently elevated to play in Belize’s Premier League. This move had many arguing that Napoles was no longer qualified to play at the lower inter-district level. But Saturday night’s game still went on and well, Tut Bay FC brought down the might Napoles in a match that ended with three goals to two. So, Tut Bay advances to the finals where they will face off against Yo Creek FC.

 

From football, we move into some basketball action as the Belize Premier Basketball League wraps up its inaugural regular season. On Friday night, the Belize City Thunderbolts brought down the Belmopan Capital City Kings with ninety points to the Kings’ eighty-nine points. On that same night, Cayo Western Ballers defeated the Corozal Cerros Suns eighty-three to seventy-one points inside the Sacred Heart Auditorium. The game of the weekend went down on Saturday night inside the Russel Chiste Garcia Auditorium. The Ez Investment Dangriga Dreams Ballers is the first team to defeat the San Pedro Tiger Sharks this season, bringing an end to the Sharks’ impressive winning streak. Ballers won with seventy-eight points, while the Sharks secured seventy-two points. Also, on Saturday the Punta Gorda Panthers hosted the Cayo Western Ballers. They, however, lost that match with sixty-five points, while their opponents from western Belize secured seventy-five points. The BPBL Playoffs begin this weekend.

 

And finally, for tonight, Belize is being represented in five sporting disciplines on the World Stage in Paraguay for the 2025 Junior Pan American Games. Davia Richardson is competing in the swimming category. Derrick Chavarria is aiming for gold in the cycling competition.

Brooklyn Lyttle is representing Belize in athletics, while Daniel Cruz will be competing in Canoe Racing. Finally, Miguel Marin will be competing in weightlifting. Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.