Volleyball Association Files Complaint After Bronze Medal Loss

Good evening and welcome to this week’s installment of Sports Monday. I am Paul Lopez. Belize has enjoyed some success at the Central American Games in Guatemala. You have heard about the historic performance from our female volleyball team and how Nysha Harris set a personal record on the track. Well, there are some more victories to look at from over the weekend. But, before we go there, the Belize Volleyball Association has issued a formal complaint to regional and international regulatory bodies against the head referee that officiated the men’s bronze medal match at the Central American Games. The association asserts that the referee made a bad call in a critical moment that cost team Belize the bronze medal. According to the association, an erroneous “ball out” call was made against Belize when team Panama was up by one point. A point was awarded to Panama, and they went on to secure the bronze medal. An athlete from the women’s team, Samantha Jones, who witnessed the call from the stands, shared her thoughts.

 

Samantha Jones, Athlete, Women’s Volleyball Team

“Honestly for me as a new national player, I though the referee got paid off. Aint no way you will finish that match like that. The boys were literally fighting with so much heart and when we came in the second set, they came back up. So I am thinking they finna win and make history with us. Some of the people also said, this is how we are able to advocate for better referees instead of having these referees doing the matches for historical events. The boys could have won but because of the call she disappointed a lot of Belizean. It was best out of five and five and they were fighting for every point and because of her being a rookie. She was a rookie I think.”

 

The association has called for a thorough investigation and appropriate corrective measures, while acknowledging that the call cannot be overturned.

 

And as we promised, here are some of the notable achievements from Belizean athletes over the weekend at the Central American Games in Guatemala. Belize’s Under-Nineteen basketball team is outperforming the competition. They defeated El Salvador eighty-three to sixty-eight on Saturday. And then on Sunday, they blew out Guatemala by twenty-nine points. The final score was seventy-two to forty-three. They have more games scheduled throughout the week. There are also more podium finishes to report, this time in canoeing. After six races, Belize’s Canoe Sprint Team secured three bronze medals and one silver medal.

 

 

And finally, Belize National Women’s Softball Team has made a comeback to regional competition after twelve years and this time around they have been experiencing their fair share of defeats at the Central American Games. But, on Saturday, they finally won a match, defeating Honduras ten runs to six. We also recognize all the athletes in the various disciplines representing Belize at the Central American Games.

 

 

 

From regional headlines to hoops at home with the William Dawson Basketball Tournament. We captured highlights on Saturday from two games. In the first match, Hard Rock faced off against Rising Stars. That game finished with a score of forty-two to twenty-eight in favor of Hard Rock. And, after that match, Team 2.0 went up against Tora Bora. After four quarters of intense showdown this was a close finish. 2.0 had the upper hand in the end and won the match with thirty-seven points, while Tora Bora scored thirty-two.

 

 

 

And from that basketball event to the ATLIB Sports National Basketball Tournament hosted in Belize City. On Saturday, five teams faced off to claim the position at the top of tertiary school basketball in both the male and female categories. For the men, it all came down to a championship match between the UB Jaguars and SJC JC. And the UB Jaguars are your 2025 ATLIB National Basketball Champions. They defeated their opponents convincingly, securing sixty-eight points at the end of regular time and holding SJCJC to fifty-seven points. The Most Valuable Player award went to Tyrell Griffith. The UB Jaguars also took home gold in the female tournament.

 

 

And, we end tonight’s installment in Belmopan where the Pele Soccer Foundation hosted an Under Thirteen Football Marathon to kick off the organization’s 2025 season. Compre Flames won the first-place trophy. Pomona United secured the silver medal, while Hattieville United rounded out the top three. The foundation is led by Belize’s National Team Captain, Eugene “Pele” Martinez.

 

Eugene “Pele” Martinez, Founder, Pele Soccer Foundation

How was that feeling for you guys when you scored those three goals?

 

 

 

 

Participant, Under-13 Football Marathon

“Well it felt really amazing because our team came back. Our team started passing and we scored an amount of goals to bring back the game, but it went into penalty and that really hurt things.”

 

Eugene ‘Pele’ Martinez

“What can we do differently in the next game?”

 

Participant

“More passes and try to score so we don’t have any penalty shootout.”

 

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