The National Elite Basketball League (NEBL) 2016 Season is heating up and hometown team the San Pedro Tiger Sharks are aiming for their third consecutive championship. With only one loss under their belt, our team remains steadfast in second place in the tournament. This past weekend, the Tiger Sharks showed their tenacity, claiming yet another big home win.
The sixth week of games started on Friday, February 19th with the Cayo Western Ballaz hosted the Belmopan Bandits at the Sacred Heart College Auditorium in San Ignacio Town. Belmopan Bandits jumped out to an early 21 – 12 lead at the end of the first quarter, which they extended to 21 points in the second quarter. However, in the third quarter the home team made a huge run to cut that deficit to only 3 points, going into the fourth quarter. Cayo Western Ballaz’ defense and free throw shooting sealed the 67 – 60 victory, in a huge game for both teams. This game was followed by another heated match, in which the Smart Belize Hurricanes remained undefeated. Orange Walk Running Rebels traveled to Belize City on Friday night to take on the tough Smart Belize Hurricanes at the Belize Elementary School gym. Home team, Hurricanes jumped out to an early 28 – 13 lead at the end of the first quarter, which they extended to 58 – 23 at the half. Hurricanes controlled the entire game, easily sealing up the 112 – 78 victory, while extending their winning streak to 6 games. The final Friday game, saw Dangriga Warriors traveling to take on Independence Thunderbolts at the Independence High School. Dangriga Warriors dealt the first punch, taking a 26 – 9 lead at the end of the first quarter, and increasing it to 46 – 32 at intermission. The visitors were able to hang on to an easy 86 – 74 victory when the final buzzer sounded.
Saturday, February 20th saw two games being played. In the first match, the Belmopan Bandits took on Orange Walk Running Rebels at the University of Belize gymnasium in Belmopan. The home team had an 18 – 13 lead in the first quarter, which ballooned to 41 – 26 at the half. Belmopan Bandits led the entire game, winning 94 -62.
Also facing off were our Tiger Sharks who hosted the Belize City No Limit at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium. At the end of the first quarter, San Pedro Tiger Sharks had a 17 – 15 lead, which they increased to 37 – 27 at the second quarter. Belize City No Limit was able to shrink the lead to 7 points going into the fourth quarter, but the home team was able to secure the win, 83 – 70. San Pedro Tiger Sharks was led by Caleb Sutton who had a game high of 30 points, while grabbing 8 rebounds. Ashton Edwards netted 15 points while Andrew “Bynum” Ortiz scored 13 points while grabbing 8 rebounds and Gene Myvett finished with 12 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. With this latest win, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks now have five victories in the 2016 NEBL Season.
The next round of games will see the Belmopan Bandits taking on the Smart Belize Hurricanes at the Belize Elementary School Auditorium at 9PM on Friday, February 26th. This will be followed by three games on Saturday, February 27th: Belize City No Limit versus Dangriga Warriors at the Ecumenical High School Auditorium at 8PM, Cayo Western Ballaz versus Independence Thunderbolts at the Independence High School Auditorium at 8PM and the Smart Belize Hurricanes versus the Orange Walk Running Rebels at the Orange Walk Multi-purpose Complex at 9PM. The San Pedro Tiger Sharks will not be playing this coming weekend.
All games can be followed live at nebl.sportingpulse.net, with real time box scores while the game is being played. The website also has all game scores, box scores, players and teams’ statistics, along with standings for the season.
