Belize Hurricanes

Bandits Accomplish Mission Impossible!!

A famous Rapper once said,” Vengeance is the sweetest joy next to getting….. Victories” or something to that effect. Last night at the Belize Elementary Gym, the lowly 2-4 Bandits set out to  accomplished just that Vengeance! Beating only the bottom seeded Thunderbolts (0-7) and the Orange Walk Rebels (1-4) at the UB GYM in the first half of the season and losing by only 4 points to the Hurricanes, achieving vengeance seemed impossible. It is said that a man down to its last hope might be the most perilous man to face, but we know the Hurricanes are scared of nothing and no one, so the game had to be played.

The shelter, as per usual, was packed and the horns were blowing and just like that the action had started. Right off the bat, the hurricanes were off to a 6-0 run; in fact, it wasn’t until after 4 minutes into the game that the Bandits managed to score their first bucket, which was quite the opposite compared to the last game’s 15 to 0 start in Belmopan. Nevertheless, the bandits would battle back and it was 12 - 8 with 3 minutes to go in the first, but more disturbingly, I had Nick Brown, the Bandits import, picking up his second foul at this point and the Hurricanes would finish the quarter with a eight to three run putting them up 20 -11 at the end of the first quarter.  

At this moment I was thinking the Minister of Defence and new assistant coach for the Bandits was just a spectator with a better seat, as Akeem Watters drove and gave Brown what I thought was his third foul early in the second. Nevertheless, he stayed in the game and kept putting up what seemed like Bandits only offensive weapon. However, Farron Louriano was too much scoring even while he was doubled and it was 25 -13 with only a minute and a half elapsed from the game clock in the second quarter. Faron would finish with a game high 30 points. Then, even worst for the Bandits, Glency ‘cope’ Lopez was inserted and I thought this was going to get ugly if the bandits didn’t find a defensive solution quick. However, the perils of being a rookie in an elite league took him back to the bench quickly after he picked up his second foul and almost simultaneously the Bandits switched to a 2:3 zone defence where, before you know it, the bandits were back in the game at 35 -33 hurricanes up by only 2 . Brown then picked up his 4th foul, according to my eyes, but the desk had it as only 3 and had to come out the game. So with three minutes to go, the short-handed bandits, who lost Ian Lennan early in the first to a groin injury, tried their best to hang in there but it was difficult to rebound in a zone and the team still lack a point guard; high energy plays from Faron And Akeem push the hurricanes back up to a 45-36 lead at the end of the first half.

The third quarter was on its way and Ty Bradley picked up right where Faron left off by hitting a three right off the whistle, but Stephen Merte Williams finally got one down to answer him for the Bandits and was quickly followed by Brown with a three of his own. The Hurricanes had switch to a zone of their own but it was nowhere close to being as effective, so they quickly switched back to man where Brown picked up his fourth foul officially, in my eyes he should have been disqualified. Quite contrary to the last time Brown was pulled, the Bandits decided to go to the post with Kirk Chengo Burgess and ended up with a two point lead with strong offensive play by him,  Kyle Pascasio and even Stephen Merte Williams sanked a couple more buckets. However, these guys had to get a rest and before you know it, 3 straight turnovers by the bandits and the score was now 61 to 56 Hurricanes up just before the end of three.

The fourth was on its way and Belmopan’s weak bench continued with its sloppy play and before you knew it Hurricane was up 68 to 60 and looking like they were going to pull away, but the bandits ran back for their import. The hurricanes seemed to be harmless against the 2:3 zone, so the Bandits Battled back easily with strong play from Brown who hit a big three to tie the game at 70. Then big bad Puppy Leslie answered with a three of his own (73-70). The last five minutes was crazy with the two teams going tit for tat, punch for punch, and it this point we all know it was going to come down to who wanted it more and plane an simple, the BANDITS needed it more because if they lost this one again, all season hope would have been lost!

So it was 81 to 80 hurricanes with 1:15 on the clock when big bad  Brian ‘Beso’ White was just blocked and fouled Jarrel ‘Bird’ Velasquez, out of frustration, who made both free throws, ending up with 17 points on the night, to go up 81 to 82.  The bandits would then fake man out the inbounds and crawl right back into the zone to come up with another big stop and bird would head back to the line with 34.7 seconds to go after being fouled to stop the clock but only making one of two free throws 83-81. The next offensive play for hurricanes saw Brian pick up a crucial offensive foul which many hurricanes fan felt like was robbery but it seemed like witty play from brown to me, bird would once again only hit 1 of 2 free throws so the Hurricanes had a shot. Out of the time out, Randy Usher would fake a pass to Jacob Leslie and end up wide open for the three but the shot was in and out, ended up in Puppy Leslie’s hand, who also had a good look at three himself but it was not to be tonight. The final buzzer sounded and the Bandits defeated all odds and pulled off the impossible, giving the hurricanes its first loss of the season with a Final score 85 to 81!  Respect the NEBL great game!