The San Pedro Tiger Sharks lost the first match in the Belize Elite Basketball League‘s (BEBL) playoffs against Belize City Defenders 86-79 on Sunday, May 19th. Held at the Belize City Civic Center, it was the first out of three matches for a chance to advance to this year’s finals. With this win, the Belize City team must win one more game to secure their ticket to the finals and compete for the championship.
The game on Sunday was one of the most intense of the season and considered the best against the best as each team edged the other and gave it all on the basketball court. At the end of the first and second quarters, the scores were even, 19-19 and 18-18, respectively.
In the second half of the game, San Pedro’s Bobby Arthur Williams and Raheem Thurton led the team against a tough Belize City Defenders. At the end of the third quarter, the island team narrowly managed to win with a tight 14-13 score. In the last quarter, the Belize City team continued pressuring and blocking any good plays by Tiger Sharks. Belize City’s Nigel Jones, Richard Smith III, and John Kelly helped their team win the fourth quarter 22-21. The game rolled into overtime, ending with Belize City Defenders winning 14-7.
The scoring system in basketball is based on the number of points scored by each team in a single quarter or period. These points are then added up at the end of the game to reveal the total score. In this game, after tallying all the points for each team, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks fell short, and the Belize City Defenders emerged victorious with a score of 86-79.
The San Pedro Tiger Sharks are now facing a crucial challenge. They must win the second game, scheduled for June 7th, to secure an opportunity to advance to the finals. Griga Dream Ballers and Benny’s Belize Hurricanes are the other teams competing in the finals.
 playoffs against Belize City Defenders.){kind=link}