The Tiger Sharks sweep the series!!!
Last Saturday night at the UB Gym, the Tiger Sharks completed the task of beating the UB Black Jaguars in two consecutive games in a 'best out of three series' for the Belmopan Basketball Association championship. It was a bumpy ride from the get go game with both teams trying to dominate. No one could foresee who would triumph in the end as both teams successfully took the lead for short periods of time. It was not until the fourth quarter that the Jaguars were able to get a clear 14 point lead. Perhaps it was overconfidence that overtook the team at that point as they subsequently let the Tiger Sharks not only recover but then beat them 83-81. This is not to say that the Tiger Sharks were not playing well in the last quarter, in fact the Tiger Sharks had a number of great plays and, after several threes, made the come back due to the leadership of key players like Kelvin Gillett (170-G) and Kurt Burgess (-F/C). The UB Jaguars made a huge mistake in not realizing that there was no shot clock. When they found themselves leading in the fourth quarter, they could have potentially used this to their advantage to consume time, but you cannot fault them for playing by the rules. In the last five seconds, the Jaguars did get a key offensive rebound coming from a free throw that was missed by Winston Pratt (186-G-90) unfortunately, they fail to capitalize twice to draw the game. When the final whistle was blown, UB had put up a valiant fight only to lose. As coach Siroki commented, his team showed courage, sportsmanship and team work throughout the season and even though the team has players that are seventeen years of age, they put up a great fight to an older, experienced and talented team (let us not forget that the Tiger Sharks are the semi-Pro Champs).
The Tiger Sharks were lead by Kurt Burgess who had a double double night; 22 pts, 13 rebs, 1 block, followed by Kelvin Gillett with 22 pts, 6 assists and Keith Acosta (193-G/F-76, college: Tex.A&M-Comm.) with also double double figures; 14 pts, 12 rebs. In a loosing effort, Winston Pratt scored 19 pts, 6 rebs, 1 block, Stephen Williams (188-G-83) with 10 pts, 8 rebs, 1 block and Jorett Jones (193-G-89) 9 pts, 1 block.
Congratulations to Rico Black (180-G-75) and the Tiger Sharks for their championship!!!
Finals co - MVP went to Kirk 'Chengo' Burgess and Kelvin ' Kelly B' Gillett.