San Pedro Tiger Sharks are heading to the NEBL finals!

The San Pedro Tiger Sharks Basketball team has netted a spot in the finals of the Pepsi National Elite Basketball League (NEBL). The two-time NEBL champions defeated the Cayo Western Ballaz 82-69 on Sunday, May 14th, at the Angel Nu�ez Auditorium.

Tiger Sharks will now face Belmopan Bandits in a best out of three games in the NEBL finals. The Bandits have rested over a week after their qualification to the finals, and will certainly be bringing energy to the championship matches. The Tiger Sharks are ready to face their next opponent, looking to steal away with the championship for a third time. The first of three final games is scheduled to be played on Saturday, May 20th at the Angel Nu�ez Auditorium beginning at 9PM. The second game will be played at the University of Belize Gymnasium in Belmopan City on Thursday, May 25th, at 8:30PM. If there is a tie, a third game will be held in San Pedro on Saturday, June 3rd, in order to crown the new 2017 NEBL Champion.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

San Pedro Tiger Sharks head to fourth straight Pepsi NEBL finals

The Pepsi NEBL semi-finals continued this past weekend, as a decisive game 3 was played today in San Pedro between Cayo Western Ballaz and San Pedro Tiger Sharks. The winner of this game would stamp their ticket to the finals, to face off with Belmopan Bandits. The home team, San Pedro Tiger Sharks was able to easily secure the 82-69 victory, as they took command of the game in the second quarter, and Cayo Western Ballaz was unable to cut the lead to single digits for the rest of the game.

With the win, 2-time NEBL champions, San Pedro Tiger Sharks are heading to their fourth straight NEBL finals, as they try to erase the bitter taste from their mouths, after last season's disappointing ending. Belmopan Bandits, on the other hand, have been resting, and now have even more motivation to bring home both semi-professional championships to the capital city, since Belmopan Bandits football team were crowned PLB champs last night.

This is the fourth straight year that the top 2 teams in the regular season will face off in the NEBL finals.

Finals Schedule Saturday, May 20 at 9:00 p.m. - San Pedro Tiger Sharks (#1) vs Belmopan Bandits (#2) at San Pedro High School in San Pedro Town
Thursday, May 25 at 8:30 p.m. - Belmopan Bandits (#2) vs San Pedro Tiger Sharks (#1) at UB gymnasium in Belmopan City
Saturday, June 3 at 9:00 p.m. - San Pedro Tiger Sharks (#1) vs Belmopan Bandits (#2) at San Pedro High School in San Pedro Town (if necessary)

Tiger Sharks dominate, 82-69, in decisive game 3 to oust Western Ballaz

The San Pedro Tiger Sharks benefitted immensely from Raul Roches' 10 first-quarter points, and consequently was able to jump out to the early 24-17 first-quarter lead in the third and decisive game of the NEBL's semi-finals, played Sunday on the island of San Pedro. The Tiger Sharks would never look back, and would never surrender the lead, eventually winning by the score of 82-69, and in so doing, put an abrupt end to the Western Ballaz' season.

If it sounds familiar, it's because it is. The Sharks just seems to have the Ballaz' number, and on Sunday afternoon it was no different. Even with the league's MVP, George Williams ailing from a leg injury, the Ballaz were still unable to take advantage of this disparity, as they struggled enormously from the field, hitting just 11 of their first 35 field goal attempts, while committing 5 turnovers, which indisputably allowed their opponents to take the big 40-29 lead at the half. This lead would balloon to 56-36 close to the end of third-quarter play, which, for all intents and purposes, spelled the expiration of the Western Ballaz' season.

The Tiger Sharks, although playing at home, had concerns going into the game, given the outcome of the last game, and the Ballaz apparently snatching momentum away from them. However, Tiger Shark George Williams proved why he was league MVP, playing 33-of-40 minutes, and scoring a game high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, while grabbing 3 rebounds. His teammate Raul Roches, who gave his team the burst of energy they needed, out of the gates, ended up with 20 points 10 rebounds 2 assists, followed by Douglas Valley and Jamal Kelly with 9 points each.

The Ballaz, on the other hand, who were relying heavily on numbers and their deep bench, could not find any rhythm, both from an offensive and defensive perspective. The formula that had worked so well in game 2 was absent, as they struggled to find points; as a matter of fact, their leading scorer on Sunday was Ray Cruz, and he could only muster 13 points 5 rebounds. Darwin Leslie was held in check with 10 points 3 rebounds, and Gene Myvett experienced a similar fate, totaling a mere 10 points 7 rebounds. Daniel Nolberto and Brandon Flowers scuffled in prime time, shooting a woeful 5-of-23 from the field combined.

With the win, the Tiger Sharks will now head to the 2017 NEBL finals to face the Belmopan Bandits.

Amandala