It took four tries, but finally the BTL Nets are the undisputed champions of semi pro basketball. on Monday night, the BTL Nets defeated the Kruzzas in the best of five championship series. during a brief ceremony today at BTL's corporate headquarters in Belize city, the trophy was handed over to the corporate sponsor. We caught up with a team still in very high spirits:
Charles Ellis – BTL Nets Manager
“It has been a long road getting to the point. From last year we tried it we didn’t succeed we came very close. But this year we did it and it feels very, very good. We knew that from the start it wouldn’t have been easy for us because from the beginning of this season we believe that we were the better team. We know that everybody would have tried to come for our heads. But we prevailed we kept together through thick and thin and we came through.”
Keith Acosta – BTL Nets Player
“I have one championship before with the Raiders but now with the BTL Nets so it feels good to play for the Nets and to win a championship for them. For quite some time now we’ve been trying to win a championship. We’ve been there I think about two or three times and fallen short but now, like so many championship teams even in the NBA they’ve had hurdles that they’ve had to cross. And once they’ve cross that hurdle it’s no turning back from there. So like us we’ve had hurdles that we’ve had to cross an now I think that we are going to be a dynasty team.”
Darren Bovel – BTL Nets Player
"Finally it feels like the hard work I’ve been putting in for the past 15 to 20 years is finally paid off. It’s my first Semi-Pro Championship. I’ve been in Semi-Pro since the inaugural year and it’s like ten years gone by and finally it’s my turn. That shows that you should never give up you know. People always talk about I think it’s time for you to retire but I’ve showed them now. I still got a lot left in me. I’m coming back next year to defend my championship. I’m a veteran but I still got enough years left in me. With my work ethics I still got about four more years competitively."
The championship trophy, though it may not look like one, was handed over to managing director of BTL John Vandross.