It would have been a match up for the ages: Belize and Guatemala going head to head in basketball at the City Center. The game was scheduled for next week Friday and Saturday, a pre-qualifier for the COPABA Central American Championship. But it won't happen. Word came down this evening that the Guatemalan team was suspended. Now Belize will face Mexico on May 2nd and 3rd at the City Center. Team Manager Brads Neal says there's plenty of reason for excitement and to wave the flag wildly.
Brads Neal, National Team Manager
"We're going to be having a COPABA Championship pre-qualifying games. We were scheduled to have Guatemala to come in on the 28th and the 29th but I just found out a about half hour ago that the country has been officially suspended. So we will be having the games with Mexico for the second and the third of May which is next week, the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
We got to wave the Belize flag the way we ought to. We have patriotic citizens and we need to come out and just support the national team and there seems to be so much going on with patriotism at this time of the year with Shane Vasquez winning the Cross Country, the Under-21 football team doing real good, and basketball is right on the brink of doing their thing. But Mexico is talking real trash. They think that we cannot compete with them so we want the Belize fans to know that the team we put together for this competition is going to be a formidable team that's going to represent the country well and we strongly believe that we will be able to overcome."
Jules Vasquez,
Who's on the team?
Brads Neal,
"Right now the team, from the local player standpoint hasn't been selected but we have foreigners coming in such as Darwin Carter, Sonny Watson, we have Richard Troyer-we have a couple of college kids coming in: Richard Troyer and Kenton Paulino and Englebert Cherrington.
Man this is a great time, what else can we do, its international basketball. It's been eight years and we haven't had any international basketball in Belize and here we have a golden opportunity with this home and away format and I think that the fans will be treated to exciting basketball so come out Belizean fans, come out and support your country. You guys are going to get the sixth man award for sure."
As the eliminations advance to the pan am games qualifying tournament, it is expected that Belize could have participation from Belizean-American NBA players Milt Palacio of the Utah Jazz, Noel Felix of the Seattle Sonics and European league player Marlon Garnett.
