Last week, Belize's national Under 15 Basketball Team was in Guatemala competing in the under 15 COCABA tournament. And though the competition was tough, they returned with silver on Saturday. That qualifies them for the next round and produced the best result Belize has ever seen in those games. We spoke to the coach and a couple players:....
Emaun Hyde
"What do you think made the difference this year that you guys did so well?"
Matthew Smiling, Coach
"Well we were more prepared than we were in February so I think that helped."
Emaun Hyde
"Are you proud that you coached the team to such greatness?"
Matthew Smiling
"Well yes, I am proud to see results of my work."
Emaun Hyde
"Did you go into the competition expecting to do so well?"
Matthew Smiling
"Well we were expecting gold. We went for gold but, we just have to settle for silver."
Kyle Middleton, Basketball Player, Captain
"Yes it was difficult, it was very difficult, we almost lost. We won by 4."
Emaun Hyde
"What do you think made the difference this year about how you guys did?"
Kyle Middleton
"Well the workouts; they were a lot more intense. We were in shape this time."
Emaun Hyde
"You scored 34 points all on your own. How does it feel?"
Tariq Middleton, Basketball Player
"Well it feels good; I just play the game how it suppose to be played. I did what the coach told me and I just did what I had to do."
Emaun Hyde
"What would you like to say to all the kids out there who only dream of competition like this and placing and winning medals?"
Matthew Smiling
"To keep their dreams up because your dreams might come true with hard work and patience your dreams could come true."
The team is moving on as they qualified for the Centrobasket under 15 tournament in Mexico in October.
