Berisford Codd Jr ©

After having the easiest schedule in the league so far, the Digicell Belize City Defenders (3-1) finally had the chance to prove themselves in their fourth game of the 2018 NEBL season. In what has become Defenders fashion, a dominant fourth quarter performance (27-18) put them over the top and sent the San Pedro Tiger Sharks (4-1) to their first loss of the season.

Without much offensive firepower on paper, like the Tiger Sharks, the Defenders were once again led by their dynamic duo of Darwin “Puppy” Leslie and the American Nigel Jones. Puppy was in MVP form, pouring in a team high 28 pts and 8 reb and increasing his scoring output to a personal NEBL career high 22 points per game this season.  Puppy was huge in crunch time, scoring 13 of the 27 4^th quarter points for the Defenders who entered down three. He definitely has inserted himself in the NEBL MVP Watch!

Nigel Jones formed the 1-2 punch with Puppy throughout the game, as he excelled in the open floor as a finisher and attacked the Tiger Sharks big men off the dribble from the tip. Jones, who was one of the Defenders tasked with slowing down big man Martevius Adams, managed to go off for another 25 pts and 7 rbs. Through six weeks, he is the league’s leading scorer at 23 ppg.

The growth and identity of the Defenders has been revealing itself in the early season, with the team starting to gel under the leadership of young Head Coach Troy Gabb Jr. Communication and consistent effort on defense have come to define the early season play of the Defenders. According to Coach Gabb: “every game I give my players an assignment from Darwin right down…team is well disciplined and Ty Bradley does exactly what is asked of him.”

 

The insertion of Bradley into the starting line-up continues to pay dividends for the Defenders, as he successfully locked up a slew of Tiger Sharks in the City. Bradley, a fireman by profession, may be best served as a prosecutor, as he has now put away Verdes guard Isiah Thomas, Tiger Sharks Jamal Kelly, Doug Valley and Jihad Wright. Coach Gabb was emphatic in saying that “Ty understands that everything is all about winning so he trusts my decisions.” Bradley failed to score a single point against the Tiger Sharks but came out with the highest +/- of the Defenders starters.

For the Tiger Sharks, Big Man Martevius Adams finally stepped to center stage and showed the league why Coach Rico Black was so high on him. He displayed an impressive array of turnaround jumpers and jump hooks in the post, leading to a game high 31 pts. While the big man was dominant from start to finish, none of his Tiger Shark teammates managed to crack double digits. The Sharks must shoot better than 1-13 from three, as teams will be quick to clog the paint without a serious outside threat.

 

Notes:

• Francis Arana played his best game of the season since the Defenders opening night against the Running Rebels. He finished with 10 pts in 20 minutes off the bench and a team high +11 in the +/-.
• The Digicell Belize City Defenders will host the Griga Dream Ballers next Friday March 2^nd at the SCA Auditorium.
• The San Pedro Tiger Sharks will face a quick turnaround as they take on the Orange Walk Running Rebels tonight in San Pedro.