Berisford Codd Jr. ©
After dropping their season opener against the Defending Champions the Mirage/Smart Belize Hurricanes, the Dream Ballers bounced back in a big way by blowing Verdes out of the Russell Chiste Garcia Auditorium by a score of 82-55, showing the Griga fans that they are still in it to win it. In true Griga fashion, the venue was packed before tipoff and the signature drums kept rolling from start to finish! Leading the way for the Dream Ballers once again was Belizean American standout Daniel Conorque, who finished the game with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. While he did not stuff the stat sheet as he did in the opening night against the Hurricanes, Conorque controlled the pace of the game throughout by abusing any combination of Elsworth Itza, Travis Lennan and Andrew Ortiz that Verdes could throw at him. Another strong showing against the Bandits next week should have Conorque atop the first NEBL 2019 MVP Watch!
The Griga coaching staff was making all the right calls with their rotations, finding minutes for all eleven players on their roster to be effective (no player finished with a negative +/-). American Import Delvon Henderson, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks, rose to the challenge of being the defensive anchor for the Dream Ballers, as he held his ground against the gifted Kris Frazier and the enforcer Elsworth Itza.
As the second quarter got underway, Itza committed an unsportsmanlike foul against Henderson, which led to Henderson squaring up and letting the entire gym know that Griga will not be getting punked by no one! Henderson met Itza with equal force in the second quarter, which took a lot of fight out of Verdes and ramped up the Griga attack. Kris Frazier, my preseason favourite for MVP, was the only Verdes player to score in double digits, as he finished with strong double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, including 11-14 from the free throw line. While Frazier did his damage from the free throw line, the absence of Richard Troyer (and his shooting ability) made Frazier have to work for his money in the paint. This lack of spacing from Verdes was partially the reason for Frazier committing 6 turnovers in just 25 minutes of play. Let’s hope NEBL teams realize going forward that spacing is everything in basketball!
Two Takeaways
- Griga Dream Ballers – Play the passing lanes
With the NEBL Season being only 12 games, every game reveals lessons that teams should learn to get them ready for their playoff push. The addition of Henderson and insertion of defensive stalwart Macario Augustine into the starting line-up allows Griga to switch ball screens and play passing lanes to ignite their fast break. Henderson’s presence around the rim allowed for seven Griga players to record at least two steals for a team total of 22! These live ball turnovers fuelled the Dream Ballers offense all night, as they finished with an eye opening 46 fast break points. If Griga can keep up this defensive intensity, they will be a tough out for every team they face this season … and if their shooters rediscover their outside touch then sky is the limit!
- Verdes – Growing the Bench
Richard Troyer’s absence from the line-up opened up additional minutes that could have been distributed to the young players from Verdes. However, Head Coach Shelton Defour Sr. decided to ride his core group even in the blowout. Kyron Molina, Justin Ford and Johan Bermudez are all young guards with potential that could sure up the Cayo rotation in spot minutes toward the end of the season. Molina in particular is a young player that needs significant work to get up to speed with the NEBL game. He has dominated the offseason in every tournament he has played, but there is a difference when playing against grown men. Molina has Rookie of the Year potential if Coach Defour will decide to put him in better positions to succeed, which include both playing time and a more focused offensive plan. The need to build strong guard play from the bench was even more apparent, with Belizean American import TJ Hall struggling with turnovers caused by the Griga ball pressure. Hall would finish the game with a whopping 8 turnovers and only 1 assist! Let’s see if Coach Defour and Tarr will be able to push the right buttons going forward, as this one got ugly real fast!
Next Games
- Griga travels to Belmopan to play the Bandits on Friday February 1st, 2019
- Verdes is off until February 8th, 2019 where they will take on the Hurricanes at the Civic