Lopez gets 18, leads Hurricanes past rival Defenders, 70 – 41

By: Charleston Gladden

Game one of the 2018 NEBL Finals between Smart Belize Hurricanes and DigiCell Belize City Defenders is certainly something what fans wanted. Both teams came off a difficult three-game series in their respective series, and now it’s who want to take the first punch in game one.

Defenders started off the game strong with a 3 point shot from their captain, Darwin Leslie, unfortunately that shot would be his only points for the game. A short while after, Smart Belize Hurricanes were able to take the lead at 4:14 of the first quarter. From that point to the end of the first it was a cat and mouse game, as both teams exchange leads. Midway through the second, Smart Hurricanes stepped on their defensive pedal and went 12 – 3 run with the score knotted up at 31 – 23 going into halftime. Coming out of the locker room from halftime, it was all Glency Lopez as he opened up the second half with 8 points, scoring 12 points for the quarter, and showed why he’s the best point guard in the league with passing abilities and all-round skills. Throughout the entire third quarter Hurricanes outscored the Defenders 31 – 5. At that point there was no coming back as Hurricanes were up by 34 and showed no sign of letting up as they take game one of the NEBL Finals by a score of 70 – 41.

Player of the game goes to Glency Lopez with 18 points and 7 assists playing only 21 minutes. He had help from Brian White who had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Daly with 9 points and Akeem Watters with 7. Main contributors for DigiCell Belize City Defenders were Jacob Leslie with 9 points and Lincey Lopez with 8 points, both players coming off the bench.

TIP-INS:

DEFENDERS: Nigel Jones finishes with only 7 points and 8 rebounds…

HURRICANES: continue their playoff winning streak with now at six… all active players played 5+ minutes.

CELEBRITY WATCH:

Despite the weather before the game, our local celebrities were in attendance for game 1. Musical Ambassador of Belize, Shyne Barrow and his entourage. NEBL players were also in attendance Bandits guards Stephen Williams and Leroy Louriano and also Running Rebels forward, Matthew Young. Players form Western Kentucky University from the Sports Reach program.