By: Charleston Gladden
On April 4th 2017, Belmopan Bandits hosted their rivals from down south, Dangriga Dream Ballers, in Game 2 of the Pepsi NEBL Playoffs. Belmopan Bandits are looking to close out the series and advance to the Pepsi NEBL finals for the first time in franchise history, while Dangriga Dream Ballers are forced with the task of trying of keeping their season alive and force a Game 3 on home grounds.
As tipoff went underway, Belmopan Bandits were on the attack as they look to start off the game with a huge lead, but that wasn’t the case, as Dangriga Dream Ballers were trailing right behind. As the first half was about to be over, Belmopan Bandits gave up their lead in the final minutes of the first half going into halftime with careless passing and irrelevant shots. As a result, the score was at 35 respectively for both teams. The second half was a completely different ball game, where Belmopan Bandits turned up their intensity on both ends of the court and developed a commanding lead. As time was winding down for Dangriga Dream Ballers, being down by 11, they executed on excellent defensive plays, cutting down their deficit to only 3 points. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Dangriga as they weren’t able to tie or take the lead, thus giving Belmopan Bandits the win with a score of 76 – 72 and their first playoffs series win in franchise history. They’ll face the winner between San Pedro Tiger Sharks and Cayo Western Ballaz in the finals.
Player of the game goes to Farron Louriano of Belmopan Bandits with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds. Another contributing player for Belmopan Bandits were newcomer, Devin Daley, with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Stephen Williams tallied 13 points and 4 rebounds. Top players for Dangriga Dream Ballers were Dillmore Conorquie with 19 points and 6 rebounds and Quinton Bowen with his double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds along with 5 assists. Tahj Wells also tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.