INSIDE SEMI-PRO BASKETBALL Excellent!Very GoodGoodFairPoor Rating: 2 / 5 (1 votes)   Posted: 26/04/2007 - 10:47 PM Author: Bernard Wagner ORANGE WALK “EAGLES” HOME OPENER TONIGHT   The Orange Walk Eagles will make their 2007 semi-pro basketball debut tonight at home when they play host to the (1-1) Belize Bank Bulldogs.   The Eagles, who finished last season in the cellar with a disappointing (1-9) record, will be trying to reverse their misfortune and at the same time hoping for better results. The team once again is being managed and coached by Eldred Neal and Leonard Tzul. The players should include Dale Turner, Sheldon Williams, Kevin Arnold, Leith Paulino and Lester Cadle. Point guard Kelvin Gillett, as we understand it, is still holding out, and, up to press time, has not committed to playing with the Orange Walk Club.   The Bulldogs, on the other hand, are still shorthanded, having lost both Kirk “Shabba” Smith and Brian Grant to early season injuries. This, coupled with the fact that they will be on the road, makes it even tougher on them. It will be interesting to see how the young backcourt of the Bulldogs fares on the road. Their earlier road game this year, to the island of San Pedro, saw Rivers and Edwards shoot a combined 5 for 15 from the field, for 33%. While at home last week against the Oilers, they shot a respectable11 for 24, for a 46% clip.   Since joining the league in 2006, the Bulldogs have played two games against the Eagles. They won both games; on the road by the score of 84-78 and at home, by the score of 97-77. Kelvin Gillett seems to save his best for the Bulldogs, averaging 19.0 ppg in the two games, followed by Lester Cadle with 16 ppg. Meanwhile, for the Bulldogs, Earl Johnson has a career average of 18 ppg and 13 rpg against the Eagles.   CHRISTIAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE UPDATE   Tomorrow at Bird’s Isle, the “Shine Your Light” Christian Basketball Tournament continues with three games scheduled. At 1:30 p.m., the (0-1) Sandhill team will face the (0-1) Lake I Baptist team; while in game two, (0-1) Friends of Faith will meet the (1-0) Zoe Horizons squad. And in the nightcap, (1-0) M&M Promise Keepers will face the (1-0) Cal Port Flames.   Last week saw Cal Port winning by default over Friends of Faith; while Zoe Horizons won over Lake I Baptist by the score of 68-55, behind Dwight Cadle’s 18 pts and Bradford Petteo’s 15 pts. Darwin Zuniga led Lake I Baptist with 25 pts. In the third and final game of the evening, M&M Promise Keepers showed no mercy on the visitors from Sandhill, walloping them by the score of 76-44. Herman Blease and Cyril Pitterson led the Promise Keepers with 19 and 16 pts respectively, while Shane Rosales led Sandhill with 12 pts.