Welcome to Week 4, where the dust is finally starting to settle—but don’t get too comfortable. The jungle is still teeming with predators, wounded giants, and hungry upstarts all clawing for position.
We’ve now seen every team at least once, and the early-season storylines are beginning to take shape. The Sharks are circling with composure and control. The Dream Ballers are swinging big and praying their new hammer hits just as hard. The Ballers from the West have reloaded. Meanwhile, the Thunderbolts are trying to plug the leaks before their ship sinks, and the Kings are figuring out what kind of monarchy they’re really running.
Then there are the surprise Suns and the surging Panthers—two teams proving that this league isn’t just about who’s got the names on the back, but who’s got the fight in their chest.
The BPBL isn’t about hype anymore. It’s about who can hold up under the weight of expectation, travel, injuries, and pressure. Four weeks in, and there’s still everything to play for.
Let’s rank ‘em.
By The GM
It was a weekend the Cerros Suns will want to forget. After riding high off their shocking upset over the Thunderbolts and climbing from 7th to 6th in the power rankings, they set the stage for a crucial two-game showdown against the last-place PG Panthers. The opportunity was clear: take control of the third seed in the Toucan Conference and solidify their postseason aspirations.
Game one was a disaster. The revamped Panthers looked nothing like their early-season selves and blew the Suns out of the building on Friday night. Game two seemed headed in the opposite direction as Corozal surged to a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter—but then came a collapse of epic proportions. The Panthers stormed back, and the Suns let the win—and their position—slip through their fingers in the final seconds.
There are still signs of promise. Chemistry is growing. Role players are stepping up. Brandon Flowers, in particular, is emerging as a reliable and consistent third option behind Greg “Chippy” Rudon and Jamaal Clifton, contributing 16 points and 7 rebounds on Friday, followed by a 14-point outing with key fourth-quarter buckets on Saturday. With their confidence growing that they can make noise in the Toucan Conference, expect roster adjustments from the Suns this week to help shore up depth and experience. But losing both games to the Panthers on such a pivotal weekend was a major blow. With a back-to-back against the Griga Dream Ballers looming in Week 6, the Suns must regroup fast and restart the climb. The road to the postseason just got a lot steeper.
The Panthers are no longer just a feel-good story—they’re a problem. PG Organization overhauled its roster and injected new life into the rotation, including adding a new operations manager in Denver Fairweather. They walked into Week 4 with something to prove and walked out with back-to-back wins over the Suns to prove it.
GM Alex Carcamo has built something dangerous. Marquise Cunningham lived up to his offseason hype with a dominant Friday night performance, attacking the Suns in transition and punishing them in the paint. Newcomer Lindsey Young was electric in his debut, earning Player of the Game honors on Saturday after posting 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 steals, while shooting 44.4% from the field and 75% from the line. Kelvin Cumberbatch, waived from Griga in Week 2, has been reborn in PG as a promising young big man—his spark was key to the 24-point comeback. And Jaden Sutherland? Instant defense. The rookie showed he can guard anyone from guards to wings, and he gave PG a much-needed edge on the perimeter.
This team suddenly has depth. It has versatility. It has belief.
Now comes the real test. A road game in Griga against the Dream Ballers—one of the league’s toughest venues and one of its most complete teams. Is PG for real? Can this performance scale to elite competition? Carcamo says it’s just the beginning, and with another week of practice, he believes PG will “shock the league on Sunday.”
If they do, it might not just be a win—it might be a playoff preview.
The Thunderbolts are in free fall. They went into Belmopan shorthanded again, with superstar guard Glency Lopez out nursing an ankle injury, Ty Hall unavailable, and Eyan Rene out sick for a second straight game. Add to that the recent release of center Larry Johnson, and it was clear the Bolts’ already thin bench had very little left in the tank by the fourth quarter.
A frustrated Victor Evans—already playing through physical play—was ejected in the final period after a 10-0 Kings run (and a bloody lip), effectively extinguishing any hope of a Thunderbolts comeback. Meanwhile, Matthew Young continued to shine as the lone bright spot for the Bolts, delivering 22 points and pulling down 12 rebounds on Sunday following a 27-rebound performance in Corozal. His paint dominance has been unwavering week after week, yet the absence of support around him is becoming increasingly glaring. Young is screaming for help, and unless reinforcements arrive, his stellar efforts alone won’t be enough to turn things around.
Now on a four-game slide, Belize City has two weeks to regroup and get healthy. There are whispers of a big-name replacement for Larry Johnson, and hopes are high that both Coope and Eyan will be back in the lineup when they host Belmopan for a much-anticipated rematch.
One thing is clear: the Thunderbolts no longer strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. Whether it’s injuries, roster imbalance, or locker room fatigue, this once-feared team now looks vulnerable and needs urgent answers from both coaching staff and front office if they hope to stop the bleeding.
Still, despite a 2–3 record, no one doubts that a fully healthy Thunderbolts squad is among the most dangerous in the league. But rankings are earned, not assumed—and nothing from the past two weeks suggests this team belongs anywhere near the top. For now, their drop from number two to number five continues and they now look down on a charging Panther, instead of up at a fast disappearing Tiger Shark
The Capital City Kings had one of those weekends that felt like two seasons in one. With their backs against the wall and staring down a potential three-game slide, the Kings hosted the Thunderbolts on Friday night—and made a statement.
If there’s royalty in Belmopan, then Nissani Mendez is its rising star. The young guard was electric, scoring 23 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and collecting 2 steals in just under 25 minutes of action—while sparking run after run to push the Kings past the mighty Thunderbolts. Brandon “Puddy” Flowers was his usual consistent self, providing physical paint presence and momentum-shifting plays that had the Belmopan crowd on their feet. Daniel Estes, who had just landed in the country the night before, wasted no time making an impact. With bruising energy and post dominance, he gave the Kings a much-needed edge in the paint, finally balancing the floor and allowing the offense to breathe.
But the weekend celebration was short-lived. On Sunday, the Kings traveled to Belize City to take on the league-leading Tiger Sharks—who were fresh off a bruising overtime win in Dangriga just hours earlier. Instead of a tired squad, Belmopan met a focused Shark team that ran away with the game after a back-and-forth battle ended with a fourth-quarter onslaught. Mendez, after his breakout Friday night, proved far from consistent, while injuries to both bigs played a key role in the late-game collapse.
Even with the split, Belmopan appears satisfied. The front office has already filed for a change at the American import position—signaling that chess moves are being made. With a young core in Mendez, Jayden Lopez, Zach Pratt, and McKenzie, the Kings are trending upward. Still, Mendez must prove he can be a consistent contributor, and the injuries to both big men exposed vulnerabilities that must be addressed. In a conference that features elite guards like Glency Lopez, Ty Hall, and Dennis Flowers III, Belmopan’s guards must adapt to the league’s physicality. Their late-game ball handling and decision-making remain suspect, and unless they stabilize the backcourt, they will struggle to win close games against top-tier opponents. If they can figure that out and solidify the center spot with a high-impact replacement, Belmopan could become a serious threat in the Mayan Conference.
The Cayo Western Ballers had a front-row seat to the chaos last weekend, with Arik Nicholas even spotted in his hometown of Punta Gorda. While others battled for position and respect, Cayo was quietly recalibrating—and they’ve made a move that could shift the balance of power.
Arriving from Wooster College in Ohio is 6’8″, 240-pound big man Nick Everett, a bruising presence who might be the missing piece for an already formidable squad. With high flyers like Ciego and Arik patrolling the skies and elite guard play anchoring the perimeter, Cayo’s interior just got a serious upgrade. Everett’s presence in the paint adds physicality and scoring depth to an already well-balanced team.
With top-tier perimeter guard play form Dennis Flowers and elite front court dominance from Arik Nicholas, Kerwin Palacio, and Jaheim Ciego, and one of the league’s sharpest coaching minds at the helm, the Western Ballers now look like legitimate contenders—not just for the Mayan Conference title, but for the Jaguar Cup itself.
Lucky for us, the schedule gods have delivered. This Saturday night, it’s “Rumble in the Jungle” as the Ballers host the undefeated San Pedro Tiger Sharks in San Ignacio. The most confident team in the league takes on the most dominant. It’s the statement game of the week, and maybe a preview of September’s Jaguar championship. Let the games begin.
The Dangriga Dream Ballers proved they can match the speed and physicality of the San Pedro Tiger Sharks in a high-octane thriller that came down to the final possession. With five seconds left in regulation, Kevon Lourie missed a potential game-winning layup, sending the game to overtime, where the Sharks ultimately escaped with a hard-fought victory to remain unbeaten.
But the victory came with a costly price tag. Star big man James “Hammer” Milton sustained a significant injury during the game, casting doubt on Griga’s ability to maintain their dominance. Word is a replacement big is en route, but the burning question remains—are we getting Hammer 2.0 or just a rubber mallet?
This weekend’s showdown against the surging PG Panthers will tell us everything we need to know. For Griga, it’s about proving they still belong among the elite—even without Hammer in the lineup. Deshawn Brackett, who dropped 33 points against the Sharks, is making a serious case for elite guard status alongside Coope Lopez, Francis Arana, and Dennis Flowers III. However, the ever-present but inconsistent outside shooting of Boogie Mitchell and the up-and-down play of Conorque are raising questions about whether Griga’s long-term stock will hold—especially if their replacement big turns out to be more of a rubber mallet than another Hammer. For the Panthers, it’s a shot at full-fledged respect. Either way, all eyes are on BATTLE for the South this weekend.
Much needs to be said about what the San Pedro Tiger Sharks accomplished this past weekend. Let us first commend Coach Rico Black and the entire Sharks organization for rising to the occasion despite one of the most demanding schedules imaginable.
The number one team in the Toucan Conference met the number one team in the Mayan Conference—and the San Pedro Tiger Sharks were the only team this season handed back-to-back games in two different cities, with less than 24 hours separating them. The Sharks opened their weekend with a bruising overtime thriller in Dangriga—arguably the most hostile road environment in the league—and followed that up by traveling straight to Belmopan to face a surging Capital City Kings team still riding the momentum of a franchise-defining victory the night before.
Through it all, the Tiger Sharks never complained. They didn’t fold. Instead, they rose to the challenge and turned adversity into an opportunity to separate themselves from the rest of the league. Their grit, discipline, and depth were on full display, as they not only survived but thrived under pressure.
With a more forgiving schedule ahead—just one game this Saturday against a revitalized Cayo Western Ballers squad—the Sharks now have the rare luxury of rest and preparation. But make no mistake: this matchup is far from easy. The Ballers sit atop the Mayan Conference and are widely considered the most balanced and confident unit in the league.
This weekend’s clash is more than just a regular-season game—it’s a showdown for league supremacy. Two top teams, two elite coaching staffs, one massive jungle brawl. Buckle up.
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