BPBL Power Ranking

Week 2

BPBL Power Rankings – Week 2
The League Takes Shape

Week 2 has added definition to the BPBL landscape. The San Pedro Tiger Sharks made the biggest splash, handing the Thunderbolts their first loss in a high-scoring 109-101 battle—proving their depth and composure under pressure.

The Thunderbolts, led by Glency Lopez and Victor Evans, still look dangerous but now have questions to answer. Meanwhile, the Dream Ballers bounced back with a statement win behind a 32-point, 13-board explosion from their star forward Milton.

What’s clear across the board: the teams with strong local cores are rising. The league’s bet on Belizean talent is paying off early, and Week 2 gave us a real glimpse of who’s ready for the long haul.

Let’s dive into this week’s Power Rankings.

7. Punta Gorda Panthers-Toucan

The Panthers have experienced the most challenging stumble out of the gate. As a newly assembled team with a rookie coach, owner, and GM, they began their season midweek with the first Thursday night game of the year. The lineup featured some surprises, both in terms of who appeared and who was absent. Former Griga forward and last season’s MVP runner-up, Jonathan Guzman, made his debut, while Chance Leslie, who once scored 10 three-pointers against the Canes before suffering an injury setback, also took the court. Expected to play was power forward Daniel Estes, who emerged as an unstoppable force in the 2024 playoffs, but he was a no-show. In a surprise appearance, legendary Belize National Team power forward and two-time champion Alex Carcamo joined the lineup.

Unfortunately, what promised to be an exciting duel was overshadowed by tragedy when Guzman suffered a significant injury in the second quarter. Although there were bright spots and special moments, the absence of the two projected powerhouses, Guzman and Estes, proved insurmountable for the Panthers. Their main challenge is personnel: they urgently need to get their power players either replaced or into the country if they hope to assert themselves in the Toucan Conference.

Essentially, the Panthers must right their ship by next weekend, as their two upcoming games against the Corozal Sirrus Suns may very well serve as the first elimination series of the young season—only one team can advance to the conference championship. We’ll be watching the plane manifests closely over the next two weeks

6. corozal cerros suns-Toucan

The youngest team in the league entered the competition with much more than most expected. The Andres Campus Stadium, newly renovated by the Ministry of Sports, drew a large crowd eager to witness the historic debut of the Suns in the 2025 tournament. The Suns faced a tough matchup against the three-time champions, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks, and to the surprise of many, held their own for the entire first half and most of the third quarter.

Considering this was both the management’s and players’ first time in the arena and city, it was a welcome and refreshing experience for everyone who attended and contributed to making this a reality in Corozal. Visibly nervous, the team struggled with poor shooting all night, and their turnovers only helped give the Sharks extra possessions. Over the past two weeks, the team has had time to make necessary adjustments, but life gets no easier as the number two team in the league, the Belize City Thunderbolts, comes to town with plenty of energy and motivation. Corozal will need to grow up quickly if they want to defend their city against a Thunderbolts attack that has scored 100+ points in all three of its games so far.

The lone bright and consistent spot for the Suns was Ray “Uncle” Cruz, a champion in his own right. Cruz proved that all he needed was time and opportunity; now, the question is whether he can maintain that consistency. The Suns have firepower in Greg Rudon, a former 50-point scorer, and last year’s starting small forward and sharpshooter, Brandon Rogers. With Rupert Brown—an experienced coach with a teacher’s heart—at the helm, the young players are expected to develop quickly, and this team should get stronger as the season progresses.

5. Belmopan Capital City Kings - Mayan

Every king needs a kingdom, and that is the task facing Capital City this weekend. After being blown off the court last Saturday night, the Kings have had two weeks to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. Changes are in the air for the Kings, but these personnel adjustments are being kept close to the vest. The disappointing performance of the foreign players left a lasting impression after the dust settled, so any changes are likely to come from that group. However, many outside observers believe the roster itself isn’t the problem—Belmopan is stacked with talent. The real questions revolve around who was playing when and how mentally ready the team was to take the floor on opening night. Perhaps some misplaced confidence and a blatantly late arrival contributed to a lackluster approach, leading to an early 25+ point deficit in the first half.

Now, retribution time has arrived, with the team marketing this matchup as the “revenge game.” Both Cayo and Belmopan are coming off losses, and given the competitive nature of the Mayan Conference, neither can afford another defeat this weekend. Belmopan needs this win if they are to build a fanbase that will rally behind a well-constructed local roster. Their two young stars, Jayden Lopez and Nissani Mendez, need to step up their production if the Kings want to hold court in the Mayan Conference.

The bright spot for the Kings was their second-half play, as the entire team matched the Western Ballers point for point after falling into a deep hole. The emergence of a leader on the court also bodes well for the Kings’ rebound, as Brandon “Puddy” Flowers—a champion—emerged as an unstoppable force in the paint from the wing in the second half. Arik and the Ballers will need a plan to stop Puddy, or it could be a 30+ point performance on Friday night from arguably one of the best power forwards in the country.

Highly recruited John Kelly, expected to be the breakout player of the season after his dominant performance in the 2024 Championship series, has yet to find his footing and identity in the capital. Rookie Head coach Stephen “Merte” Williams has had two weeks to review the tapes and was seen in Griga watching the Ballers in person this past weekend. Most of next week’s analysis will focus on how well he adjusted to the Western Ballers. We’ll be eagerly awaiting those adjustments.

4. cayo western Ballers – mayan

The Western Ballers’ fall from first place to fourth is less about their own performance this weekend and more about the personnel adjustments made by the two teams of three teams that passed them. This shift is a testament to the evolving talent pool in the league rather than any major missteps on their part. However, there were still plenty of mistakes that contributed to their slide during their second game in Griga last weekend.

The most glaring issue was the lack of consistent performance from Dennis Flowers III. After a 25+ point performance in the home opener, where Flowers looked like the best point guard in the league, he was significantly stifled in Griga by two point guards determined to show that the race for top dog is far from over. Another concern for the Western Ballers was the play of Darnell Oden. In game one, Oden looked unstoppable in the paint, creating the illusion that, combined with the well-documented outside shooting of the Caty boys and the high-flying duo of Arik Nicholas and Ciego, this would be a complete team. But in Griga, his production and presence in the paint were nonexistent.

Sharpshooter Curry and the rest of the young guns also struggled, as the bench and supporting cast for the Western Ballers never seemed to get off the bus. As a young team, their main challenge is how the bench and supporting players perform in hostile environments, and they failed that test this time around.

The one bright spot for the Western Ballers in their loss was the emergence of a clear leader both on and off the court in Arik Nicholas. Arik was unfazed by the famously intimidating crowd—in fact, he seemed energized by them. His 20+ points performance, which included four spectacular dunks, justified his preseason hype and has thrust him into the conversation as one of the top players to watch in the league.

Cayo needs to prove they can win on the road before they can be seriously considered Jaguar Cup contenders, especially since the road to the Mayan Conference title will run through some of the league’s most experienced road warriors in Evans, Coope Lopez, and Eyan Rene. They’ll have the chance to change that narrative this weekend when they travel to face a Capital City Kings team already desperate for a win and unable to afford an 0-2 start in the Mayan Conference.

3. Dangriga Dream Ballers - Toucan

After suffering a 20-point blowout at the hands of the Thunderbolts in the season opener, the Dream Ballers didn’t limp home to lick their wounds. On the contrary, they appeared strangely confident and unrattled by the loss. What was clear in that game, however, was that Griga had no presence in the paint and was simply too small to handle the Thunderbolts’ forwards.

On Thursday, Griga stunned the basketball community by announcing the addition of former Cayo Western Ballers and San Pedro Tiger Sharks big man, James “Hammer” Milton. By all indications, Milton bears little resemblance to the player he once was—Hammer 2.0 still brings his trademark intense inside presence and gritty paint play, but now adds a three-point shot and impressive ball-handling, including coast-to-coast drives and assist-generating outlets.

With the addition of longtime NEBL forward Quinton Bowen and the emergence of power forward Antonio Flowers, Griga has made major adjustments over the past tow week under the steady hands of the only GM in the league. Seems like RAN does RUN things in the South. The usual suspects—Boogie Mitchell, Daniel Conque, Raheem Thurton, Kevon Lourie and Deshawn Brackett—the Griga Dream Ballers who annihilated the high-flying Western Ballers at home looked nothing like the team that had their heads handed to them just a week earlier in Belize City, where they gave up 100 points to the Thunderbolts. What a difference a week makes. The Cayo Western Ballers proved themselves worthy of their high praise and former number one status, but they were no match for Milton, whose 32 points and 13 rebounds marked the most dominant performance in the young 2025 BPBL campaign.

One thing is clear: traveling to Griga is something no team in the BPBL is looking forward to, as it’s unlikely anyone will escape the league’s most intimidating home court with a win. The arrival of Milton has vaulted the Griga Dream Ballers to number two status, though they have yet to prove they can repeat this performance on the road. The Thunderbolts have a loss to the Sharks on the road and a big win against Griga at home. They won’t meet again this season to determine the best team on a head-to-head basis, but we only have to wait a couple of weeks to see what happens between the Tiger Sharks and Griga in Griga to have the comparisons needed to determine the true top three teams in the league at this time.

Until then, we’ll place the Dream Ballers in third place behind the Thunderbolts, who have posted three straight 100-point games, earning the right to keep their number two status.

2. Belize city thunderbolts - mayan

The battle for the city was lost in convincing fashion to the city rivals, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks. This defeat cost the Bolts the chance to solidify their meteoric rise to the top of the Jungle Habitat. Now, the once-soaring Thunderbolts have lost their bright sunshine, and the humidity in the air is no longer conducive to lightning strikes.

The bright side of Saturday night’s performance was that the Bolts once again put up 100+ points against their third straight opponent. The flip side, however, is that this time they gave up more than 100 points and looked powerless to stop the Sharks both in the paint and in transition. One standout was the emergence of Glance “Coope” Lopez’s legendary scoring ability. Coope burst onto the scene by recording the league’s first 30+ point game (a feat matched by Hammer Milton the same night) and seemed unstoppable in the open floor, as well as against both zone and man defenses.

However, if the Thunderbolts want to enter the jungle and compete for the Jaguar Championship, they must address a glaring problem in the middle. Matthew Young is a force offensively in the paint, but he lacks the above-the-rim athleticism needed to defend the league’s many high flyers. Larry Johnson is not fond of the physicality inside and seems more comfortable on the perimeter. The best option off the bench at forward is U17 national team standout Michael Caseras, who is playing the best U17 basketball behind Leggy Griffin, but at 6’7”, he lacks the toughness, physicality, and physique to battle bodies in the paint.

With few options inside, the Thunderbolts’ posts were exposed on the forward line, with three Sharks playing hot potato with offensive rebounds all night. Until they solve this issue, they will struggle against all the big teams—which, for now, means the Cayo Western Ballers, Griga Dream Ballers, and San Pedro Tiger Sharks. And last time I checked, only two teams are invited to the Jaguar Championship dance.

Even with Coope scoring 22 and Victor adding 20, it still wasn’t enough to keep up with the Sharks. It’s hard to imagine both Coope and Victor needing to score 30 each just to give the Thunderbolts a chance at victory. The Thunderbolts have some work to do.

1. San Pedro Tiger Sharks-Toucan

The strategic actions and long-term vision of Rico Black have long been the driving force behind the Tiger Sharks’ success. A master planner and personnel arranger, Rico has always been notorious for prioritizing performance over friendships or big names. In the ocean of San Pedro, Rico is the big shark with the largest bite radius and the highest pound-per-square-inch power delivery.

This week, the Sharks faced a tumultuous storm in the form of the undefeated Belize City Thunderbolts and proved once and for all that Sharks are not so easily struck by a thunderbolt of lightning. The Bolts entered the matchup riding high after scoring 207 points in two blowout victories against the Dream Ballers and the lowly PG Panthers, seeming poised to establish themselves as the undisputed apex predator in the jungle. But the Tiger Sharks had other plans.

The arrival of Jehad Wright brought the defense and offense they lacked in game one, along with the experience of a championship guard and the pedigree and IQ of a national team player. Long considered the only person who can match the venerable two-time MVP Victor Evans, Jehad’s addition made the Sharks instant contenders. If that wasn’t enough, Rico Black also secured the one Belizean player who could be considered a foreigner by his skills, yet is a consummate Belizean with an impeccable high school basketball hall of fame career. We are talking about the former national team leader and face of Belize basketball for the past 5 years, in the person of Hon. Minister Devin Daly.

Devin, Jehad, Arana, and American Malik Hunt proved to be the combination that catapulted the Sharks to number one status and made them the frontrunners for the Jaguar Championship Title. The Sharks were simply too complete for the Thunderbolts, forcing them to rethink their options at center and sending them back to the drawing board in search of answers. Brian White has emerged as the number one power forward in the league by posting a 23 piece on the boards on Saturday night. With Brian, Hunt and Leggy Griffin controlling the paint, Daily hitting from distance to keep the guards honest, and Arana and Jehad weaving through the spaces created, the Sharks looked complete, balanced, and clearly in control all night. The Sharks did give up 101 points to the Thunderbolts, suggesting that they need to sure up their defense to truly complete their dominance in this league.

The final score was closer than the game felt, and by the middle of the third quarter, it was clear that the Sharks are the best team in the league—for now.