Our history

Turning a dream into a franchise, however, required more than just passion—it needed money, structure, and ownership. Kyle Zuniga reached out to longtime friend Francis Arzu in Belmopan, who brought together a group of trusted individuals willing to invest in the project. That group—Francis Arzu, Jason Badillo, Jason Solis, and majority shareholder Anthony Fuller—formed FABS Enterprises, a business entity that would officially own the Panthers. The company was incorporated on July 26, 2019, and exactly one month later, on August 26, 2019, the Punta Gorda Panthers were registered as a professional basketball team.

The story of the Punta Gorda Panthers began not in a boardroom, but on the hardwood courts of Belize’s amateur basketball scene. In 2019, Kyle Zuniga and Demore Santino launched a U23 team to compete in the Amateur Basketball League (ABL). Their roster—young, hungry, and highly competitive—quickly turned heads in the tournament. It wasn’t long before the team’s dominance sparked a bigger ambition: to elevate basketball in the south by joining the professional ranks. The idea was bold, and the challenges were many, but the belief was strong. Punta Gorda had talent, and it was time the country saw it on a national stage.

In January 2020, the Panthers made their debut in the NEBL with a statement win over the Belmopan Bandits in front of a sold-out crowd. The energy was electric, and for a moment, it felt like the South had truly arrived. But the celebration was short-lived. Consecutive losses to the San Pedro Tigersharks and Belize City Defenders revealed the growing pains of a new franchise, and attendance quickly began to dip. Behind the scenes, ownership tensions were brewing, and the team was bleeding financially. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it shut the season down entirely—but for the Panthers, it may have been a necessary pause. The break offered relief from mounting losses and space for reflection.