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GROS ISLET, St Lucia, May 28, 2016 – It will be a battle between
Central Americans when the final series of the Inter Zonal
NORCECA Men’s Beach Volleyball Continental Cup take place on
Sunday at Pigeon Point Beach.
Guatemala and Costa Rica both advanced to the series for first
place with 3-0 victories over Trinidad & Tobago and U.S. Virgin
Islands, respectively, on Saturday. Guatemala’s Julio Recinos
and Luis Garcia and Costa Rica’s Bryan Monge and Granier Escobar
each recorded two decisive victories.
Despite being somewhat shorter, the men from Guatemala made
their intentions clear, as they withstood the many blistering
slams and intimidating blocks. Though team TNT fought
valiantly, they seem unable to recover from the constant body
blows thrown by their opponents.
Whether the sun shone or the rain fell, Costa Rica seemed
focused on victory as they defeated the United States Virgin
Islands. Costa Rica’s level of intensity seemed amplified as
they passed better and spiked even harder. The USVI did not
cower from the challenge but were out classed.
A cool overcast morning was the backdrop to another
intrazonal
encounter as St. Lucia defeated Barbados 3 games to 1.
Barbados and St. Lucia were on even keel as both had won one
game each. With the match series in the balance, Bissette and
Clercent of St. Lucia used their power game to silence the more
experienced “Bajan” team of Elwyn Oxiey and Ronald
Rice. St. Lucia’s second team of Tevin ST. Jean and Darnel
Eudoxie secured the match by defeating the Barbados second team
of Daran Gill and Shaquille Barker.
Suriname won the series against St. Kitts and Nevis as they
sailed to victory with a score line of three games to one
(3:1). While its evident Suriname played well, St. Kitts and
Nevis offered some stout resistance with good beach ball skills.
Suriname’s poise and experience made a difference in this game.
Nicaragua, fresh from their flight difficulties, worked out
their frustrations on team Jamaica by taking three games in
succession, with the score being 3: 0. Nicaragua played like a
flawless computer program that exploited any weakness in their
opposition. Despite this, Jamaica gave a good account of
themselves and improved their score with every game.
El Salvador was very pragmatic in their 3: 1 defeat of Curacao.
Both teams exhibited good fundamentals, but the former was more
businesslike and very consistent. El Salvador was not deterred
but forged ahead to victory. Curacao though young and
inexperienced, played well and will be a force to reckon with
in the future.
A Golden set thriller left the crowd begging for more and crying
at the same time as Nicaragua out dueled host St. Lucia 3:2 to
win a pivotal match. The home crowd cheered, screamed as
Bissette and Clercent battled Ruben Mora and Dany Lopez in the
final two games as gravity defying saves and spectacular spikes
were the order of the day. Unfortunately one red card
was issued to a Nicaraguan player for abusing the official.
That unfortunate event was quickly forgotten as Nicaragua
celebrated winning an exciting match.
The experienced El Salvador quartet easily defeated their
Surinamese counterparts with a score of 3:0. The Central
Americans were relentless in the style of play as they hammered
when necessary and finessed when needed. Surinam also gained
some valuable experience from playing such an opponent.
Losers Bracket
St. Lucia 3, Barbados 1
Elwyn Oxiey/Ronald Rice d Tevin St. Jean/Darnel Eudoxie 2-0
(21-18, 21-15), Julian Bissette/Joseph Clercent d Daran Gill/Shaquille
Barker 2- 0 (21-7; 21-12), Bissette/ Clercent d Oxiey/ Rice 2-0
(21-11, 22-20), St. Jean/ Eudoxie d Gill/ Barker 2-0 (21-15,
21-19).
Nicaragua 3, Jamaica 0
Ruben Mora/Dany Lopez d Stedroy Collins/Rohan Jeffers 2-0
(21-14, 21-6) Denis Lopez/Gerson Contreras d Mark Lewis/Ryck
Webb 2-0 (21-18; 21, 17), Mora/Lopez d Lewis/Webb 2-0 (22-20,
21-18).
Suriname 3, St. Kitts & Nevis 1
Keven Sporkslede/Vliet Antoine d Stedroy Collins/Rohan Jeffers
2-0 (21-8, 21-12), St. Claire Hodge/Kemoroy Percival d Joshua
Dwarkasing/Frits Roberto Joval 2-0 (21-18, 29-27), Sporkslede/Vliet
d Hodge/ Percival 2-0 (21-14, 21-19), Dwarkasing/Frits d
Collins/Jeffers 2-0 (21-16, 21-13)
El Salvador 3, Curacao 1
Carlos Escobar/David Vargas d Giandro Tokaay/Henrich Daal 2-0
(21-12, 21-13) Franklin Flores/ Armando Guatemala d Darwin
Colina/Bonafasia Norandy 2-1 (16-21, 22-20, 15-10)
Escobar/Vargas d Colina/Bonafasia 2-0 (21-19, 21-17)
Flores/Guatemala d Tokaay/Daal 2-0 (24-22, 21-19).
Losers Quarterfinals
Nicaragua 3, St Lucia 2
Julian Bissette /Joseph Clercent d Denis Lopez/Gerson
Contreras 2-0 (26-24, 21-11), Ruben Mora/Dany Lopez d Tevin St.
Jean/Darnel Eudoxie 2-0 (21-14, 21-19), Bissette/Clercent d
Mora/Lopez 2- 0 (21-15, 26-24), Lopez/Contreras d St. Jean/Eudoxie
2-0 (21-17, 21-16), Golden Set: Mora/Lopez d Bissette/Clercent
(16-14).
El Salvador 3, Suriname 0
Franklin Flores/Armando Guatemala d Keven Sporkslede/Vliet
Antoine 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 15-8), Carlos Escobar/David Vargas d
Joshua Dwarkasing/Frits Roberto Joval 2-0 (21-13, 21-9),
Flores/Guatemala d Dwarkasing/Frits 2-0 (21-9, 21-14).
Semifinals
Costa Rica 3, U.S. Virgin Islands 0
Bryan Monge/Grainer Escobar d Marc Lomeli/Jake Dietrich 2-0
(21-18, 21-14) Richard Smith/Sebastian Valenciano d Brian Kwasy/Dillion
Lesniak 2-1 (15-21, 21-10, 16-14), Monge/Escobar d Kwasy/Lesniak
2-0 (21-18, 21-18).
Guatemala 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
Erik Flores/Erik Garrido d Francois Christian/Colin Bernard 2-0
(21-13, 21-12), Julio Recinos/Luis Garcia d Simon Blake/Daneil
Williams 2-1 (18-21, 21-18, 15-11), Recinos/Garcia d
Francois/Bernard 2-0 (21-19, 21-13). |
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