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St. JOHN’s ANTIGUA , July 10, 2022 - Antigua
and Barbuda did not wilt under the pressure and
came from two sets down
to win 3-2(23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24, 15-11)
over St Lucia, and emerge as champions of
the 2022 Eastern
Caribbean Volleyball Association( ECVA) Senior
Men’s Championships.
It was an eruption of joy by players and
spectators when the final point was attained for
Antigua and Barbuda, at the YMCA Indoor
Facility.
But, the eventual winners looked dead and buried
after being down two sets to nil, but some
tactical adjustments, saw them surging back from
the third set, whilst St Lucia began to mount
their errors.
Antigua and Barbuda’s scoring was led by Adrian
Constant who hit 20 points. Aiding him were
Jamarie James and Cairon Davis, who both scored
15 points.
For St Lucia, Tevin St Jean scored 20; Sheldon
Descartes- 17 and Anfernee Ferdinand had 12.
On the night, Antigua and Barbuda were
proficient on Blocks, winning 22-9. St Lucia
though won on Attacks 46-43 and Serve aces 6-2.
Winning the title, was welcomed by Antigua and
Barbuda’s Head Coach- Fitzroy Benjamin.
With a smile from ear to ear, Benjamin disclosed
the formula used to subdue the St Lucians.
“ We changed the line- up, by taking our number
seven (Cairon Davis), our tallest player and
putting him in the middle… He was able to get
some good blocks from the second set onwards and
that helped us”. Benjamin related.
He also listed apparent fatigue amongst the St
Lucians as well as the vociferous Antigua home
support, which contributed to them rebounding
from the third set.
“ They were looking tired and began dinking the
ball low so our defence stepped … We had the
home crowd behind us and that helped us big
time”, Benjamin added.
For the St Lucia Head Coach- Terry Verdant, it
was a case of his team did not get their game
together on the big occasion.
“They were not blocking and were rushing the
game and even when they went to the front court,
they did not focus on the position of their
opponents and that would have worked against
us”, Verdant analysed.
He however praised his players for their efforts
in spite of not crossing the final.
Final standings:
1. Antigua and Barbuda 2. St Lucia 3. St
Maarten 4. Grenada 5. St Vincent and the
Grenadines 6.
Bermuda 7. St Kitts and Nevis 8. Dominica 9.
Anguilla. |
