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Antigua/Barbuda men take care of home court to win Group A in
ECVA World Cup Qualifier
St. JOHNS, Antigua, September, 11, 2016 – It took four sets
for Antigua Barbuda to dispose of challengers Anguilla 3-1
(25-18, 22-25,33-31 and 25-13) and grabbed top honours in the
process.
The first set for the home team was almost flawless with Collin
Thomas getting his way with Spikes and combining with his
teammates to shut down the attack of Sherwin Richardson and
Calvin Samuel. Anguilla turned the tables on Antigua in set
number 2 and built a huge lead and when Antigua tried to
comeback it was too late. The game was essentially decided in
the 3rd set as there was little to separate both
teams. Numerous lead changes and tied scored all the way into
the 30’s. High tension and pressure ensued and eventually
Anguilla succumbed 31-33. Such was the effort poured out in the
third set by Anguilla that they had nothing left in the tank for
the fourth and showed little resistance by the time the final
point was won.
Collin Thomas ended with a game high 24 points. Two other
players in Adrian Constant (16) and Paul Richards (15)
contributed double figure to the winning cause.
Sherwin Richardson was the leading scorer for the losing team
with 13 points.
Antigua/Barbuda ruled the scoreboard with 44 to 33 in Spikes; 12
-8 in Blocks and 8 to 3 in Serves.
Coach Carl Williams of Antigua was quick to point to areas where
he felt his team was superior. “I think we were mentally and
physically fitter than them and this manifested especially in
the fourth set. From the effort put in by our guys in the second
set that we lost set I knew we had the edge on them”, he
intimated.
Jason Liburd of Anguilla was upbeat and accepted defeat
graciously. “I thought Antigua played a great game and the one
area where we thought we could match them did not spark enough
for us tonight. Richardson our #1 player was not completely fit
and simply could not carry on when it mattered.
Both teams however qualify for the next round of matches in
early 2017
Final positions 1st Antigua/Barbuda, 2nd Anguilla, 3rd
St. Eustatius and 4th Montserrat. |
