Keven Sporkslede wins it for Suriname against Trinidad and Tobago

PARAMARIBO. Suriname, July 28, 2023.- Defending champion Suriname beat rival Trinidad and Tobago Friday in the semifinal. It was a five-set thriller 3-2 (17-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-15, 15-13)  victory for Suriname at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Paramaribo. Outside hitter and captain Keven Sporkslede scored the winning point in the fifth set and gets the home court on their feet going wild in the end.    

The opening set of the game Trinidad and Tobago forced Suriname to make a lot of errors, but the host fought back in the second set. Both teams were equally matched. In the decisive fifth set Suriname capitalized on the unforced errors Trinidad and Tobago made in the end of the match. It was a match Trinidad and Tobago like to redeem their self to the loss against Suriname in El Salvador during the CACSO Games.  committed 30 unforced errors and Jamaica 38.

Opposite Zefanio Breinburg led with 16 points, joined by outside hitter and team captain Keven Sporkslede with 12 points. Outside hitter David Pinas who made most of the points in de last set ended with 14 points for Suriname and Ethan Asimia also contributed with 16 points as middle blocker.  Outside hitter Daynte Stewart had a game high 19 points for Trinidad and Tobago and outside middle blocker and captain Akim Bushe contributed with 11 points.   

Furgill Ong A Fat, assistant coach of Suriname: “We are going for it. We have already had a bitter pill to swallow from Barbados on day one and we will have to beat them this time around. Today we showed that it is possible to play the final again after 2018.”

Keven Sporkslede, Captain of Suriname “We were 2-0 down today. Not the result we desired. But if we have to win like this if we're going to win like this. I think this makes us ready mentally against Barbados. That last attack was just a point for me to make and that's how I go about it every time. I play until the final whistle. I feel happy, but we're not there yet. We are now going to evaluate to see how we can adjust things.”

Anferney Schmeltz, Libero of Suriname: “After that first game we started to evaluate well when we lost 3-0 to Barbados. We saw that pass really fell out during that match. The coach has called on me to become a libero and it takes some getting used to my role in the team. I have to do what I can to help the team.”