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CASTAWAYS BEACH, Antigua, January 23, 2016 - Trinidad & Tobago
and U.S. Virgin Islands will contest the Men’s gold medal match
of the Second Round of NORCECA Continental Cup qualifiers to
this year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Beach Volleyball
Tournament on Sunday.
This after both TTO and USVI won their main draw semifinals
matches by similar 3-1 margins over Curacao and Jamaica
respectively.
However, for Trinidad and Tobago, it was its second ranked pair
of Simon Blake and Christian Francois who came up trumps this
time around, winning both their matches to overcome a mixed day
of results for the otherwise reliable top ranked duo of Fabien
Whitfield and Daneil Williams.
When the 12-team tournament comprising the six top teams each
from the first round of qualifiers in the Caribbean Zonal
Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) and the Eastern Caribbean
Volleyball Association (ECVA) served off on Friday, Whitfield
and Williams won both their matches and a fifth and deciding
“Golden Set” over Barbados to secure a 3-2 quarterfinal victory.
However against Curacao, Blake and Francois came to the party
with two crucial victories as they made up for their lackluster
first day play.
Whitfield and Williams (TTO-A) got their team off to another
winning via their 21-18, 23-21 defeat of a stubborn Henrich Daal
and Giandro Tokaay (Curacao-B), 21-18, 23-21 while Blake and
Francois (TTO-B) came from behind to beat Darwin Colina and
Norandy Bonafasia (Curacao-A), 12-21, 21-19, 15-7 for a 2-0 lead
in the best-of-five-match series and within a win of a spot in
Sunday’s final.
But, against the odds, Colina and Bonafasia (Curacao-A) stunned
a Whitfield and Williams 21-16, 21-18 to hand the T&T pair,
their first loss in qualification dating back to the first round
on home soil last May.
But any chance of the match going to a “Golden Set” was halted
by the energetic pairing of Blake and n Francois who made up for
their first day shabby display by powering past Daal and Tokaay
21-15, 21-15 under blistering sunshine to seal a 3-1 victory.
Jamaica also started well against USVI with its pair of veteran
Mark Lewis and Ryck Webb (Jamaica-A) rallying past Brian Kwasny/Dillon
Lusniak (USVI-B) 21-16, 11-21, 15-10 for a 1-0 advantage.
But that was the last bit of enjoyment for the “Reggae Spikers”
as Jake Die Trich and Marc Lomeli (USVI-A) won in three sets
over Triston Hitchman and Christopher Walters (Jamaica-B),
16-21, 21-10, 15-7 to even the match at 1-1 before Die Trich and
Lomeli humbled Lewis and Webb 21-12, 21-17, and Kwasny and
Lusniak closed out the match thanks to their defeat of Hitchman
and Walters, 21-13, 21-13.
Despite the losing their main draw semifinals, Curacao and
Jamaica were already assured of qualifying among the top eight
teams to the Third Round of NORCECA qualifiers along with both
finalists.
And they were joined by the quartet of Barbados, St Kitts/Nevis,
Suriname and St Lucia which all won their Losers Draw
round-of-16 matches against Dutch St Maarten (3-0), Antigua &
Barbuda (3-0), St Vincent and The Grenadines (3-2) and Dominica
(3-0) respectively.
In the quarterfinal round of the Losers Draw, St Lucia beat
Suriname 3-1 to set up a semifinal with Curacao while Barbados
blanked St Kitts/Nevis 3-0 and will face Jamaica in the other
Losers Draw semifinal for a place in the bronze medal match.
St Kitts/Nevis and Suriname will meet for seventh spot while the
losers of the Barbados/Jamaica and St Lucia/Curacao matches meet
for fifth.
Saturday's (Day Two) results:
Main Draw semifinals:
Trinidad & Tobago 3, Curacao 1
Fabien Whitfield/Daneil Williams TTO-A d Henrich Daal/Giandro
Tokaay CUR-B 21-18, 23-21
Simon Blake/Christian Francois TTO-B d Darwin Colina/Norandy
Bonafasia CUR-A 12-21, 21-19, 15-7
Darwin Colina/Norandy Bonafasia CUR-A d Fabien Whitfield/Daneil
Williams TTO-A 21-16, 21-18
Simon Blake/Christian Francois TTO-B d Henrich Daal/Giandro
Tokaay CUR-B 21-15, 21-15
US Virgin Islands 3, Jamaica 1
Mark Lewis/Ryck Webb JAM-A d Brian Kwasny/Dillon Lusniak ISV-B
21-16, 11-21, 15-10
Jake Die Trich/Marc Lomeli ISV-A d Triston Hitchman/Christopher
Walters JAM-B 16-21, 21-10, 15-7
Jake Die Trich/Marc Lomeli ISV-A d Mark Lewis/Ryck Webb JAM-A
21-12, 21-17
Brian Kwasny/Dillon Lusniak ISV-B d Triston Hitchman/Christopher
Walters JAM-B 21-13, 21-13
Losers Draw:
Round-of-16:
Barbados 3, Dutch St Maarten 0
Elwyn Oxley/Ronald Rice BAR-A d Riegmar Valies/Shawn Gumbs SXM-B
21-16, 25-23
Kyle Browne/Shaquille Barker BAR-B d Shiovanni Levenstone/Lincoln
Arrundell SXM-A 21-3, 22-20
Elwyn Oxley/Ronald Rice BAR-A d Shiovanni Levenstone/Lincoln
Arrundell SXM-A 21-10, 21-15
Suriname 3, St Vincent & The Grenadines 2
Furgil Ong A Fat/Keven Sporkslede SUR-A d Asmond Franklyn/Ronaldo
Franklyn VIN-B 21-17, 21-16
Cassius Franklyn/Welcome Delshun VIN-A d Antoine Vilet/Jermain
Lo Kioeng SUR-B 21-15, 21-17
Furgil Ong A Fat/Keven Sporkslede SUR-A vs Cassius
Franklyn/Welcome Delshun VIN-A 21-13, 21-11
Asmond Franklyn/Ronaldo Franklyn VIN-B d Antoine Vilet/Jermain
Lo Kioeng SUR-B 15-21, 21-16, 15-11
Golden Set: Furgil Ong A Fat/Keven Sporkslede SUR d Cassius
Franklyn/Ronaldo Franklyn VIN 15-12
St Kitts & Nevis 3, Antigua & Barbuda 0
St Clair Hodge/Kemroy Percival SKN-A d Adrian Constant/Rixon
Joseph ANT-B 21-16, 21-11
Stedroy Collins/Rohan Jeffers SKN-B d Collin Thomas/Jamarie
James ANT-A 21-18, 21-12
St Clair Hodge/Kemroy Percival SKN-A d Collin Thomas/Jamarie
James ANT-A 21-0, 21-0 (default)
St Lucia 3, Dominica 0
Joseph Clercent/Augustin Faulkner LCA-A d Arden Elmes/David
Toussaint DOM-B 21-7, 21-0
Darnel Eudoxie/Tevin St Jean LCA-B vs Yahn Florent/Kerwin George
DOM-A 21-14, 11-21, 15-13
Joseph Clercent/Augustin Faulkner LCA-A vs Yhan Florent/Kerwin
George DOM-A 21-10, 21-16
Losers Quarterfinals:
St Lucia 3, Suriname 1
Joseph Clercent/Augustin Faulkner LCA-A d Antoine Vilet/Jermain
Lo Kioeng SUR-B 21-16, 15-21, 15-12
Furgil Ong A Fat/Keven Sporkslede SUR-A d Darnel Eudoxie/Tevin
St Jean LCA-B 18-21, 21-14, 15-6
Darnel Eudoxie/Tevin St Jean LCA-B d Antoine Vilet/Jermain Lo
Kioeng SUR-B 21-17, 21-17
Joseph Clercent/Augustin Faulkner LCA-A d Furgil Ong A Fat/Keven
Sporkslede SUR-A 21-13, 21-21-12
Barbados 3, St Kitts & Nevis 0
Elwyn Oxley/Ronald Rice BAR-A d Stedroy Collins/Rohan Jeffers
SKN-B 21-12, 21-17
Kyle Browne/Shaquille Barker BAR-B d St Clair Hodge/Kemroy
Percival SKN-A 18-21, 21-14, 15-6
Elwyn Oxley/Ronald Rice BAR-A d St Clair Hodge/Kemroy Percival
SKN-A 21-13, 19-21, 15-7. |
