Bahamas ends T&T reign as CAZOVA champions  

ST CROIX, Virgin Islands, July 21, 2012 - Bahamian captain Prince'tanique was named as the tournament's "Most Valuable Player" as Bahamas withstood a fight back from T&T to be crowned new men's champions in five entertaining sets (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 20-25, 15-13) when the 14th Senior Men's Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championship concluded at the Ronald "Ranchee" Charles Gymnasium, Central High School, Kingshill, St Croix, US Virgin Islands on Saturday night.

Wilson, who was also voted as the tournament's "Best Spiker" and "Best Server", tallied 28 points while Ronaldo Knowles got 19 and Byron Ferguson 18 for the Bahamians in their 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 20-25, 15-13 triumph to secure their first ever senior men's Caribbean.

For T&T, Marc-Anthony Honore led with 23 points, captain Nolan Tash had 18 and Ryan Stewart 14. 

An elated Wilson said his team had the utmost respect for T&T but had a plan to jump on them early in the match which worked.

"They showed the heart of a champion by coming from two sets down to force a fifth set but in the end we are just grateful to have the win. It was very similar to what happened in 2010 in our semifinal meeting in that they won the first two sets before coming back and then winning the fifth set.”

"It's my first time winning a medal at the CVV level and also my first time claiming the gold medal and we intend to enjoy it as a team.

Devince Smith, the coach of the victorious Bahamian team said his team played a good match and even when it reached the fifth set he told his guys to remain focus.

Smith was also high in praise for T&T which showed it qualities as champions coming back from 2-0 down to extend the match to five sets.

"It’s been 22 years since we had waited for a win over Barbados in the CVC competition and now we have beaten T&T to win the title for the first time so credit to my players and we will continue to work to get to the next level. 

Meanwhile, Shawn Simpson had a team-high 20 points in leading Barbados past Jamaica in a tense five-set battle (25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 18-16) for the bronze medal.

In addition to Simpson, Fabian Cox tallied 16, Akeem Payne 11 and Daran Gill, eight for the Barbadians who held a 10-6 edge on service aces en route to the triumph.

For the Jamaicans, who dominated their opponents 16-11 on blocks, Mark Lewis led all scorers with 21 points, Ryck Webb had 19, Dennis Nelson 15, Conaradio ten and captain Dellan Brown, nine.

Barbadian captain Jamaal Need said overall it was a good match by both teams and was a real battle.

"My team came to play and we started off well but after the second set we went a little flat and Jamaica came to life in the match,” he said. "In the fifth set we started off close and then they went ahead but we were able to get back into the contest and in the end we came out on top."

Ludger Niles, coach of Barbados said it was a very tough match for his team once again against Jamaica and tonight he was glad to get the bronze.

"We had a great start and won the first two sets but credit to Jamaica though as they showed a lot of spirit and determination got back into the match and had us playing catch up but we also showed our strength and came back to keep our record of at least claiming a medal at each tournament,” Niles said. 

Also on Saturday, Martinique ended on a high after beating fellow French-speaking Island Guadeloupe in four sets for sixth position. Martinique, champions in 2008, won 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20 in one hour, 39 minutes.

Yoann Breleur led four players in double-digit scoring for Martinique with 16 points while Michel Larcher added 14, Gregory Alpha 13 and Rodolphe Maignan 10. On the otherhand, Mickael Marcelle was Guadeloupe's main scorer with 14 points and Ludovic Saha got 10.

Individual awards:

Best Scorer: Shawn Simpson (Barbardos)

Best Blocker: Byron Ferguson (Bahamas)

Best Setter: Saleem Ali (T&T)

Best Receiver: Yoann Breleur (Martinique)

Best Libero: Ryan Mahadeo (T&T)

Best Spiker: Prince'tanique Wilson (Bahamas)

Best Server: Prince'tanique Wilson (Bahamas)

Best Digger: Ryan Mahadeo (T&T)

Most Valuable Player: Prince'tanique Wilson (Bahamas)