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T&T, USVI reach Antigua Olympic qualifying final

 

   

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.