Bahamas sweeps Aruba for CAZOVA Championship spot

CHEM TRENELLE, RIVIERE SALEE, MARTINIQUE, OCTOBER 23, 2016: Jamaal Ferguson and captain Princ’tanique Wilson were joint top scorers for the second straight match as Bahamas swept aside Aruna in straight sets (3-0) for a 2-0 record and top spot in their Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA)/FIVB World Championship Qualifier Men Group A series.

Coming off a hard fought five sets win over host Martinique on Saturday night, Bahamas looked a much improved unit against a youth Aruban line-up and came away with a 25-20, 25-12, 25-15 win in one hour and 21 minutes at the Palais Des Sports Riviere Salee.

The outside hitting duo of Ferguson, who normally occupies the libero position on the team and Wilson ended with 13 points each while European-based Byron Ferguson chipped in with eight, and Lorenzo Williams, six for the Bahamians.

Overall it was a much improved showing by the CAZOVA third ranked Bahamians who dominated their in-experienced opponents 40-20 on spikes, 8-5 on blocks, and also committed fewer errors, 19 to 24.

On the other side of the net, Aruba, which only arrived for the tournament on Saturday night due to a day and a half delay in Saint Martin, got a team high eight points from Fransua Angela while  Jorrik Roelofsen got seven, and Jonathan Jones and Dwayne Angela added four each.

Speaking after the match, Aruba captain Elmerlindos Robles De Medina despite the loss credited his players for putting up a fight.

“We had some problems to get to the tournament and we came out and tried our best, but it was not enough, so we have to come back and try again,” stated.

Wilson said, “We won the match, but as far as we go as a team we have to improve a lot for the next round.

“We need to get back to training as much as we can providing we get the facilities and work on all aspects of the match,”

Daan Kleinbussink, coach of Aruba also praised the efforts of his team despite the challenges faced.

“It took a while to get here after leaving home on Friday, and the boys still tried their best.

“We did not win the match, but we created a lot of chances for a closer score as we started well in most of the sets, but could not keep up the pressure.”

“We now have one more match that we must win and we will try our best.”

Covanc Mortimer, coach of the winning Bahamas team said he was satisfied with the improvements shown.

Mortimer also applauded the efforts of the Arubans whom he said will only get better in time.

With Bahamas securing top spot in the pool it qualified to compete in Pool E of the CAZOVA Championship in Trinidad and Tobago next year alongside automatic qualifiers Barbados, Group C winners Haiti and the second placed team from the third and final Round One Pool B qualifiers which takes placed will take place in Suriname from October 28-31, involving the host country, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Turks & Caicos.

The winner of the Aruba and Martinique match gets second in Pool A and joins top ranked nation and two-time reigning CAZOVA champions Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao and the runner-up from Pool C.

The eight-team final will the top two teams overall will again qualify to the next round of FIVB World Championship qualification while crowning the eventual champions of CAZOVA.

At the NORCECA Continental, the CAZOVA duo will join the USA, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico along with two from Central America and two from the Eastern Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (ECVA) in the top-12 qualification process to determine the eventual qualifiers to the World Championships.