Suriname win again to take CAZOVA lead
PARIMARIBO, Suriname, August 12 – After winning one of the most
dramatic sets in the history of the tournament to draw first
blood, Suriname were still forced to come from behind to edge
Bahamas tonight in the Men’s CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball
Association) Championships here at the Ismay Van Wilgen Sporthal.
And as a result of the 42-40, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11 triumph
in a tick under two and a half hours, the hosts are the only
unbeaten team after two rounds of matches as they had defeated
Haiti in four sets in the opening match of the tournament the
day before.
After they lost the first set on the 19th set point
despite saving 13 of them, Bahamas bounced back from the
heartbreak to take two competitive sets in a row.
But Suriname, who had lead for a long way in the third,
dominated the fourth, and with the teams deadlocked at six-all
in the decider, won four points to virtually drive the nail in
the visitors’ coffin.
Three players from the host country – Gino Nardeen (28), Keven
Sporkslede (26) and Zefano Breinburg (24) – each scored in
excess of 20 points, while captain Princtanique Wilson led from
the front for Bahamas with 24 points.
Suriname had the advantage in kills (74-68) and blocked shots
(12-7), but Bahamas led 4-2 in service winners.
Casey Foe A Man, captain of the winning team, noted that
Suriname is a younger team that Bahamas and he felt confident
that they would be able to fight back when he sensed them begin
to tire in the fourth set.
Their Cuban coach Sergio Valdes stated: “Difficult game, Bahamas
have a very good team.” Our aim is to beat Trinidad (and
Tobago) tomorrow morning, and if we don’t we will have to beat
Barbados in the night to reach the final.”
“We made mental mistakes, trading punches with them was not to
our advantage.” We have some things to work out before our next
match” said Bahamas captain Wilson.
“The first set was crucial, we should not have lost it” was the
opinion of their coach Lloyd Davis, who knows that his team now
have to beat Haiti tomorrow night to have any chance of winning
the tournament.
Bahamas began their campaign with a straight-set triumph over
Barbados in the morning session and they will tackle two-time
defending champions T&T in the final match of the round-robin
stage tomorrow morning.
The top two teams after the first stage will square off for the
gold medal that night, right after the 6 p.m. bronze-medal
match. |