T&T U-17 boys to play for gold medal at CAZOVA

WALTER ALIBEY

Senior Multimedia Reporter

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T&T’s Under-18 volleyballers cruised into the final of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association’s (CAZOVA) Under-17 Championships, where they will clash with group leaders Barbados for the gold medal.

The young T&T charges have had a fluctuating affair that led to a 1-1 record, which left them in the third position yesterday. And needing to win when they faced third-place Suriname, the team coached by Curtis Burkette made no mistake in claiming the victory after five sets at the G. C. Foster College, Physical Education and Sports Centre in Jamaica.

Following a convincing triumph over the Jamaicans, the young T&T team raced out to a 2-0 advantage by holding off the Surinamese 25-18 and then 25-22.

But their smooth flow was interrupted by a desperate fightback by the Surinamese, who later prevailed in the third set 25-12 for a 2-1 scoreline. And with the Surinamese seemingly grabbing the position of ascendancy, they then levelled the match 2-2 by holding off Burkette’s charges a second time, 25-18, forcing a five-set decider.

However, the boys in red, white, and black lifted their game in the decider and claimed the win 15-11 to secure their second win of the tournament and seal the runner-up spot in the group with eight points, while the Surinamese remain in third with five points.

The top two teams in the four-team group will now play for the gold and silver, while third-place Suriname will fancy their chances against the Jamaicans for the bronze medal. The Barbadians are comfortably at the summit of the standings with 10 points, coming courtesy of their triumphs over Suriname and Jamaica.

Meanwhile, the T&T girls will play for the bronze medal today after completing the group stage with a 1-2 record. This after they went down to Suriname 2-3.

The T&T girls drew first blood by prevailing over their counterparts in the opening set 25-16. They later reinforced their position by holding off the Surinamese in the second set 25-21, but they let it all slip in the remaining matches.

Their attempt to win the game in three sets went wrong when the Surinamese reduced the scoreline to 2-1 with a 25-16 triumph in the third set before levelling the scores at two apiece in the fourth set, 25-21.

Still, with the decision to play, the T&T girls felt they could have closed off the group with a win. Instead, the girls in red, white, and black folded as the Surinamese prevailed 15-10 to claim the win.