...national team’s fifth-place finish best ever at CAC Games

The management of the Super 10 Basketball League (SBL) has congratulated to the Trinidad and Tobago senior women’s basketball team for their performance in the 2014 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games where they placed a creditable fifth following their 70-61 win over Costa Rica on Sunday in Mexico.
Despite trailing in the first half 31-38 T&T led by centres Patrice Edwards (captain) and Afeisha Noel with 17 points each rallied to beat El Salvador 70-61 in the final play-off for 5th and 6th positions.
They were supported by point-guard Jowan Ortega 14 points and centre Samantha Wallace with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
T&T won three of its five matches at the CAC games while Jamaica, who are the reigning CBC Champions were beaten by Costa Rica 58-52 for 7th place. Jamaica ended last with no wins in five matches.
In a media release issued on Monday, the management of the league said “It’s the country’s best placing at the CAC Games which makes it a very proud and creditable performance for T&T which placed fourth at the Caribbean Basketball Championships (CBC) in July”
The SBL will also be placing greater emphasis on its women’s division in the upcoming season which will jump-off on December 14 at the Jean Pierre Sports complex, Port of Spain.
“The Trinidad and Tobago women have played in every CBC Championships since 2008 and Centrobasket Tournaments in 2009, 2011 and 2012,” the release added.
“This is the start that T&T basketball needed to move away from the CBC and Centrobasket tournaments in its attempt to vie for more top quality competition that is recognised under the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The next stage is the Pan American Games and FIBA Americas tournament. The leadership of the technical staff headed by Coach Christopher Jackson Charles and team skipper Patrice Edwards must be commended.”

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Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath said that forking out millions of dollars to host the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 semi-finals and finals for the next two years is not in the best interest of local cricket.
In a TTCB press release yesterday, Bassarath said “Hosting six matches for $42 million does not make any sense to us when we feel that the funds are desperately needed elsewhere, for instance to pay the debt owed to the T&T Cricket Board amounting close to $24 million which has accumulated over the past four years.”
According to the TTCB press release, a proposal currently before Cabinet for the allocation of more than US$7 million towards the staging of the semi-finals and final of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 for two years. The release said “TTCB officials are shocked about the development, saying the returns are questionable on a project which hands over more than TT $42 million to a private foreign entity to stage only six matches in T&T over two years.”
“The TTCB has no connection with the CPL. We do not prepare the teams nor pick the final XI or stage the matches. So there is no opportunity for the local game to get any trickled down effect for the exorbitant sum of the money being talked about,” said the TTCB president about the latest developments.
The release noted that “apart from settling the outstanding debt to the TTCB, it was also felt that funds destined for the CPL could be better utilised in the development of the National Cricket Centre at Balmain, Couva up to international level.”
“If Government is really interested in getting value for money it should support the development of the sport at the grassroots level which helps builds communities, creates opportunities for young people, both male and female throughout the country,” the TTCB release added.

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TRINIDAD and Tobago failed to win a set when the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Men’s Volleyball Tournament served off Tuesday in Veracruz, Mexico. The Caribbean champions were rank outsiders against the hosts and were beaten 25-19, 25-18, 25-21 in 72 minutes.
However Simon Blake scored ten points and was the only player on either team to reach double figures. And veteran skipper Nolan Tash contributed nine points.
The Mexicans had the edge in kills (36-27), blocked shots (4-3) and service winners (7-5) in the fourth and final match on the schedule. And in the other Group A encounter, Dominican Republic defeated Colombia 25-18, 25-19, 27-25.
There was a major stunner in Group B as three-time defending champs Puerto Rico were defeated 25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 29-27 by Venezuela. However the Cubans restored some sanity to the group with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-15 victory over Bahamas.
The group winners will advance directly into Saturday night’s semi-finals, while the runners-up and third-placed teams will contest tomorrow night. The champions will be crowned on Sunday. T&T will tackle Dominican Republic when the group stage of the tournament ends today.

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Olympic sailor Andrew Lewis is revamping his training technique in preparation for participation in pre-Olympic qualifying event now taking place around the world, as he works to secure a place for T&T in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Having previously worked with a coach from Peru, Lewis was now in the care of an Italian.

In a G-Sport interview, he said, “This is something completely opposite from what I used to do. I used to work with a South American coach in Peru, now I am working with an Italian. The European style is totally different from the South American style. I would say it’s very military-like; a day-to-day programme, which is set in stone. And, it has a very nice progression to it.”

He added, “I never had a programme like this. I am really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I’ve been feeling excellent. I have had a lot of positives coming of it so far.”

Lewis, through his relationship with American laser sailor Charlie Buckingham, travelled to Long Beach, California, where he joined the United States training camp for two months in preparation for the World Championships, which took place in Santander, Spain, back in September. That event marked the start of qualification events for Rio Olympics 2016.

Of that experience, he said “You don’t get into jar with these guys very often. It’s a big privilege for a small guy like me from T&T to join the Americans. They realised my talent in the light-wind, which they were still working to master. Similarly, I wanted to achieve their technique when dealing with heavy winds. We have a little bit to get from each other. We are competitive, but we are very good friends and the only way to get better is training with the best. We’ve got to take what we can from each other and may the best man win,” he said.

Apart from that training camp, Lewis described his US tour experiences for 2014 as “successful,” having achieved top ten places in almost all of his races, leaving him in a good competitive position.

Lewis said, “That’s where I need to be right now. My goal is to consistently be in the top ten to be able to target medals. I am hitting my target which is nice and I am improving as much as I can. I went to Europe to do some meets. I suffered an injury, but everything is good now. I finished off the tour very well with some top five races, which is what I needed to be doing. Eventually, it would be the top three and then the medals start to come.”

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...George bags T&T’s 7th medal in judo at

The Trinidad and Tobago hockey women’s team just missed out on a bronze medal after losing 2-1 to Mexico in their bronze medal match on the penultimate day of the hockey competition at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Veracruz, Mexico, yesterday.
At the High Performance Centre in Veracruz, the T&T women took an early 1-0 lead after Alanna Lewis scored in the third minute but the Mexicans were persistent and eventually leveled the scores in the 37th with Michel Navarro getting the equaliser. Mexico sealed the win in the 48th minute when Ana Juarez scored the final item of the match.
While the women missed out on a medal, the men’s team are assured of one. Today, the T&T stickmen will go for the gold when they face Cuba in the gold medal match at the High Performance Centre. The T&T women’s basketball team defeated El Salvador 70-61 at the Benito Juarez Auditorium to finish the tournament in fifth place.
After trailing 18-20 and 31-38 in the first and second quarters, T&T came alive in the third to take 59-51 lead before closing off the victory in style. Afeisha Noel and Patrice Edwards both scored 17 points in the victory while Samantha Wallace chipped in with 16 and Jowan Ortega added 14.
On the first day of the squash competition yesterday, T&T’s Colin Ramasra and Kale Wilson both had easy victories to move into the round of 16 of the men’s singles competition which was scheduled to take place late yesterday.
Ramasra defeated Barbados’ Gavin Cumberbatch 3-0 in his round of 32 match while Wilson overcame Rhett Cumberbatch 3-0 in his round of 32 game. The pair will also team up today for the round of 16 men’s doubles clash against Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Christopher George claimed Trinidad and Tobago’s sixth bronze medal at these games on Saturday in the men’s judo competition at the World Trade Center. George defeated Jesse De Leon in the men’s 100 kilogram category in the bronze medal round of the competition. In the cycling road race yesterday, T&T’s Emile Abraham and Varun Maharajh both failed to finish the course.

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Trinidad and Tobago’s women Soca Warriors will enter a live-in training camp from tomorrow for their final week of preparations for the all-important FIFA Women’s World Cup final leg qualifying match against Ecuador at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain which takes place next Tuesday.
Head Coach Randy Waldrum will lead his team into the camp with sessions at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and the team will be reside at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Waldrum said the team is in solid shape at the moment but this week will be crucial towards its final state of readiness for the clash with Ecuador.
“We’ll have all the players together this week and we hope to have them all fit and healthy and mentally ready for the match on Tuesday. We’ve had some of the players with the exception of some of them from the US, in training over the past few days with the focus being on strength and conditioning and that went quite well for us,” Waldrum told TTFA Media.
“It’s going to be a big week ahead and I think everyone is ready for it. I know the girls and the staff are all eager and focused and the people who have to get things ready off the field of play at the TTFA and the other personnel are all doing what they have to,” he added.
T&T Swedish-based forward Ahkeela Mollon said the team would not be overawed by the run of events from now until the final whistle on Tuesday. “We’ve been training really hard for the past week and the sessions have been quite good. The mood is really good at the moment and we’re looking forward to this week with all the players assembling in camp,” Mollon said.
“We’re all really excited about the 12th Warrior and the fans coming out and giving us that support. We’re at home but the key for us is to stay focus and humbled and go out there and play as we know we can and get the result,” she added.
Dernelle Mascall says the physical sessions have been intense but worth the while. “We’ve been having two sessions a day so it’s really intense but it’s all down to ensuring we’re physically ready for the match. Hopefully by mid next week we’ll be a bit more settled and focusing on game specific preparations,” Mascall said.
“I think we’re all really excited about playing before a large home crowd. We want that 12th warrior behind us. We would have liked to have qualified out of the CONCACAF stage but this opportunity to do it at home is really a great opportunity for us,” added Mascall.
The TTFA on Friday launched an official T-Shirt campaign in support of the women’s Soca Warriors for the December 2 “Winner Takes All” encounter. The shirts are available at all Fan Club Outlets-- Movietowne Port of Spain, Trincity and Gulf City Mall, and Heritage Sports in Scarborough, Tobago. They cost $150 (adults) and $120 (children).
The Ministry of Sport and the Sportt Company of T&T are partnering with the TTFA to support all activities relating to the December 2 match and fans can purchase their tickets at Kenny’s Sports Centre outlets, Skinner Park (San Fernando), The Fan Club (Movietowne, POS), Ramsingh’s Sporting Goods (Chaguanas), All Out (Queen’s Park Oval), Econo Supermarket (Sangre Grande) and Heritage Sport (Scarborough).
Tickets cost $200 (covered) and $100 (uncovered). Children under 12 are free in the uncovered section. The match kicks off at 6 p.m. and gates open at 3 p.m.

T&T SQUAD: Maylee Attin-Johnson, Kennya Cordner, Ayanna Russell, Patrice Superville, Ahkeela Mollon, Mariah Shade, Janine Francois, Arin King, Khadisha Debessette, Khadidra Debesette, Tasha St Louis, Anique Walker, Dernelle Mascall, Jasmine Sampson, Nia Walcott, Mira Walcott, Lauryn Hutchinson, Brianna Ryce, Kimika Forbes, Saundra Baron, Karyn Forbes, Rhea Belgrave.

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