About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.

This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.

“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.

“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time.  His name will always be there on the records as a past winner.  Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer.  He did a lot for young golfers coming up.  He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”

Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.

"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.

“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid.  Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event.  The Jamaica Open is our premier event."

With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.

"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good.  We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place.  We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.

“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day.  We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before.  Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."

The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.

After almost a decade of offering scholarships to needy student-athletes across all sports in Jamaica, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s Pocket Rocket Foundation is planning to go a step further in the near future to help prepare beneficiaries for the next stage of their lives.

Founded in 2013, the Pocket Rocket Foundation has since offered scholarships to 62 student athletes. Some of the recipients in pursuit of careers outside of sport have achieved great success.

Among them are commercial pilot Jovaine Atkinson, a former student-athlete of Kingston College, Brenton Bartley, a former Campion College volleyball player, who now holds a degree in Civil Engineering and J’Voughn Blake, a former Jamaica College student now studying a Dartmouth College in the United States.

The five-time world 100m champion and two-time Olympic champion takes great pride in these achievements and others that she has been able to make possible through the work of the foundation.

“We were able to assist 62 students and also participate in our Christmas treat, our football Peace Through Sports Initiative, the Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Resource Centre in Waterhouse with computers and tablets for the students in the community, donated to children’s homes and just have a presence,” said the super-star athlete who holds a degree in Childhood Development from the University of Technology.

“I think for us as a foundation, where we want to go is having programmes geared towards student-athletes, educational equity, as well as sports and play community initiatives and I am really excited about the progress of the foundation and where we are heading and this time around we are making sure that we create impact when it comes to our student-athletes and making sure that they, too, have a future.”

Of the nine cohorts that have benefitted from the foundation’s largesse there is one that stands out, she said, even though all have a special place in her heart.

“I would have to say the first cohort is very dear to me. Out of that cohort we have had Brenton as well as Jovaine, who is a pilot and it’s just remarkable to see the transition. I am proud of all of them, to be honest, recently we saw J’Voughn Blake matriculate to university overseas and it’s just incredible to see what we have been able to accomplish being a part of the Pocket Rocket Foundation and the lives we were able to change.”

Not one to rest on her laurels or those of the foundation, Fraser-Pryce revealed that come January 2023, there are plans to introduce a new facet that will go even further in equipping student-athletes with the skills needed to thrive.

“What’s next is making sure that is having more community-based initiatives, mental wellness and we are definitely come January having our PR and Etiquette seminar for student-athletes making sure we equip them for the next stage of life, making sure we are giving them access to different things that will help them to advance their lives.”

Defending champions Garvey Maceo will continue their quest for back-to-back ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup titles after advancing to the quarterfinal round after a 10-0 home hammering of DeCarteret College in the second leg of their second-round fixture on Tuesday. Overall, they won the tie 15-0 after a 5-0 first leg win at Brooks Park on October 21.

With 32 teams advancing to the second round of the daCosta Cup, the teams played two leg knockout fixtures to determine the 16 teams to take part in the quarterfinal round. The quarterfinal round will involve four four-team groups with the winners advancing to the semi-finals.

Joining Garvey Maceo in Group 1 of the quarterfinal round will be Central High, Christiana High and Manchester High. Central advanced after beating Irwin High (Zone A winners in the preliminary round) 4-1 on aggregate. Christiana came out on the right side of a dogfight with Happy Grove, prevailing 4-3 on aggregate while Manchester beat B.B Coke 3-1 over two legs.

Group 2 will be contested by Cornwall College (Zone A runners up), Dinthill Technical (Zone K winners), Paul Bogle (Zone L winners) and William Knibb (Zone C winners). Cornwall College got to the quarters after beating Vere Technical 5-3 on penalties after the teams were deadlocked at 3-3 after two legs. Dinthill Technical now have 12 wins from as many games in this year’s daCosta Cup after 4-1 and 4-0 wins over Browns Town to advance. Paul Bogle beat Cedric Titus 2-0 on aggregate while William Knibb beat Petersfield 1-0 over two legs.

Clarendon College (Zone H winners), Frome Technical (Zone B winners), Rusea’s (Zone B runners up) and York Castle (Zone I winners) make up Group 3. Clarendon College hammered St. Mary Technical 12-1 on aggregate. Frome are still unbeaten this season after 3-0 and 3-1 wins over Titchfield, Rusea’s enjoyed a pair of 2-0 wins over Belair High and York Castle put seven past Seaforth over two legs without conceding.

Group 4 will be occupied by Edwin Allen (Zone H runners up), STETHS (Zone E winners), Manning’s (Zone D winners) and Glenmuir (Zone M winners). The second round saw STETHS secure a narrow 2-1 aggregate win over Holmwood, Edwin Allen beat McGrath 3-0, Manning’s get past Charlemont 4-2 and Glenmuir beat Tacky 10-1.

The quarterfinals get underway on Saturday.

Defending champions Kingston College were held to a surprising 0-0 draw by Jose Marti High in the first leg of their second-round tie in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup at Royal Lakes on Wednesday.

The second round of the Manning Cup will see 16 teams face off in two leg knockout fixtures to determine the eight teams to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kingston College advanced as winners of Group A while Jose Marti advanced as one of the best non-automatic qualifiers after finishing fourth in Group F.

Wednesday’s other second round fixtures saw Group B winners Jamaica College beat Norman Manley 5-0 at Calabar, STATHS (Group D winners) beat St. Jago (Group B third-place finishers) 2-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval and St. Catherine (Group B runners up) secure a 1-0 win over Wolmer’s Boys (Group E runners up) at Stadium East.

On Tuesday, Group E winners Mona High, the only team to have achieved maximum points from their 10 first round matches, continued their quest for a perfect season with a 2-0 win over Tivoli (third in Group C) at Stadium East.

Campion College (Group F runners up) and Charlie Smith (Group C winners) played out a 1-1 draw at Jamaica College while Haile Selassie (Group C runners up) and St. George’s College (Group A runners up) got 1-0 and 4-1 wins over Excelsior (Group F winners) and Jonathan Grant (Group D runners up) at Calabar High and the Spanish Town Prison Oval, respectively.

The second legs for the Tuesday fixtures will take place on Friday and the ones for the Wednesday games will happen on Saturday.

Retired Reggae Boy Ricardo Fuller is set to step into coaching after taking a role at the academy of former club Stoke City.

The 42-year-old former player is a cult favorite at the West Midlands club where he made 182 appearances between 2006 and 2012 and scored 43 goals.

The Jamaican will return to the club as part of the Professional Player to Coach scheme, an initiative that is jointly administered by the Premier League, EFL, and Professional Footballers' Association.  The aim of the program is to increase the presence of minority coaches in the game of English football, a major talking point for the last several years.

Fuller will do work with all age groups at the club’s youth academy, where players range in age from 9-21.  Despite being a former fan favourite, the club made it clear the retired striker was not simply handed the position.

“Ricardo was one of a host of applicants for the role and he proved to be the strongest candidate after a thorough interview process,” Garth Owen, the director of the club’s academy, explained.

Fuller made 72 appearances for the Jamaica national team and scored a total of 9 goals.

Getting a bronze medal 10 years after competing at the 2012 London Olympics would be a dream come true for Jamaican 400m hurdler Kaliese Spencer.

 Jamaica Reggae Girls coach Lorne Donaldson has been left excited by the prospect of once again facing up to top team Brazil at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The draw, which was made in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday, has seen the Jamaicans drawn in Group F where they will face France, Brazil and the winner of Group C of the inter-continental play-offs.

For the Reggae Girlz, who made history by qualifying for the World Cup for a second consecutive tournament earlier this year, facing Brazil will be a rematch of the 2019 edition where they were also pitted against each other in the first round.

On that occasion, the South Americans, who were World Cup runners up in 2007, won the match 3-0.  Four years later the Jamaicans will face a much-changed unit and will hope for a better result.

“It’s a much different Brazil team, it’s a younger team and a different coach.  Their old coach passed away but Pia (Sundhage) is a very good coach so we will have our work cut out for us,” Donaldson said of the prospect of once again facing the South Americans.

“It’s a young fast skillful Brazilian team, so we just have to be ready,” he added.

“The draw itself, we have been placed with some exciting teams that play good football, so, we have to come out and try to match them.”

The Jamaicans will play against Paraguay in two practice matches on the 10^th and 12^th of November,

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ended the Americas Netball World Cup Qualifiers with a perfect record, following a 69-47 victory over previously unbeaten Trinidad and Tobago, at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday.

Both teams had already secured their spot in next year’s tournament but ended the tournament with a lively affair.  The inexperienced Jamaica squad, led by star goal shooter and captain Jhaniele Fowler, still had enough firepower to dominate.

Led by Fowler’s overall 56 from 60, the Jamaicans led from start to finish, pulling out to a 21-11 lead in the first quarter and never really looking back.  Despite losing the encounter, Trinidad and Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel was proud of the team’s performance.

“I’m very proud of the work the girls put in today.  We know it’s a battle going up against the number three team in the world but we said to ourselves ‘this is the start of our World Cup campaign’ and I think you learn more from a loss than a win,” Greene-Noel said following the encounter.

In the days other matches, Barbados secured their spot at Netball World Cup with a dominant 68-29 win over Antigua and Barbuda.  St Vincent and the Grenadines also secured a victory after beating Grenada 69-50 earlier in the day.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso Girls defeated the Barbados Gems 50-40 in a top-of-the-table clash on day five of the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the national Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Thursday.

Entering the game, the Calypso Girls had already booked their spot in next year’s World Cup on the back of a perfect record after six games while the Gems were also unbeaten after five games and would’ve sealed their trip to Cape Town next year with a win.

The end of the first quarter saw Trinidad & Tobago build a 12-7 lead before Barbados outscored them 14-10 in the second to trail 21-22 at half-time. T&T then outscored them by four in the third quarter to lead 35-30 before eventually winning 50-40.

T&T was led by goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 33 goals from 35 attempts while goal attack Joelisa Cooper had 17 goals from 21 attempts. Bajan goal shooters Faye Agard and Shonica Wharton had 14 goals from 16 attempts and 15 goals from 20 attempts, respectively.

“I am ecstatic about that performance. I think we went out there and executed exactly what the coach wanted and I can’t ask for anything else from the girls,” said Trinidad & Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel.

Barbados captain Shonette Azore-Bruce praised her team’s fighting spirit despite the result not going their way.

“It’s not the outcome that we wanted but I must say that I am proud of my girls for fighting to the end. We did not score the goals we should have but I’m still proud of my girls for fighting. At least we had that fight in us.”

The Gems will have another chance to confirm their spot at the World Cup when they take on Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday’s seventh and final day.

Other Thursday results saw Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls get by St. Lucia 85-30, St. Vincent beat Antigua & Barbuda 66-30 and the USA getting a 44-35 win over the Cayman Islands.

On Friday, Antigua and Barbuda will play St. Lucia, the USA will battle Grenada, Jamaica will play Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines will play the Cayman Islands.

Trinidad & Tobago confirmed their spot in the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town with a 43-27 win over the USA at the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Wednesday.

The Trinidadians went into the game with five wins from five knowing another win would confirm their spot in the World Cup next year.

They came out swinging, opening a 10-point gap by the end of the first quarter to lead 18-8. That gap swelled to 14 by halftime as they held the Americans to only five baskets in the second quarter to lead 27-13. Trinidad & Tobago doubled the USA’s score as it was 38-19 by the end of the third quarter. The Americans won the fourth quarter 8-5 but the damage was already done.

Goal attack Joelisa Cooper’s 20 goals from 24 attempts and goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 15 goals from 16 attempts means T&T will join Jamaica, who have already qualified based on rankings, in next year’s World Cup, with one more Americas spot yet to be confirmed.

“We did what we came to do,” said Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan.

Even with a spot in the World Cup sealed, Duncan says a goal of the team is to finish the qualifiers undefeated. Their remaining games are against Barbados on Thursday and Jamaica on Saturday.

“We have to remain disciplined, execute our game plans and support each other on the court.”

T&T beat the Cayman Islands 60-21 earlier on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, goal shooter Faye Agard’s 44 goals from 47 attempts helped Barbados get past St. Vincent & the Grenadines 57-36 for their fifth win in as many games. They also beat Grenada 60-38 earlier on Wednesday.

The Bajans were behind 10-12 after the first quarter before making a remarkable 15-point turnaround in the next two to lead 43-26 heading into the fourth, eventually winning 57-36.

“After the first quarter, I realized that what I wanted wasn’t happening so I introduced wing attack Brianna Holder into the game because I wanted to add more speed,” was the response of Barbados head coach Margaret Cutting when asked how they were able to turn it around.

They are within striking distance of confirming their spot in next year’s World Cup alongside Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and will look to cement their place when they meet the Trinis on Thursday.

“We had two games today so we’re going to go back to our hotel, have some ice baths, have our dinner then go back to the drawing board and plan for tomorrow’s game,” she added.

Wednesday’s other games saw Jamaica beat Grenada 74-48 and the Cayman Islands get a 47-42 win over Antigua & Barbuda.

Thursday’s other games will see St. Lucia tackling Jamaica, St. Vincent playing Antigua & Barbuda and USA playing the Cayman Islands.

Jamaica Reggae Boy Andre Blake made history by becoming the first man to win the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honours on three occasions.

After an outstanding season for the Philadelphia Union, it came as little surprise when Blake easily saw off rivals for the award by claiming 64 percent of the vote.  New England Revolution’s Djordje Petrović finished second with 5 percent, while Inter Miami’s Drake Callender took 4 percent of the vote.

With Blake in between the sticks, the Union conceded a mere 26 goals in the 2022 season, the least ever conceded by an MLS team in a 34-game season.  Philadelphia finished at the top of the Eastern Conference with 67 points.

Blake's awards added to his previous wins of the award in the 2016 and 2020 seasons.  The 31-year-old shot-stopper and former number-one pick has played every minute of the season so far for the Union who will play Cincinnati in the Conference semi-finals on Thursday.

Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan gave her players all the credit after their 66-42 victory over Grenada at the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Tuesday.

Both teams entered the game with three wins from three games and begun the top-of-the-table clash in a competitive manner, battling throughout the first quarter which T&T eventually won 17-12. The leaders then held Grenada to just eight points in the second quarter, entering the half with a 32-20 lead. The Trinis then enjoyed a spectacular third quarter, contrary to the one they had against St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Monday. They forced the Grenadians into several turnovers and capitalized on those mistakes to enter the fourth quarter up 49-29 before eventually sealing a 66-42 win, their fourth in as many games.

Goal shooter Afeisha Noel and goal attack Joelisa Cooper dominated the Grenada defence with 45 goals from 49 attempts and 12 goals from 16 attempts, respectively.

“I think it was all about the players,” said Duncan.

“They had their goals and stayed focused. They worked together and maintained discipline to achieve the score we wanted.”

Even with a massive lead in the fourth quarter, Duncan’s team maintained a high level of intensity on both ends, something she says they’ve emphasized with big goals in mind.

“We have been training to maintain intensity. I think it’s the level of the game that is played in the higher tournaments so we want to push towards that.”

Grenadian captain Shakira Collymore blamed said injuries were a factor in their performance.

“We have a lot of injuries so we weren’t able to enjoy the entire match but I think we put up a good fight. We were able to stay with them for the first two quarters but couldn’t stick it out. We have more matches to play.”

In Tuesday’s other results, Jamaica got their highest point total of the tournament with an 81-27 win over the Cayman Islands, Barbados beat the USA 47-26 and St. Vincent & the Grenadines beat St. Lucia 49-36.

Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada are the early leaders in the points standings after day two of the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Center in Kingston on Monday.

Trinidad & Tobago got their third win in as many games with a close 49-42 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

In a back-and forth opening quarter, the teams traded baskets throughout, with T&T coming out 10-9 leaders. They stepped up the tempo in the second quarter to enter halftime with a 28-19 lead before a spirited third quarter effort from the Vincentians meant the score was 37-30 in favor of T&T entering the last quarter. St. Vincent & the Grenadines were able to get the lead down to as low as four but turnovers at crucial times meant that Trinidad & Tobago walked away with a seven-point win to move to six points from three games.

Goal shooter Afeisha Noel led the way for T&T with 32 goals from 37 attempts while goal attack Joelisa Cooper had 17 goals from 19 attempts.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines were led by goal shooter Mary Ann Frederick’s 42 goals from 48 attempts.

Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan credited her team for recovering from a difficult third quarter to pull out the win.

“We made some errors but they were able to keep their head in the game and stay steady knowing that they came in at a higher rank and maintain the discipline needed to get the win. They did a good job keeping it together,” she said.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines head coach Godfrey Harry lamented the team’s turnovers after getting as close as they did in the fourth quarter.

“I think the players got a little to anxious and, because of that, we kept giving up the ball. It was a hard game but it was in our grasp and we allowed it to get away from us,” he said.

Grenada joined T&T on six points from three games thanks to a 62-29 win over Antigua and Barbuda while hosts, Jamaica, hammered the United States 70-16 in the other games on day two.

Tuesday's day three will feature a top-of-the-table clash between Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands playing hosts Jamaica, United States tackling Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines facing St. Lucia. 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, 2022 world champions in athletics were conferred with national honours at Jamaica’s annual National Honours and Awards held on the lawns of Kings House in Kingston, Jamaica on Monday, October 17, which is celebrated as National Heroes Day.

The 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce was conferred with the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class for Outstanding Performance in the field of athletics at the international level. The woman known internationally as the Pocket Rocket for her incredible speed that has been on display for more than a decade, won her fifth World 100m title in Eugene, Oregon in July becoming the first running athlete to accomplish the feat.

It was also her second world 100m title since she gave birth to her son Zyon in 2017. During the just-concluded season, Fraser-Pryce another global benchmark when she became the first woman in the history of the sport, to run faster than 10.7 seconds seven times during the any one season.

She has now run under 10.7s nine times which is more than any other woman has ever run.

She is also the holder of three Olympic gold medals and 10 World Championship gold medals in her illustrious career.

Jackson, 28, was conferred with the Order of Distinction, Commander Class for exceptional achievements in the sport of Track and Field Athletics at the national, World Championships and Olympic levels.

 The former Vere Technical star won her first global title in Eugene, Oregon in July when she ran 21.45 to claim the 200m gold medal. The time makes her the second fastest woman in history and is a national record breaking the previous mark of 21.53 set by Elaine Thompson-Herah at the Tokyo Olympics.

Jackson has also won bronze medals in the 400m at the World Championships and Olympics and is the highest-ranked active combination sprinter in history with personal bests of 10.71 in the 100m, 21.45 in the 400m and 49.49 in the 400m.

Only two women in history have been better.

Also, receiving national honours were Dr Warren Blake, former president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), who was conferred with the Order of Distinction, (CD), for contribution to Medicine and as a team doctor in national sports; Claude Bryan, a sports agent, the Order of Distinction for contribution to the sport of Track and Field and Michael Clarke, a veteran coach, who was conferred with the Order of Distinction for contribution to sports in the area of Track and Field.

Connie Francis, the head coach of Jamaica’s senior netball team was effusive in praise of the young, inexperienced team that soundly defeated a game St Vincent and the Grenadines team 74-35 in an exhibition match at the Americas Netball Qualifier at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday night.

Led by Jhanielle Fowler, the best shooter in the world, the Sunshine Girls was comprised of Goal Attack Amanda Pinkney, Wing Attack Quannia Walker, Centre Abigale Sutherland, Wing Defense Tafiya Hunter, Goal Defense Kimone Shaw, and Goal Keep Theresa Beckford.

Passing at speed before feeding Fowler and Pinkney in the circle, Jamaica quickly established a lead in the opening quarter 18-8 with Fowler scoring 11 goals. Pinkney added six goals before being subbed off for Gezelle Allison who played the rest of the half.

Francis explained afterwards that taking Pinkney out early in the game was at the request of the player who was feeling the frantic pace.

“She indicated to us that she was winded and it was only fair for us to pull her because we have eager players willing to go out there and play,” the coach said.

“I thought that she was really having a fantastic game but you could see that the intensity from attack to defense was not there so we pulled her and re-inserted her and she came in and she did a really fantastic job.”

Allison’s entry into the game caused a temporary disruption to the flow which resulted in several unforced turnovers. However, she quickly settled in to support Fowler who was not at her sharpest missing five shots by the half-time break as Jamaica widened their lead 42-15.

Pinkney returned as a replacement for Fowler to start the third quarter and demonstrated her natural shooting skills scoring 25 from 30 for the game as Jamaica took a 61-24 lead into the final quarter.

Jamaica outscored their opponents 13-11 in the final stanza to secure an easy win before a vociferously vocal crowd.

Francis said the close margin between the teams in the final quarter was caused by a couple of factors.

“I think it’s just how we take care of the ball. We had lots of ball in our possession and we gave up some. It’s about sticking to the tactical play because at times St Vincent had this front play and it was really giving us some form of headache,” she said, “but we keep reinforcing that we have to recognize and do allow the coaching staff to say people are making a run because of this particular play, but overall I think that this young bunch, six debutantes in a game like this, this is the type of exposure that we need to give our young players to grow in order to make the final cut for Cape Town.”

The Netball World Cup will be played in South Africa next summer.

During the game, St Vincent and Grenadines head coach Godfrey Harry frequently switched out their attacking players, which created some problems for the inexperienced Jamaican team. Chief among the disrupters was Joseann Antoine whose movements off the ball challenged Jamaica’s defenders, who struggled to keep up with her.

She was the best of the scorers for her team netting 17 goals from 20 attempts and got good support from Shellise Davis, who scored three goals from five attempts.

Francis conceded that the frequent substitutions did create problems.

“I thought that their players actually were making an impact. I thought that was really a good tactical play because the first change that he made it really inspired their team and they were having a run at us so it’s for us to recognize when teams come up with tactical plays and making changes that we just stick to the game plan and keep pushing forward in order to put more points on the board,” she said, while praising her girls for facing up to the challenge.

“It’s a young team. We just have to big them up for all the effort because I thought that we were contested. The Vincent and the Grenadines team is not an easy team. Not because the scoreboard didn’t reflect that; I thought that it was not a true reflection of what was happening on court but all in all I love this bunch of young players who came in and gave 110 percent.”

In other games on Sunday night, Trinidad and Tobago defeated St Lucia 63-25, while Grenada came from behind to beat the Cayman Islands 50-40. Meanwhile, the USA defeated Antigua and Barbuda 34-22.