Gabriela Braga and Andressa Picussa tallied 11 points apiece as defending champions Brazil handed T&T its second straight loss at the 11th Women’s Pan American Volleyball Championship at the University of Ciudad Gymnasiun, Juarez, Mexico on Saturday night. Braga recorded three aces, Picussa registered two, as well as eight blocks in their team’s 25-16, 25-16, 25-20 triumph, its third win from as many matches. For T&T which was also beaten by Argentina on Friday night after upsetting host Mexico on Thursday’s opening day of matches, captain Krystle Esdelle, Jalicia Ross, Kelly-Anne Billingy and Abigail Gloud all ended with five points. Speaking after the match, Esdelle while admitting members of her team were disappointed with the loss, noted it was another part of their learning curve against world class teams. “We tried to go far and go strong against them (Brazil). Everybody did their job and it was good for us to learn form an opponent like Brazil,” said Esdelle.
Brazil captain Natasha Farinea also commented on the improvement of T&T saying, "There are no easy match. This was a very tough one. T&T showed a good service and we worked in our block". Despite the loss, T&T coach, Cuban-born Francisco Cruz felt satisfied about his team. “I had the chance to rotate all the players and the Pan American Cup is important for us because after this we will compete at the Caribbean tournament,” Cruz indicated. With the win, Brazil which also won its two previous matches by 3-0 margins climbed to maximum 15 points, four clear of Argentina while Peru is next with nine, T&T and Costa Rica with four apiece and host Mexico, two points. The Argentines improved their win-loss record to 2-1 in Pool B beating Mexico 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 while Peru overcame Costa Rica 25-11, 25-11, 25-15. In Pool A, the race for the automatic semifinal spot as pool winners is even closer with Dominican Republic leading with 14 points, one more than Cuba while USA is third with 11. Canada is fourth with six points while Puerto Rico (one) and pointless Colombia complete the table. The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 for its third win from as many matches, Canada claimed its first victory after defeating Colombia 25-12, 25-19, 25-13.
Last night, T&T, making its sixth straight appearance at the tournament and having finished tenth three times (2009-2011) and 12th, both in 2007 and 2008, came up against at UACJ while USA played Colombia and Dominican Republic came up against Cuba. At the Colegio de Bachilleres Gymnasium, Puerto Rico faced Canada, Brazil met Argentina and Mexico tangled with Peru. Today, round-robin group play ends with Peru versus T&T from 8 pm in what can be a clash to determine a quarterfinal spot, Argentina faces Costa Rica and Brazil meets Mexico in Pool B. In Pool A, Puerto Rico plays Colombia, Cuba comes up against Canada and USA battles Dominican Republic. At the end of round-robin play in each group, the top team will qualify for the semifinals while teams placed second and third in their respective pools will meet in cross-over quarterfinals on Wednesday while the 11th and 12th matches match are also carded. The fifth to eighth, and first to fourth semifinals take place on Thursday while the final playoffs are set for Friday. The teams are competing for six spots available to next year’s FIVB World Grand Prix. The top four teams from Norceca and the top South America’s side, other than Brazil who are automatically qualified, get tickets to the 2013 FIVB competition. (NS)
-Nigel Simon
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