Trinidad and Tobago basketball players celebrate the historic feat
AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa
Trinidad and Tobago secured their first medal of the Pan American (PanAm) Games courtesy of the Men’s 3X3 basketball team, which edged Venezuela 21-20 in the third-place playoff in Santiago, Chile on Monday.
The twin island republic, who had knocked off Brazil in Sunday’s quarterfinal, lost in their semi-final contest 21-9 to the United States. The Americans eventually won gold, 21-15 over hosts Chile in the final.
Trinidad and Tobago's National Basketball Federation vice president of organising and development Daron Lall was over the moon and said the fraternity appreciates every effort the team put out.
“We are extremely proud of our team. These guys have been working extremely hard over the last eight to ten weeks. We played some powerhouses. Thank you to the team and the coaching staff for all they did. We know the struggles they went through and the obstacles that happened, but we are grateful as a country for putting us on the map. It’s emotional," Lall said.
At the Centro Acuatico, TT swimmer Nikoli Blackman had another tough day in the pool as the settled for sixth place in the men’s 100m freestyle B final. He clocked 50.81s.
In the earlier heats, Blackman placed sixth in heat three of four, in 51.01s. His time was 17th fastest overall but good enough for the B final. Racing out of heat four was compatriot Zarek Wilson, who was eighth fastest to the wall in 58.37s.
Meanwhile, one of CARICOM’s best hopes for a PanAm Games boxing medal in Chile, Keevin Allicock was eliminated Monday.
The Guyanese lost his featherweight quarter-final bout to American Jahmal Harvey, the 2021 world champion in the 57kg division. Top Barbadian Charles Cox also lost his light heavyweight quarterfinal, going down 4-1 to Haiti’s Cedric Belony-Duliepre.
St Lucia, St Maarten, Grenada, Haiti register contrasting League B wins
St Lucia, St Maarten, Grenada, and Haiti all opened their 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League accounts with victories in League B on Friday.
Grenada blanked St Martin 2-0, and St Lucia edged Curacao 2-1 in the Group B double-header at Kirani James Athletics Stadium.
Over in Group C, Haiti were 4-1 winners over Puerto Rico, and St Maarten blanked Aruba 2-0 at Estadio Centroamericano in Puerto Rico.
St Lucia vs. Curaçao
In what was the first-ever Nations League encounter between the two nations, St Lucia were the better team on the day.
Arkell Jude-Boyd broke the deadlock for St Lucia in the 24th when he fended off a defender on his way to poking an effort through the legs of Eloy Room in goal for Curacao to make it 1-0 at the break.
Jude-Boyd went close to extending the lead in the second half, but Room came up big for Curacao on that occasion.
However, St Lucia inevitably doubled the lead in the 55th through Caniggia Elva, who finished off a loose ball.
Curacao pulled one back in the 63rd when Joshua Brenet fired home from Leandro Bacuna’s pass.
St Maarten vs. Aruba
St Maarten and Aruba failed to separate themselves for most of the contest, as their respective goalkeepers Tyrell Richardson and Matthew Lentink were in good knick between the sticks.
It wasn’t until the 81st that Gerwin Lake broke the deadlock for St Maarten when he rifled an effort past Lentink, who had no chance at a save on that occasion.
Ronan Olivacce added a second for St Maarten in the 90+3, with an easy tap-in from Chovanie Amatkarijo’s pass.
St Martin vs. Grenada
Grenada were always favoured to secure the three points and that they did.
It took them only five minutes to open the scoring as Lucas Akins capitalised on a defensive error.
The menacing Regan Charles-Cook made the points safe when he tucked home from close range in the 38th minute.
St Martin tried to stay in the contest but found Grenada’s defence and goalkeeper Chad Phillip in defiant mode.
Puerto Rico vs. Haiti
After being relegated from League A, Haiti is intent of getting back to the top and they demonstrated that with a comfortable beating of Puerto Rico.
Interestingly, it was Puerto Rico that struck first in the 29th when Gerald Diaz fired home from a rebound.
Haiti responded with a second half flurry, which was started by Danley Jean Jacques in the 51st.
Frantzdy Pierrot added a second in the 60th, taking his Nations League tally to eight goals, before Don Louicius finished off a tidy team build up in the 76th to put Haiti 3-1 up.
Duckens Nazon then capped the win with an 83rd-minute strike to put Haiti on course for promotion.
T&T’s Hasely Crawford Stadium to be closed for repairs from September 20
Trinidad & Tobago’s Hasely Crawford Stadium will be closed to all public events and activities from September 20, the Sports Company of Trinidad & Tobago Limited (SporTT) announced in a release on Thursday.
The closure, according to the release, is to facilitate necessary repairs to the stadium’s athletic tracks for training and competition, as well as the rehabilitation of the playing field.
Trinidad & Tobago will host the 52nd edition of the CARIFTA games in 2025, 20 years after they last hosted the Caribbean age-group track and field showcase.
“SporTT apologises for any inconvenience caused to regular users of the Stadium,” the statement read.
“In the interim, sporting organisations and athlete training will be facilitated at other venues and under the ambit of SporTT.”
Suriname, Guatemala, Costa Rica register wins in League A; El Salvador also victorious in League B
Suriname, Costa Rica and Guatemala opened their League A Concacaf Nations League accounts with victories, as did El Salvador in League B as the fourth edition of the tournament got into full swing on Thursday.
All battling for Group A honours, Suriname and Guatemala topped Guyana and Martinique 3-1, while Costa Rica blanked Guadeloupe 3-0, as all three teams sit on three points, separated only by a slight goal difference.
Meanwhile, in Group A of League B, El Salvador romped to a 4-1 win over Montserrat, while Bonaire and St Vincent and the Grenadines played out a 1-1 stalemate.
Guyana vs. Suriname
Suriname’s victory away to Guyana spoiled the Golden Jaguars League A debut at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora.
After three seasons in League B, Guyana would have hoped to start life in League A on a positive note, but it was not to be.
Djevencio van der Kust sent Suriname in front with an 18th-minute strike. However, Omari Glasgow pulled Guyana level with a 41st-minute penalty conversion for his 11th Nations League goal to extend his tally as the nation’s leading scorer in the competition.
But Guyana’s celebrations were short-lived as Jaden Montor drove home a powerful effort from an angle in the 66th to put Suriname 2-1 up.
Virgil Misidjan then sealed the win for the Dutch-speaking Caribbean island with a tidy 83rd-minute finish.
Costa Rica vs. Guadeloupe
Costa Rica were always favoured to secure three points here and they did just that on home soil at Estadio Nacional in San José.
After a goalless first half, Costa Rica’s captain Francisco Calvo led from the front with an expert header from Joel Campbell’s weighted corner kick to put his team in front in the 50th minute.
Ariel Lassiter doubled the lead in the 77th when he tucked home a right-footer from close range.
Warren Madrigal added another in 81st to cap the win.
Guatemala vs. Martinique
Guatemala extended their all-time unbeaten record at home to eight matches as they bettered Martinique in a first-ever meeting between the two at Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores.
Rubio Rubin fired home from Oscar Santis’ cross to give Guatemala a 3rd-minute lead.
After keeping Guatemala at bay thanks to goalkeeper Yannis Clementia, who came up big to deny Rubin and Alejandro Galindo in the 10th and 22nd minutes, respectively, Martinique pulled level in the 51st when Kevin Appin headed home.
However, Guatemala regained the lead from the penalty spot when Jose Pinto converted in the 61st.
Martinique should have been back on level terms in the 72nd, but Brighton Labeau’s penalty kick was saved by Guatemala’s custodian Nicholas Hagen.
That allowed Guatemala to capitalise as Jose Martinez fired home in the 90+5 to secure all three points.
Group A action will resume on Monday, beginning with Guadeloupe against Suriname and Martinique against Guyana. A Central American clash will conclude the day’s play as Guatemala hosts Costa Rica.
Over in League B, El Salvador will be aiming to consolidate their lead atop the group when they take on Bonaire on Sunday, while St Vincent and the Grenadines play Montserrat.
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