The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Mission accomplished. The Bahamas men’s national team proved why they are champions of the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championship that was recently held in US Virgin Islands, St Croix, as they went to Willemsted, Curacao, and dominated the round robin play at the 2014 NORCECA World Championship Men’s Group A qualifiers at the International School of Curacao.

The team, coached by Raymond Wilson and DeVince Smith, played host Curacao in the final on Sunday night in the final, winning in four sets 22-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-21.

In addition to being named to the All-Tournament team, Renaldo Knowles was selected as the best spiker, Byron Ferguson got the best blocker and Prince Wison was named the most valuable player.

On their way to the championship game, the Bahamas finished the round robin play with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record, beating Venezuela 3-0, host Curacao 3-1 and the “Reggae Spikers” from Jamaica 3-0.

The team comprised of Renaldo Knowles, Prince Wilson, Byron Ferguson, Romel Lighbourne, Tony Simon, Ian ‘Wire’ Pinder, Endierich Rahming, Shadrick Forbes, Muller Petit, Jamaal Ferguson and Javari Southard.

Here’s a summary of their round robin games:

Bahamas 3, Venezuela 0

Having already been assured of a place in the finals by winning their first two matches over Jamaica (3-0) and host Curacao (3-1), the Bahamas played with a high level of confidence and composure as they easily won 25-16, 27-25, 25-16 in 67 minutes.

The trio of Renaldo Knowles, Prince Wilson and Byron Ferguson had 13, 11 and 11 points respectively to lead the Bahamas.

“We have been playing pretty good so far in the tournament and we just need to keep executing well and stick to the game plan if we want to win the gold medal, which is our main objective,” Prince Wilson said after the victory.

Added coach Raymond Wilson: “The team has performed much better as the matches have gone on and I expect that by the time we play the final we will be at our peak and put on a great performance.”

Bahamas 3, Curacao 1

The Bahamas relied on the powerful duo of Endierich Rahming and Prince Wilson to defeat Curacao in four sets (25-27, 25-18, 28-26, 25-17) for its second victory on Saturday night. The win secured the Bahamas a ticket to next year’s second round of tournaments.

The Bahamas held a 13-8 advantage in blocks and 12-6 in service aces. Rahming finished with 24 points and Wilson added 21.

“We have good players and from what we have seen in the tournament so far they play well. We had to stay focus at all times and maintain our composure throughout,” coach Wilson said. “So we congratulate them (Curacao) on a great effort but I think our consistency during the match is what made the difference in the end.”

Bahamas 3, Jamaica 0

Team captain Prince Wilson led a balanced Bahamas attack with 11 points as they registered a straight-sets victory (25-15, 25-14, 28-26) over an out-of-sync Jamaica in the

opening match. Wilson had eight spikes and two blocks while Renaldo Knowles and Tony Simon added eight points each.

The Bahamians dominated their opponents in blocks (8-3) while both teams were even in service aces at 4-4.

“It was good that we started with Jamaica as they are always a tough team to play. This will set the stage for our players as we want to play with a lot of consistency,” coach Wilson said.

“I believe the team that limits its number of mistakes and plays with the most consistency over the two days of competition will come out on top and that is something we intend on achieving.”