The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE Prince Wilson was by far the best offensive player for the Bahamas at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championships, Byron Ferguson was the only one to be selected for one of the individual categories at the end of the week-long tournament at the Langley Events Centre in British Columbia, Canada.

Ferguson, along with Mexico’s Rudy Verhoeff, shared the ideal middle blocker award.

Although he didn’t qualify for any of the awards, Wilson led the Bahamas in scoring as the team finished with a 2-3 win-loss record for seventh place in the standings after going 0-3 in their round robin play.

The team, coached by Raymond Wilson, assisted by DeVince Smith and Lloyd Davis, clinched seventh place in the tournament by sweeping St Lucia in three straight sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20.

The United States won in three sets over Canada 25-23, 25-20, 25-14 to secure the title and earned a trip to the FIVB Grand Champions Cup. Cuba won the bronze with their 27-29, 25-27, 25-20, 27-25, 15-12 come-from-behind victory over Puerto Rico. Mexico ended up fifth with a 25-23, 25-22, 26-24 decision over the Dominican Republic.

Ferguson, who is currently in Savonlinna, Finland, where he’s back playing on the professional circuit with the Saimaa Volley, said he was proud of his performance, but admitted that he wasn’t satisfied because he felt he could have done a lot better than he did.

“I wasn’t surprised that I got an award as I have won individual awards at this level before at the Pan Am Cup a few years ago,” he said. “I knew I was leading in blocking heading into the final match so I knew I stood a good chance.”

Ferguson said as a player, every time you win an award, it’s an honour, but personally he would have enjoyed it more if the Bahamas did better as a team.

“Nonetheless it’s something I can add to my r�sum� as I continue my professional career,” he said.

On the team’s performance, Ferguson noted: “I’m proud of the team that we picked up key points and that we were able to move up a few slots in the world ranking, but I felt as if we could have competed better against Cuba and even beat Puerto Rico. We had a few runs where we were inconsistent and with more training we can improve in those areas.”

Going into the tournament, Ferguson said they knew that they would have had their work cut out for them and it certainly turned out that way.

“The competition was tough as most teams brought there best players who were on their World League teams,” he said. “A few of the players I have played against in my career but the teams there had a lot more experience than we did and that showed to be the difference between us and them.”

If the Bahamas is going to be as successful as it was in the Caribbean Volleyball Championship region, Ferguson said they will definitely need a home court where they can practice on a consistent basis.

“In that aspect, I’m proud because we pulled it together to beat two good teams and improve our rankings,” he said. “In order for us to compete at that level we simply need to play more. From practice to travelling and playing different teams and players. We have the talent, it’s about gelling and getting in extra repetitions.”

Now that the tournament is over, Ferguson has returned to the pro circuit where he joined a number of his team-mates, who re-signed with Saimaa Volley in a bid to try and win the championship title this year with the chemistry that they developed from last year.

The team is expected to play their first game on Sunday.