St. Vincent and the Grenadines earned the title of ECVA champs with a narrow win (3-2) over Antigua/Barbuda in the finals.
It was a classic finals with fortunes swinging one way and then another and in the end the scoreboard of (22-25, 25-13, 26-24, 20 – 25 and 15-12) favoured team SVG.
The Vincentians displayed true grit and determination and the stats may not show that they were the team that never gave up; they scrambled, dove, and ran down every loose ball to earn the additional point.
What the stats would show is that they were also capable of efficient passing and execution at the net.
As a team, St. Vincent and the Grenadine edged Antigua Barbuda in Spikes 51- 50 as well as Serves 10 – 8. They trailed in Blocks 7 to 17 but errors were dead even at 32.
Antigua/Barbuda: “I am distraught the players are distraught we had it… we had it”, wailed Coach Carl Williams. “We demonstrated what we are capable by coming from 6 points down at 18 to 12 in the fourth set to come back and win to force the decider.
A gleeful Eardley Martin of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was grinning from ear to ear. “We came here greedy and now we are satisfied. We were hyped from the win over St. Lucia last night but today the victory is even sweeter as this is championship.
I am so proud of them for having overcome every obstacle including our own internal squabbles. The captain must be commended for this as we moved from playing as a unit to playing as a family”, he stated.
For 2018 St. Vincent and the Grenadines are sole victors. The final team positions were: 1. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2. Antigua/Barbuda. 3. St. Lucia. 4 Grenada 5. St. Kitts/Nevis 6. BVI
