PHILIPSBURG, St.Maarten, CMC- Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada will advance to next year’s World Youth netball tournament in Botswana, after capturing the top three places in the U21 World Youth Netball Qualifiers for the Americas Federation of Netball Association (AFNA) in St Maarten on the weekend.
Barbados played unbeaten to win the tournament with a maximum 12 points; T&T lost one game to finish second with 10 points while third place Grenada picked up eight points after winning four games and losing two.
St. Kitts and Canada each finished the seven-team tournament on four points each, host St. Maarten on two points while Argentina was winless after six matches.
One of the highpoints was a thrilling tournament ending clash between Barbados and T&T who entered as the two top-seeded teams in world netball.
Barbados, ranked 13th, gave points to their rankings with a hard –fought 50-48 win over archrivals T&T, who are ranked 9th.
The Bajans managed to keep their nose ahead and led for most of the game except for when the scores were tied at 34 apiece in the middle of the third quarter and at the end of that period when T&T led 39-37.
But the Bajans came back in the final quarter taking the lead and maintaining control to seal the win by a narrow two-point margin.
“Any win against Trinidad and Tobago is always sweet. We have a history of rivalry. I’m ecstatic,” declared Barbados Coach Sandra Bruce-Small in an interview with The Daily Herald.
“When we return to Barbados, the girls will go on six weeks of active rest and then we will begin training in October.”
Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada will join Jamaica which has already qualified for the youth world cup because of its international rankings.
