GT, GT, Gt! were the chants resonating from the lips of Guyana’s supporters Sunday night after the local male volleyball team grounded the hosts in four sets to win the Inter Guiana Games (IGG) gold medal game here in Paramaribo, Suriname.
The visiting team felt right at home as the boisterous fans transformed the Ismay Van Wilgen Sporthal into a partisan support base that helped to elevate the high flying players.
Guyana’s victory came by set scores of 25-17, 17-25, 25-20 and 25-17, the last punctuated by a bludgeoning spike by Captain Yoganand Dhoray.
Dhoray led the way with a team high 10 kills and three assists. The outside hitter was aided by eight kills from Anthony Veerapan while Iibero, Kumar Budhram orchestrated the offense with 13 assists.
Samuel Fraser led the way to control the net with a team high seven blocks.
After a seesaw battle in the first set, the hosts settled down, spiking, digging and blocking their way to claim the second.
Buoyed by the standing, flag waving supporters, the locals regrouped to win the third nail biting set.
Riding the momentum, Guyana stormed out to take the first three points in the final set. Undeterred, Suriname got some timely points and went up eight to six which prompted a time out from coach, Levi Nedd.
Things did not change much as the hosts’ lead went ballooned to eight (13-5), leading to another Nedd time out.
With the crowd chanting “let’s go GT”, the ballers in red and black reeled off nine straight points to go up 14-13.
In the tense ensuing moments, the Guyana players held their nerve and got clutch performances from all six players on the court that sealed the deal and brought the curtains down on the three-day annual Games.
