Jamaica AFNA Champions 2008

Congratulations to Jamaica, AFNA Champions 2008.

It was not the strongest Jamaica team that was ever fielded.  In fact one might argue that it is the weakest senior team Jamaica has fielded for a long time, however what was important is that they got the job done.  This Jamaica second side was able to dispatch all the teams in the competition which is tell tale to the distance between the "Sunshine Girls" and the rest of the teams in the Americas.

The conductor/director/playmaker for  Jamaica clearly was their captain Simone Forbes.   Discipline aside or lack thereof, Forbes was in a class of her own in the competition.  Yes the team beat St. Lucia without her, but this was the first day of competition and the St. Lucian side was not very strong in this competition.  

The game between Trinidad may however been another story without her leadership and cunning.  Forbes challenged all the rules in the book.  She played the controversial hitting the goal pole with the ball on a throw in and retrieving it herself in nearly every game, which of course made the spectators roar as this play, although legitimate, looks very suspect.  

A real positive for Jamaica, they have a number of very talented young players on the way up who should ensure Jamaica's netball dominance in the future.  This was evident in the defensive area where the tough young players Tracy Robinson and Nicole Aiken held their own, succeeding in ensuring that their team had the best defensive record of just allowing 169 attempts to the opposition, an average of just 27 goals a game.

Another future bright spark for Jamaica was their 6ft shooter Crystal Gordan who ended 9th overall in shooting average.  She scored 103 from 125.  Christina Solmon was 8th scoring 66 from 80 and Forbes was 7th netting 91 of 110.

Stats

286 goals for, 126 goals against.  350 attempts for, 169 attempts against, goal difference 160, goal average 2.27.  Shooting accuracy 81.71%

Trinidad 2nd Place AFNA 2008

Trinidad and Tobago arrived for business and dispatched one of their chief rivals Barbados in their very first game. All the other games were a matter of course except for their final game against defending champions Jamaica.
In this games the subtle Trini flaws were exposed - their shooters inaccuracy and the holes in their defence. Trinidad moved the ball well, and were very explosive through the centre court, their main shooters Anastacia Wilson and Joelisa Cooper however struggled with their accuracy.

In fact the attacking players did so well in servicing the goal circle that Wilson had the most attempts of all the shooters in the competition, 179 and scored 150, she was 4th in the top ten shooters with 83.80 accuracy.

Cooper was 18th, however substitute shooter Samantha Wallace managed to hold on to the 10th position scoring 30 of 38 for 78.95%.

The exciting competitive play that was expected from Trinidad in the finals did not materialise. Jamaica out played, out hustled and easily dispatched them leaving the coaches to go back to the drawing board.

Statistics

241 goals for, 190 goals against, 313 attempts for, 250 attempts against, goal diference 51, goal average 1.27, accuracy 77%.

Barbados 3rd Place AFNA 2008

Barbados gave an overall solid performance to finish in third spot in the AFNA 2008 Championships.  The team had moments of brilliance throughout the tournament but lacked consistency.  The country's shooters were the most accurate in the tournament but were under serviced, all the attacking passers struggled to find the correct pass in to the shooters. Against Trinidad for example Barbados looked evenly matched however they were not able to get the ball in the hands of the shooters losing it somewhere in their attacking third.

The Barbadian defenses held their own.  Between Rhe-ann Niles and school girl Jeneice Clarke the country should have a good start to an under 23 team for next year's championships.

Barbados had their toughest matches early in the competition and by the time they reached their last match against Canada, the team, bruised and with a number of injuries just went through the motions doing just enough to win the game.  

The Bajans however exhibited enough talent to look set to move to the next level. A lot of work would have to be done however by the coaching staff.

Lydia Bishop was the most accurate shooter in the competition, she netted 69 of her 76 attempts for 90.79% accuracy while Laurel Browne was in second place scoring 113 of 129 for 87.60%.  Nikita Piggott also made it to the top ten, she finished 6th among the shooters scoring 54 0f 65 for 83.08%. 

Statistics

236 goals for, 216 goals against, 270 attempts, 287 attempts against, goal difference 20, goal average 1.09 and accuracy 87.41%. 

St. Lucia 4th Place AFNA 2008

St. Lucia had a tough draw in the Championships playing Jamaica and Trinidad right off the bat, but the Lucians were gritty soaking up all their challenges, including some tough sending offs to make the best of what was a harsh tournament for the unseeded Caribbean side.  

There was no Grenada, Dominica or Antigua for example to rub shoulders with, instead the Lucians were faced with the Caribbean's best.  

St. Lucia however can be considered a bridesmaid of Caribbean netball as on several occasions they looked set to take over the top teams but would never actualise.  On this occasion they would however come out of the competition with a feather in their cap, the scalp of  St. Vincent.  

It was a hard fought and well deserved victory that guaranteed them a fourth place finish in the competition.  Their other victory was against Canada.  Shem Maxwell who is St. Lucia's best shooter and arguably the best player on the team, finished 5th overall in shooting accuracy.   She had 138 attempts and scored 115 of her country's 172 goals.  Her accuracy was 83.33%.

Stats- 171 goals for, 237 against, 230 attempts for 309 attempts against.  Goal difference -65, goal average 0.73 accuracy 74.78%. 

St. Vincent & the Grenadines 5th Place AFNA 2008

St. Vincent and the Grenadines must be the most disappointed team in the AFNA 2008 Championships.

Playing with home court advantage, this former CNA and OECS Champion's performance left a lot to be desired to the dismay of their fans.   

They went into the archives and brought out Skiddy Francis-Crick, a national netball legend, Francis Crick however looked better on paper than on the court.

The only victory that they could swing was against Canada on the first day.  Maybe even this script might have been different if they had met the steadily improved Canadian team later in the competition. 

 

Stats- St. Vincent scored 179 goals had 231 scored against, had 228 attempts and 303 attempts against.  Their goal difference was -52 and goal average 0.77  with an accuracy of 78.51.  They came out of the competition in 5th position with just 2 points.

Skiddy Francis Crick however managed to finish 3rd overall in the tournament shooters.  Playing mostly half of the games or a quarter in some instances she scored 59 of 69 attempts for her 85.51% accuracy.

St. Vincent had no other shooters in the top ten but Leena Lewis and Joanna Christopher were 12th and 13th overall respectively.

Canada 6th Place AFNA 2008

Canada lost all five of their games in the AFNA 2008 Championship.  This result however did  not speak to their consistent play and their improvement throughout the tournament.

Canada looked the best coached team in the tournament.  If their coach had five others like goal defence Shawnette Cockburn and goal attack Maralyn Hope they would have been able to pull off  at least two victories. 

  

They finished with one less goal than St. Lucia in the entire competition 171, but unlike St. Lucia their goals did not come at game defining moments.  

Canada's statistics - Goals for 171, goals against 285.  Attempts 340.  Goal difference -114.  Goal average 0.60.  Accuracy 64.04%.

None of the Canadian shooter was in the top ten but Maralyn Hope finished 17th overall.  She scored 106 from 161 attempts and her average was 65.84.

On the final day Canada was treated to their own cheer leading team.  A group of visitors to the island.

AFNA Championships 2008 STATS

CLICK HERE FOR AFNA 2008 STATISTICS

Jamaica Are AFNA Champions 2008

Jamaica maintain their dominance over Caribbean netball defeating Trinidad and Tobago 53-32 at the Arnos Vale Complex this evening.  The world's number four team lead all the intervals 18-7, 28-16 and 42-25 in a very physical encounter.  

Simone Forbes was the difference between the teams.  She totally dominated the Jamaica's attack and none of Trinidad's defences provided her with any major challenge.  She finished her tour scoring 27 of 30.  Jamaica tried three shooters Crystal Gordon who started netted 20 of 28, Vanessa Walker scored 3 of 4 and Christina Solmon made 3 of 3.  For Trinidad Anastascia Wilson shot 27 of 33 while Joelisa Cooper netted 5 of 10.

Third place in the competition went to Barbados who barely turn up against Canada.  The Bajan did just enough to defeat the persistent Canadians 59-44.  Barbados led all the intervals 15-9, 32-18, and 48-31.  Barbados used three shooters Laurel Browne scored 23 of 26, Lydia Bishop who started scored 18 of 19 and reserve Nikita Piggott netted 18 of 21.

The upset of the evening came when  St. Lucia defeated home team St. Vincent and the 

Grenadines 40-38.   St. Lucia led the first quarter 15-8, but St. Vincent came back 23-22 at half time.  St. Lucia took over 32- 30 and held on for the nail bitting two gaol victory.

AFNA Championships 2008 Finals Preview

Well its left to Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica to determine the 2008 AFNA Champions.  Jamaica has the best goal average with 233 goals for and  94 goals against to Trinidad's 209 -137.

 

In other games Barbados' third place finish seems pretty secured as they are matched against bottom of the table team Canada. 

 

St. Vincent and the Grenadines however will have to fight to restore their spectators confidence and support against St. Lucia.

These two are well known rivals and the victory could go either way.

AFNA Cocktail Shots

The players were off on Thursday but the officials were out for a full day of meetings.  In the evening there was a cocktail reception held at the Arnos Vale Complex.  Here are some shots.

More to come over the weekend

Trinidad and Jamaica Winners on Day 4

Trinidad and Tobago defeated Canada 59-39 on Wednesday in the AFNA 2008 Championships but their performance was not convincing.  The Trinis came out blazing leading all intervals 16-2, 32-10 and 46-24.  

The Canadians despite losing all their games so far have been consistent and persistent.  They matched the Trinis 14-14 goals in the third quarter and won the final quarter 15-13.

St Vincent and the Grenadines suffered another defeat, this time at the hands of the Jamaicans. This really is no disgrace, however their fans were less than happy with their 21-58 performance.
 

Interval scores all in Jamaica's favour were 13-7, 24-12 and 16-46.

Barbados Defeats St. Lucia

Barbados easily dispatched St. Lucia 54-35 yesterday in the AFNA 2008 Championships. The Bajans led all intervals 18-6, 35-12 and 22-47.  

With Nikita Piggott on the bench reportedly for disciplinary matters, coach Harriet Waithe opted to start with Laurel Browne (GS), Lydia Bishop (GA), Don Small (WA), Sabreena Smith (C), Kizzy Marville (WD), Jeneice Clarke (GD) and Rhe Ann Niles (GK).  

The St. Lucians opted to start Shem Maxwell back at her original GA position and bring Barb Joseph-Theobalds back at (GS).  The other players were Deselva Florton (WA) Roxanne Synder (C) Sherma Benti (WD), Michelle Rogers (GD) and Judie Mathurin (GK).

Barbados dominated from start.  GA Lydia Bishop despite her heavy frame moved well and was successful feeding the ball to Browne especially in the first half of the game.  The defenses however stole the show. 

 School girl, and Barbados under 16 captain Jeneice Clarke looked larger than life on court making life difficult for the far more experience Shem  Maxwell.  

St. Lucia however was to get their pound of flesh in the second half of the game when Barbados lost three of its defenses to injury, Martindale, Lisa Puckerin who came into the game as a substitute and Clarke.  The worst was Martindale who sustain a blow to the head and had to be carried off the court on a stretcher.  She is however fine and back in camp nursing a migraine type headache.

St. Lucia also would have come off the game feeling proud of their fourth quarter performance scoring 13 goals to Barbados' 7 as the Bajans became very disorganised after their players exited with injuries.

AFNA Championships - Wednesday Schedule Preview

Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago remain the only unbeaten teams in the six team AFNA 2008 Championship after three days of play.

Today Trinidad should find the going easy against Canada, the only team in the competition without a victory.  Barbados and St. Lucia have both won one game a piece but Barbados will be expecting to take the victory this evening.

Home side St. Vincent and the Grenadine takes on the top Caribbean seeded country, Jamaica.

AFNA Championships - Tuesday Round Up

St. Lucia, Trinidad and Jamaica were the victors on day three of the AFNA 2008 Championships at the Arnos Vale Complex, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

In game one St. Lucia defeated Canada 47-41 in a keenly contested encounter.  The game was level 14-14 at the first interval but St. Lucia played their best netball in the second quarter to take a 28-19 lead.  This was the turning point in the game because although Canada gave a good account of themselves for the balance of the game the battle had already been won.

Starting Line Up -Canada

Sabrina Versteeg (GS), Maralyn Hope (GA), Jessie Evans (WA), Narm Thavarsalingam (C), Rebekah Eaton (WD) Shawnette Cockburn (GD), Sonja Salbuvik (GK)

St. Lucia 

Shem Maxwell (GS), Roxanne Synder (GA), Miryam Austin (WA), Deselva Florton (C), Romella Hunte (WD), Michelle Rogers (GD) and Judie Mathurin (GK).

In Game Two Barbados and Jamaica exchanged body blows.  At one stage the two teams were called to the centre of the field and warned by the umpire.  Jamaica won 52-35 but it was not easy.  The scores at the intervals were 18-7, 30-17 and 42-31 all in Jamaica's favour. 

 

A consolation for Barbados was winning the third quarter 14-12 against the Titans.  The Bajan shooters shot well but were not well serviced.  Laurel Browne started and scored 8 of 

10 in the first and second quarters and her replacement Lydia Bishop scored 14 of 14.  For Jamaica, Simone Forbes took control of the game scoring 21 of 26 while shooters Crystal Gordan and Christina Solmon scored 26 of 30 and 5 of 7 respectively.

The Line Ups

Barbados

Laurel Browne (GS), Nikita Piggott (GA), Dionne Quarless (WA), Sabreena Smith (C), Kizzy Marville (WD), Sherry Martindale (GD) and Rhe-Ann Niles (GK)

Jamaica

Crystal Gordan (GS), Simone Forbes (GA), Nadine Bryan (WA), Nichala Gibson (C), Tracey Robinson (WD), Nicole Aiken and Malysha Kelly

In Game Three Trinidad and Tobago continued their unbeaten streak defeating home team St. Vincent and the Grenadines 41-33.    St. Vincent took the early 11-8 lead but faltered in the second allowing Trinidad to go ahead 21-17.  

The Trinis built on this 37-25 in the third.

Starting line ups

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Leeana Lewis (GS), Nicole Sandy (GA), Shanique DeShong (WA), Saska Diamond (C), Maxine James (WD), Curla Francis-Edwards (GD) and Vasha Adams (GK)

Trinidad and Tobago

Anastascia Wilson (GS), Joelisa Cooper (GA), Rhonda John (WA), Tricia Liverpool (C), Kemba Duncan (WD), Crystal George (GD) and Anika La Roche (Gk)

AFNA Championships - Tuesday Schedule Preview

Three big games are today, Jamaica take on Barbados who are currently on a high having beaten the home side St. Vincent yesterday.  Jamaica of course are the natural favorites, the game should not be a push over however if Barbados play as well as they did yesterday.

The game to watch will be Trinidad versus St. Vincent.  Bruised from yesterday's defeat St. Vincent will be looking to give their spectators something to shout about, while Trinidad will be looking to maintain their unbeaten streak.

The biggest game however will be between St. Lucia and Canada.  These two teams are yet to get on the board on points and one of them will have the chance to do so today.  This game will determine 5th and 6th place in the tournament. 

Trinidad In With A Chance

Statistically, Trinidad and Tobago is in with a chance to win this year's AFNA Championships. 

Apart from Jamaica, they are they only unbeaten team left after two days of play.  Last night they dispatched St. Lucia 13-7, 25-12, 35-22 and 50-29. 

It was however not smooth sailing as their shooters went into some missing patches which gave St. Lucia pockets of hope, especially in the third quarter when they were able to pull back with six goals after Trinidad's convincing twelve goal half time lead.  The damage was however 

done by Trinidad's superior speed and defensive play. 

The Line-Ups:

Trinidad - Anastascia Wilson (GS), Jelisa Cooper (GA), Rhonda John (WA), Tricia Liverpool (C), Kemba Duncan (WD), Crystal George (GD) and Anika La Roche (GK)

St. Lucia - Barb Joseph - Theobalds (GS), Shem Maxwell (GA), Deselva Florton (WA), Roxanne Synder (C), Sherma Benti (WD), Michelle Rogers (GD) and  Jodie Mathurin (GK).

Jamaica Up Two Games - Canada Down Two

Last Night Jamaica looked larger than life in the AFNA tournament as their captain Simone Forbes was back leading the ship after completing other national duties in the 12th Caribbean Volleyball Champions in Barbados.

This time the team made no first quarter blunders as they did against St. Lucia, the interval scores were 17-5, 33-9, 50 - 14 and they finally won by a whopping 69 of 17.

Jamaica starting line up was Crystal Gordan (GS), Simone Forbes (GA), Nadine Bryan (WA), Tracey Robinson (C), Nichala Gibson (WD), Kelly Malysha (GD) and Nicole Aiken (GK).  

Canada started with Sabrina Versteeg (GS),

 Maralyn Hope (GA), Narm Thavarasalingam (C), Rebekah Eatmon (WD), Shawnette Cockburn (GD), and Sonja Salbuvik (GK).

Canada used their two shooters for the entire game.  Versteeg was way below par making herself available for just 5 attempts of which she scored two.  Maralyn Hope always active and attacking had a hard fought 22 of 15.

In Jamaica's case captain Forbes played three globe trotter style quarters.  One of the Caribbean's best, she made light work of her 20 of 24.  

Reserve Vanessa Walker was given the second quarter and contributed 3 of 3, while goal shooter Crystal Gordan scored 27 of 29 and reserve shooter Christina Solmon netted 19 of her 22. 

Barbados In Winners Row

St. Vincent and the Grenadines were stopped cold on their home court 14-12, 28-21, 44-26 and and 52-36 by a Barbadian side that looked out for revenge last night in the AFNA Championships, Arnos Vale Complex.  Seeded ahead of St. Vincent the Barbados team had a lot more than national pride to play for.  Thankfully they turn up ready for work to break Barbados July 20 sports losing streak.

The line up for Barbados read Laurel Browne (GS) Nikita Piggott  (GA) Don Small (WA), Kizzy Marvelle (WD), Sherry Martindale (GD) and Lisa Puckerin (GK).  St. Vincent went with Skiddy Francis- Crick (GS), Nicole Sandy (GA), Leeana Lewis (WA), Saska Diamond (C), Julia Cumberbatch (WD), Curla Francis-Edwards (GD) and Vasha Adams (GK).

Nikita Piggott was hot, she carried Barbados attack squarely on her back moving well outside and shot well for her 20 of 23 goals.  Laurel Browne also gave a good account of her self scoring 27 of 28 before she exited the game at the end of the third quarter.  Lydia Bishop came in for the last quarter but really did not get going scoring just 5 of 5.  The defence was solid but the fortress came after Rhe Ann Niles was introduced into the game in the second quarter.  It made one believe that probably, just probably the score could have been different against Trinidad if she was available.

Skiddy Francis -  Crick did not live up to the legend of her name.  She scored 15 of 16 while substitute Joanna Christopher made good 7 of 12.  Goal attack Nicole Sandy contributed 7 of 9 and was not as effective as the night before against Canada. 

In other games Trinidad and Tobago defeated St. Lucia 50 - 29 while Jamaica made light work of Canada easily dispatching them 69-17.

That's all I have time for right now but I promise you more stats and pictures from all the teams tomorrow.  Thanks guys for all the inspiring comments!

AFNA Championships - Monday Schedule Preview

The big game today will be against host St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados who are ranked 12th and 11th in the world respectively, at 6:45pm.  I would give the edge to St. Vincent who have home court advantage.  Barbados however will be fighting to remain seeded ahead of its nemesis St. Vincent, these two know each other well and have a long history of fighting for Caribbean supremacy. 

Take Jamaica out of the equation, for the Eastern Caribbean, this is one of the unofficial finals, last night's game between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados was another.  Starting from their historic three way tie in Antigua in 1992, which was repeated the following year, these three teams are the teams to step up their administration and game and take the Caribbean up the world ranking.

Trinidad takes on St. Lucia in the the second game at 6:15pm.  They are expected to win, but judging from St. Lucia's first quarter against Jamaica, the Trinidadians cannot take this very defensive team for granted.

In the first game of the evening, the Canadians will be staring at their second defeat as they take on the world's fouth seeded team, Jamaica.  I suspect that coach Francis will use her full under 21 squad for this game.  Last night she used four against St. Lucia.  I think an acid test of the strength of the rest of teams in the tournament will be how many of Jamaica's seven under 21s that their are grooming for next year's worlds, will they be able to play against the other countries first teams.  This also says a lot about the wide gap between Jamaica and the rest of the Americas.

AFNA Championships Off With A Bang!

There were no surprises on the first playing day of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations Championships being held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  Except for Barbados, who may have fancied their chances against Trinidad, the script read as one would have expected. St. Vincent and the Grenadines showed no hospitality to Canada dispatching them 10-7, 27-11, 42-19 to finally win by a comfortable 20 goal margin 51-30. 

Veteran Skiddy Francis, now Francis-Crick, returned to the goal shooter position for her country.  St. Vincent was well satisfied with their champion shooter's contribution taking her out of the game at the end of the third quarter for Joanna Christopher.

Back to Barbados, my country women made error after error which was indicative of the short time frame in which their started training.  There were not overwhelmed by Trinidad but just did not jell together.  Trinidad was out front from the start 13-10, 26-20, 39-28 and won 49-36. Barbados started with Laurel Browne and Nikita Piggott but changed to Lydia Bishop and Browne at half time.  
Browne was at the goal attack position while Bishop was in at goal shooter.  This to my mind was a mistake.  Bishop likes to honeymoon out of the circle so if both goal shooters had to be in the game, Bishop would 

have been my choice for the goal attack bib.   

Trindad kept their two shooters, Anastascia Wilson and Joelisa Cooper in for the entire game. 

Big guns Jamaica of course won their game but must have been a tad concern when they got of to what can only be described as a dismal start leading St. Lucia just 6-5 in the first quarter.  They righted themselves however in the second quarter and I am sure, the Connie Francis that I remember would have had more than a few choice words for her team.  They came back to put away the Lucians 25-9, 40-18 to complete day one 54-21.