T&T Under-21 men's volleyball went under to a composed Cuba 3-0 in their opening Group B match of the NORCECA Under-21 Men's Continental Championship at the Gatineau Centre for Sports, Quebec, Canada on Tuesday night.
Miguel Lopez Castro led Cuba with 17 points (including 12 kills on 16 attacks, one block and four aces) and Miguel Gutierrez Suarez added 14 (eight kills, four aces, two blocks) for the Spanish-speaking island in their 25-15, 25-6, 25-16 win in 61 minutes.
For T&T, the youngest team in the competition, captain Marlon "Waldo" Phillip was the main scorer with 13 points (including 12 kills on 34 attacks).
It was an overall dominant showing from Cuba, with significantly more size and experience than T&T as it succeeded on 37-of-52 attacks to their opponents 19-of-64. The disparity in strength and size also led to a 9-2 Cuban edge in aces.
T&T is not only the youngest team with an average age of 17.1, but has an average height of 181 cm to Cuba's 194.
The developing squad stayed level to 10-10 in the third set, however Cuba corrected with a kill and a block from Roamy Alonso and ran off 10 of the next 13 points.
Speaking after the loss, Phillip said, "The second set we went down [emotionally] a bit, but I talked to all the players and said we can still have fun and do our best," which we did. They are more experienced than us and taller."
T&T coach Gideon Dickson said his team completed an important exposure by facing Cuba.
"All in all, we are very appreciative of this game, and we have to remember, the Cubans play within a system whereas we in the Caribbean play volleyball occasionally. We need to learn from them."
Also in Group B, host Canada's youngest players contributed to their encouraging 25-12, 25-18, 25-15 win against Guatemala while in the lone Group A match, USA posted a straight-sets 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 victory against Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) champions, Barbados.
Last night T&T faced Canada while Barbados tackled Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association champions, St Vincent and The Grenadines, and Cuba met Guatemala.
Today, Pool A closes out with USA versus St Vincent and The Grenadines from 4pm followed by a Pool B double-header with Guatemala against T&T at 6pm, and Canada up against Cuba two hours later.
Following the completion of today's matches, the second and third placed teams in each pool will meet in cross-over quarterfinals to qualify to meet the pool winners in the semifinals on Saturday.
The quarterfinals losers will do battle for fifth spot on Saturday, with the loser of that match to meet the fourth placed team in Pool B for sixth
The seven-team tournament is serving as a qualifier to the 2017 Under-21 Men's World Junior Championship at a venue to be determined.
Remaining schedule:
Today
Group A: St Vincent and The Grenadines vs USA, 4pm
Group B: Guatemala vs T&T, 6pm; Canada vs Cuba, 8pm
Tomorrow
Quarterfinals: 2nd B vs 3rd A, 6pm; 2nd A vs 3rd B, 8pm
Saturday
Fifth playoff: 4pm;
Semifinals: 6pm & 8pm
Sunday
Sixth playoff: 4pm
Bronze playoff: 6pm
Final: 8pm