T&T men's beach volleyball pair Daneil Williams and Fabien Whitfield will be seeking further improvement and a possible podium finish when the Cayman Islands Volleyball Federation hosts the third leg of the 2023 North, Central American, and Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) Beach Volleyball Tour, the Security Centre Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Seven Miles Public Beach, Grand Cayman from 9 am (10 am TT time) on Friday.
The tournament is expected to feature 22 teams' men's teams 16 countries and will offer teams points towards their efforts to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
When play serves off on Friday, the T&T will compete in Pool B against Mexicans, Juan Virgen and Miguel Sarabia, the runner-up in the first leg and perennial title contenders; St Kitts/Nevis' St Clair Hodge, and Shawn Seabrookes, Haitians Olando Joseph and Irvens Benjamin, and Anguillans Da'Qwan Fredericks, and Aiden Hazzard.
Looking ahead to the tournament, Williams said the focus for the duo will be first to qualify from the group.
"We have a very nice group and once we play to our ability, we should be able to qualify from our five-team pool, and get to the second quarterfinals in a row, and from there we will be targeting the semifinals," said Williams.
"The conditions here in the Cayman Islands are also much better than in Cuba where the wind affected us greatly, so we just have to go out and play good volleyball, and take each match as it comes."
The T&T men are coming off a seventh-placed finish from 16 teams during the second leg in Varadero, Cuba, on Sunday last after a 13th-placed finish in the first leg in Aguascalientes, Mexico in April.
In the playoff for the seventh spot, the T&T men were scheduled to face Puerto Ricans Kevin Rodríguez and Josué Rivera, however, the latter pair were forced to forfeit the match due to an injury, handing the T&T duo a 21-0, 21-0 win.
