T&T top Jean Pierre tournament

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Trinidad and Tobago's (T&T) junior netballers played unbeaten to defend their title in the Jean Pierre Caribbean Netball Youth tournament when it concluded last Friday.

T&T won all six of their matches against Cayman Islands, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados to finish on a maximum 30 points in the 22nd edition of the competition, which took place at the University of the West Indies Sport and Physical Education Centre (UWI SPEC) in St Augustine over the past week.

Barbados, whose lone defeat came at the hands of T&T placed second on 25 points, while Grenada were third on 21 points.

T&T's manager Jody Sprott said she was impressed by the team's performance throughout the competition.

"Repeating as champions reflects their discipline, consistency, and determination, especially with the pressure of being the team to beat.

"The girls showed resilience, unity, and a strong understanding of their roles, growing in confidence with each game and playing for one another every step of the way," Sprott said.

"This was truly a collective effort, and I am very proud of the entire team."

Centre/wing attack Kelsea Gardner was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and was among three T&T players named among the top 16 players in the tournament. The others were shooter Curleen Lara, who was named Best Individual Shooter, and defender Khemyah Anderson.

In other awards, Grenada won Best Team on Parade, T&T were named Best Uniformed Team, Cayman Islands took home the Most Disciplined Team and Most Improved Team prizes, while the Best Team Spirit award went to Barbados.