Akeel Lovell pulled off a crucial win in a decisive duel that helped Fast Loopers earn a 3-2 victory over Ricks in a compelling contest when the Barbados Table Tennis Association’s Division One competition continued at the Table Tennis Centre, Nursery Drive, St Michael, on Saturday night.
The left-handed Lovell squared off against Curt Moore – who in his earlier days was one of the leading players on the island – with the scores locked at 2-2 in a highly competitive contest.
Lovell took early control, winning the first game at three but the experienced Moore came storming back in the second. Lovell stood firm and held off his opponent with a 12-10 victory in the second game before winning 11-5 in the third game to secure the triumph for Fast Loopers.
Earlier, Ramario Gill put Fast Loopers ahead by beating Antonio Hamilton 9-11, 16-14, 11-7, 11-9 in a gruelling match-up. Lovell then went under to Shawn Bellamy at eight, nine and six.
Fast Loopers regained the lead when the Gill brothers, Rachad and Romario, took out Moore and Hamilton 11-5, 10-12, 14-12, 9-11, 18-16 in the doubles. Bellamy then put Ricks back in the contest by overcoming Rachad Gill 11-7, 11-3, 5-11, 9-11, 11-6 to set up the fifth set decider.
In the other matches, Caribbean Unity Sports “A” defeated Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) 3-0 while 2024 champions Scouters dealt similarly with Caribbean Unity Sports “B”.
Keon Alleyne beat Paul Thorpe 11-6, 11-8, 11-5; Kevin Farley beat David Harris 11-4, 11-3, 11-5; Ann Reid and Alleyne beat Thorpe and Harris 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-3.
Scouters beat Caribbean Unity Sports “B” 3-0 as Mark Dowell beat Mdjai Collymore 11-3, 11-5, 11-6; Mikail Mark beat Imari Carrington 11-4, 11-4, 11-6; and Mikail Mark and Bryan Matthews beat Carrington and Jaheim Farley 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4.
Matthews, manager of the Scouters team, while pleased with the win, admitted that a repeat performance this year would be challenging.
“We lost access to some of our players. We had younger players who we hoped would eventually replace the senior players,” he said.
“We lost Tre Riley and Rashon Goddard. Riley moved to the Triple Eight Club in the USA to train while work commitments have made it difficult for Goddard to play. In addition, his shoulder was injured when he was knocked off his bike and that required surgery,” Matthews said.
“We also lost Junior Evelyn, who retired from competition. We have recruited Mikail Mark, who is a solid player. There are, however, a couple of very strong teams, but I believe we can still compete,”
he added. (PH)
