BONAIRE, Bonaire, October 31, 2024.- Stephen Enile and Isaac Theodore of Trinidad and Tobago are the Champions of the first-ever Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Senior Beach Volleyball Champions held in Bonaire.
Enile and Theodore earned the gold medal on October 31st defeating Eddy Toro Maldonado/Thelion Jahim Coutinho of Aruba 2-0 (21-18, 21-16) in the gold medal match.
The tournament took place at the Rudy Boezen complex in Bonaire, a beautiful site with two sand courts and two warm-up courts built under international regulations and is set to host other regional events, including the seventh stage of the 2024 NORCECA Tour that runs from November 1-3.
“We had an interesting day, we started off a bit slow, which we didn’t anticipate” Isaac Theodore said after winning the gold medal. “We were able to recover, and we are really happy for the wins. Aruba did their best and we tried our best to stay focused and come out with the win” he added.
Stephen Enile agreed with his partner about their slow start in the tournament, “we played our best in the semifinals, we came out with a very good win to put us in the final match; we showed what we came here to do, “win” and we’re grateful for nothing more than that”.
Stephen Enile and Isaac Theodore of Trinidad and Tobago made a comeback in semifinals over Emmanual Turney and Dominic Durant of Barbados 2-1 (16-21, 21-10, 15-11). While Aruba’s Eddy Toro Maldonado and Thelion Jahim Coutinho controlled Ethwinson Luis and Dimanche Elsevijf of Curaçao 2-0 (21-18, 21-18).
The bronze medal went to Emmanual Turney/Dominic Durant of Barbados who came from behind 2-1 (15-21, 21-18, 15-13) against Ethwinson Luis/Dimanche Elsevijf of Curaçao. In the third set they reached an even 11 and 13, but Turney/Dominic were victorious.
The CAZOVA champs, finished pool-play second in Pool B while earning a dominant win 2-0 (21-6, 21-4) over Emmanuel Montenegro/Josue Mejía of Bonaire. Earlier they fell to Curaçao’s Ethwinson Luis and Dimanche Elsevijf in three sets 1-2 (20-22,21-17, 12-15).
Emmanual Turney and Dominic Durant of Barbados advanced to the semifinals as winners of Pool A. In pool-play Turney/Dominic also prevailed 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) over the home team of Luiyi E. Morales Monsalve/Savyo Antonio Benjamin and then 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) against Aruba’s Eddy Toro Maldonado/Thelion Jahim Coutinho.
Curaçao’s Ethwinson Luis and Dimanche Elsevijf topped Pool B, starting their campaign with the battled win in three sets to Enile/Theodore (TTO). Next, they overpowered Emmanuel Montenegro /Josue Mejía of Bonaire 2-0 (21-4, 21-10).
The number one seeded team of the event, Eddy Toro and Thelion Coutinho of Aruba finished second in Pool A. First, they were tested to the limit in their first outing by Morales Monsalve/Savyo of Bonaire. With the support of his students, Luiyi Morales with his teammate Josue Mejía forced the match to an overtime, but Toro/Coutinho came out on top 2-1 (21-11, 17-21, 15-8).
Final standings: 1. Stephen Enile/Joel Isaac Theodore (TRINIDAD Y TOBAGO); 2. Eddy Toro Maldonado/Thelion Jahim Coutinho (ARUBA); 3. Haile-Emmanual Turney/Dominic Durant (BARBADOS); 4. Ethwinson Luis/Dimanche Elsevijf (CURAÇAO); 5. Emmanuel Montenegro Sánchez/Josue Leonel Mejía Navarro (BONAIRE-1); 6. Luiyi E. Morales Monsalve/Savyo Antonio Benjamin Verolme (BONAIRE-2).
Results:
Pool A: Toro/Coutinho (ARU) d Morales Monsalve/Savyo (BON) 2-1 (21-11, 17-21, 15-8); Turney/Dominic (BAR) d Morales Monsalve/Savyo (BON) 2-0 (21-17, 21-18); Turney/Dominic d Toro/Coutinho (ARU) 2-0 (21-13, 21-16).
Pool B: Enile/Theodore (TTO) de Montenegro/Mejia (BON) 2-0 (21-6, 21-4); Elsevijf/Ethy (CUR) d Enile/Theodore (TTO) 2-1 (22-20, 17-21, 15-12); Elsevijf/Ethy (CUR) d Montenegro/Mejía (BON) 2-0 (21-4, 21-10).
Semifinals: Enile/Theodore (TTO) d Turney/Dominic (BAR) 2-1 (16-21, 21-10, 15-11); Toro/Coutinho (ARU) d Elsevijf/Ethy (CUR) 2-0 (21-18, 21-18)
Bronze Medal: Turney/Dominic (BAR) d Elsevijf/Ethy (CUR) 2-1 (15-21, 21-18, 15-13)
Gold Medal: Enile/Theodore (TTO) d Toro/Coutinho (ARU) 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).