TRINIDAD and Tobago Under-21s qualified for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup after dousing Grenada 61-39 in the third-place playoff at the qualifier event in Guadeloupe on July 14.
The victory for TT saw them earn the final qualifier spot from the Caribbean, joining finalists Barbados and Jamaica.
After losing their semi-final tie against Jamaica 40-33 on July 13, TT had one last chance of earning World Youth Cup qualification, by virtue of beating fellow losing semi-finalists Grenada. And so they did.
Despite the Spice Isle scoring first, TT fought back and ended the first quarter 13-10 ahead. The Junior Calypso Girls opened up an eight-point lead after the second quarter and entered half-time leading 28-20.
The half-time talk proved pivotal as TT dominated the third period to gain a stern 15-point lead, as they closed the penultimate session on 45-30.
With just over 30 seconds to go in the final quarter, both teams brought an early end to the contest as TT outscored Grenada 16-9 in the final quarter, to seize a commanding 61-39 win, and a spot at the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar from September 19-28, 2025.
TT's Shiah Lewis was adjudged player of the match. In a short post-match interview, she expressed elation on qualifying.
'I feel excited. I've been working very hard. We watched the game (vs Jamaica) and recapped to prepare to come for this team,' Lewis said.
Coach and former national standout player Kalifa Mc Collin was also pleased with her team's determination and grit on the court.
'I'm very excited for the girls. They would have worked hard to reach here and I know they are really happy right now,' Mc Collin said.
Coming off the back of two losses, against Barbados and then Jamaica, McCollin used these matches to help her squad refocus and stick to the plan.
'Through those losses, we would have had to learn and grow from them, not to put themselves (team) down too much because we had the game (vs Grenada) this afternoon. But to grow, tidy up the mistakes and stick to task, that is what we went out there today and tried to do,' she added.
When play resumed in the third quarter, Mc Collin said her hard-time talk was to simply 'go out and execute' what they would have practised.
TT Netball Association president Sherry Ann Blackburn celebrated the team and officials's victory in Guadeloupe.
Blackburn said the team worked hard together to make this dream a reality and credited TT's head delegate Joel Young-Strong, Mc Collin and manager Vanessa Forde for their yeoman service.
'A combination of experience and inexperience both on and off the court contributed to the success,' Blackburn said.
'Many thanks to SporTT for their unwavering support to netball, Krystal Tours, Javon Edwards (second vice-president of Americas Netball) and many others for their service to TT netball.'
Blackburn added that there's still a long road ahead and that there is much to do to reclaim the game for TT.
'All hands on deck, as we work together to make this dream for our youn
