PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Channon Thompson led the battering, as Trinidad & Tobago women continued their impressive start to the Caribbean Championships on Tuesday with a straight sets victory over Suriname.

Thompson landed 18 points, as T&T women beat the Surinamese into submission 27-25, 25-18, 25-8 on the second day of competition at the Jean Pierre Complex in the T&T capital of Port of Spain.

Middle-blockers Byron Ferguson and Endierich Rahming came to the rescue of men’s defending champions The Bahamas, when they survived a fifth set match-point in a 19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21, 16-14 triumph over Curacao in their Pool A opener.

In another key encounter, Shawn Simpson tallied 17 points to lead four players in double-figure scoring as 10-time Caribbean champions Barbados outlasted Suriname 25-12, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15 in men’s Pool B.

The host nation’s women’s side, however, held centre stage, as they continued on their quest to win the Caribbean Championship on home soil for the first time and draw level with long-standing sports rivals Barbados with six women’s titles overall.

T&T coach Nicholson Drakes said he was happy with the performance and the win.

“We are getting to the level of play that I expect us to be at and be consistent and once we can get to that level we will be unbeatable,” he said.

Thompson’s impressive haul included 15 spikes and two blocks and she was assisted by fellow France-based Darlene Ramdin’s 10 points.

T&T outscored their opponents on spikes (36-29), blocks (8-6) and aces (6-4).

On the men’s side, outside hitter Renaldo Knowles was the main scorer for the Bahamians with 16 points, which included two aces, and Ferguson ended with 15 points, inclusive of his six blocks, captain Prince’tanique Wilson had 13 and Shedrick Forbes 11, in the win which came after two hours and 12 minutes.

Coach Vince Smith was relieved his side got safely over the finish line, considering the position they had found themselves in.

“We had a lot of issues in our preparations for our title defence, but as champions the guys rose to the challenge and while it was not our best display, we were able to get the win,” he said.

“We know coming into the tournament it was going to be tough with the five other teams all capable of winning overall and for us to keep our crown we will need to be much more consistent in what we do.”

In the other men’s match, the left-handed Simpson was almost unstoppable above the net with 16 kills in his total, while veteran Fabian Cox added 14, Ammuniki Wood 13 and Akeem Payne 11 in the commanding victory which was accomplished in one hour, 41 minutes.

Overall, the well balance Barbadian line-up proved a notch above their opponents, outscoring them 51-36 on spikes and 7-2 on service aces, while only committing 23 errors to their rivals’ 35.

Long-standing Barbados coach Ludger Niles said he expected his players to continue to grow in confidence in the remaining matches, as they seek to relive the glory days.

“I was also happy that I was able to give all the players a chance to get a feel of the competition and they all did positive things,” he said.

Suriname showed flashes of its true potential throughout the match and had a much better showing on blocks, 12-8 and got a team-high 17 points from Keven Sporkslede, who twisted his left ankle slightly early on in the contest to hamper his movement.