“This team surprised everybody by getting to this stage of the World Championship qualifiers. It is the first time in our history that a national team reached this far. They have nothing to be ashamed of first and foremost. We know that this final round of qualifiers was going to be tough, given the quality of opponents. It is now for them to analyze their performance as a group and build on what they’ve accomplished playing against stronger opponents,” Minister Grange said, following the team’s arrival back home yesterday.

Jamaica finished fifth overall in the tournament with Cuba and the United States to represent the region at next year’s World Championship after reaching the final.

“But overall I’m proud of the boys and like I said before the government is committed to assisting the local governing association in whatever way we can to make them more competitive in future tournaments,” the Minister said.

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