by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager
It was an outcome that did not appear to be on the cards when the contest started; Gaston Alto beat Jorge Campos (11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7) but that was to be the only Argentine success.
Livan Martinez levelled matters by beating Santiago Lorenzo (10-12, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9), before securing success in the doubles in partnership with Juan Rondon against Gaston Alto and Daniel Len (11-6, 10-12, 11-9, 14-12). Cuba now ahead, Jorge Campos concluded matters by beating Daniel Len (11-4, 11-8, 11-1).
Earlier in the day, Argentina, with no changes to the selection, had beaten the Barbados outfit of Mark Dowell, Tyrese Knight and Kristian Doughty by three matches to nil, thus hopes of progress to the main draw remain open.
In the concluding fixture in the group, Cuba meets Barbados; teams finishing in first and second places in each of the three groups advance to the second phase.
Problems for Argentina but not for the top seeds, Brazil and Chile; both completed their initial stage fixtures unbeaten and thus reserved semi-final places.
Represented by Eric Jouti, Vitor Ishiy and Thiago Monteiro; Brazil recorded a three-nil win against Guyana’s Christopher Franklin, Shemar Britton and Joel Alleyne, before with Humberto Manhani replacing Thiago Monteiro, the same margin of victory was secured in opposition to the Dominican Republic’s Samuel Galvez, Emil Santos and Isaac Vila.
Likewise, the Chilean trio of Felipe Olivares, Gustavo Gomez and Manuel Moya showed no mercy. They beat El Salvador’s Oscar Villalta, Job Martinez and Oliver Mendez by three matches to nil, prior to repeating the success against Mexico’s Ricardo Villa, Dario Arce and Miguel Lara.
Guyana now faces the Dominican Republic to determine second place in the group; similarly El Salvador confronts Mexico.
The concluding group stage and quarter-final fixtures are scheduled for Monday 5th March; the semi-finals one day later. The final will be played on Wednesday 7th March.
2018 Latin American Senior Championships: Men’s Team & Women’s Team – Seeding (Sunday 4th March)
2018 Latin American Senior Championships: Results – Men’s Team (Sunday 4th March)
2018 Latin American Senior Championships: Detailed Results – Men’s Team (Sunday 4th March)
2018 Latin American Senior Championships: Results – Women’s Team (Sunday 4th March)
2018 Latin American Senior Championships: Detailed Results – Women’s Team (Sunday 4th March)