In a tension packed Women's Team finals that lasted over three hours, Brazilian trio of Ligia SILVA, Jessica YAMADA and GUI Lin were stretched to their limits before accounting for the Puerto Rican Women's Team 3-1.
34-year-old SILVA was able to give Brazil the perfect start by defeating her opponent, 14-year-old Adriana DIAZ (PUR) 3-1 (11-7, 11-6, 2-11, 11-6) before Melanie DIAZ (PUR) leveled the score by overcoming YAMADA in three straight games (11-7, 12-10, 11-8). Brazil's GUI & YAMADA fought back against Melanie DIAZ & Daniely RIOS to take the doubles match by the narrowest margin, 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10, 14-12). GUI then concluded matters with Adriana DIAZ in a five-games thriller (11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 15-17, 11-9)
After the victory, a delighted Hugo HOYAMA, coach of the Brazilian Women's Team stated "It was excellent not only by the results but also because of the attitude I saw in the players. All matches were really tough, in the end of many matches, they had to give a plus to win; they were able to put the ball on the table when they needed."
He added that "It was good to win that way because it will teach us a lot, so we can use it here and also in Toronto for the Pan American Games."
