Manie Eleuthere continues to excel in table tennis, adding the Saint Lucia Table Tennis Premier League title to his growing list of accolades. Eleuthere teamed up with Leshon Francis to soar to victory as Team Eagles.
The Eagles – Eleuthere and Francis – went unbeaten to take the title in a thrilling 3-2 final against Team Warriors, featuring two-time National Junior Sportsman Of The Year DeAndre Calderon alongside Dawitt Nurse and Stephen Steele. Calderon, fresh from playing for a professional club in Germany, contested one singles match and the doubles.
Eleuthere (Eagles) defeated Steele (Warriors) 3-0 in the opening match. Calderon (Warriors) beat Francis (Eagles) 3-0 in the second. The Warriors duo of Calderon and Nurse overcame Eleuthere and Francis 3-1 to give them the edge. But Francis, an Under-15 player, topped Steele 3-0 to restore parity. In the decider, former Caribbean Under-13 champion Eleuthere squeaked past the older and more experienced Nurse 3-2.
Team Mambas – Joshua Lubin and Shatal Charles – finished third after battling hard in the playoffs.
The island’s top players will be heading to Barbados in two weeks for the Caribbean Senior Championships, June 17-22. The last time Saint Lucia were in Barbados for the Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation’s Under-19 and Under-15 Tournament, Eleuthere, Lubin, Francis and Steele made the semifinals of the team competition, qualifying them for the Pan American Junior Games in August.
The national table tennis federation is hopeful of finding more opportunities for the quartet to sharpen their skills ahead of the trip to Asuncion, Paraguay this summer.
