The Trinidad and Tobago men's hockey team had to settle for the silver medal after going down to long-time rivals Cuba 2-1 on sudden-death penalty strokes after a 2-2 draw in their final of the 2026 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games at the Field Hockey Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
The defeat for the 'Calypso Stickmen' marked the fourth time in as many meetings they have been beaten by the Cubans in the tournament's final.
Winners of the gold medal in 2002, T&T previously fell to the Cubans in the gold medal matches in 1993, 2006, and 2014.
In a final worthy of the occasion, Cuba, who had dominated possession throughout the tournament, controlled the opening quarter and took the lead through their captain, Iraidys Calderón, via a converted penalty corner past T&T goalkeeper Malcolm Baptiste in the 13th minute, which they held through the first half.
The second quarter was tense and physical, with Cuba's Geovanny Neninger receiving a green card in the 20th minute while T&T's Shaquille Daniel was also shown a green in the 22nd minute.
The third quarter changed the complexion of the final entirely as Cuba extended their lead to 2-0 in the 40th minute through a field goal by Marlon De Jesus Sanchez.
However, T&T's captain Mickell Pierre, a veteran with 163 international caps, pulled a goal back in the 45th minute, reducing the deficit 1-2.
In the fourth quarter, Cuba's Dairon Louis received a green card in the 46th minute and Neninger a yellow card eight minutes later, which left Cuba temporarily a man down.
T&T took advantage by converting a penalty corner in the 58th minute via Dylan Francis to level the match at 2-2, forcing a shootout.
In the shootout, Calderón scored with his team's first attempt, while Nicholas Siu was denied by Cuban goalkeeper Ignacio Aroche.
Baptiste then denied Cuban Felix Mena, while Teague Marcano scored to get T&T back on level terms at 1-1 after two attempts each.
The Cubans Michael Batista and Alejandro Echevarria then failed to score, while T&T's Pierre and Joel Daniel also drew blanks.
The decisive moment came when Pedro Viera stepped up and converted a penalty stroke to put the Cubans 2-1 ahead before T&T's Shaquille Daniel's miss opportunity sealed Cuba's victory.
<Taylor advances to 60kg boxing semis>
T&T boxer Abdul Taylor made certain of a medal in the men’s 60 kg when he won his quarterfinal bout against the US Virgin Islands’ Eri Thompson Jr. 4-1.
With the win, Taylor made certain of a bronze medal for the least ahead of his semifinal bout against the Dominican Republic's Disney Medina, who won his quarterfinal against Haiti's Geronimo Seide 5-0.
<Moore books men's 110m hurdles final spot>
At the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium, T&T’s Rinaldo Moore qualified for the men's 110m hurdles final as one of the two fastest losers following a fourth-place finish in semifinal one in 14.03 seconds, with the trio of Jamaica's Sharvis Simmonds (13.56), Guadeloupe's Jeanice Laviolette (13.70), and Dominican Republic's Isaias Pie (13.83) securing the automatic spots.
However, in the second semifinal, T&T's Justin Guy was disqualified while Cuba's Yander Herrera (13.70), Guadeloupe's Ulric Portier (13.74), and Colombia's John Paredes (13.75) secured the automatic spots and the hometown entrant, Cristian Rodriguez, the fastest loser, in 13.91.
In the men's 400m semifinals, T&T's Shakeen McKay, 23, was fourth in the first of three semifinal heats in 46.14 seconds, with the top two finishers, Venezuelan Javier Gomez (45.42) and Mexican Luis Aviles (45.74), advancing to the gold medal one-lap event, while Jamaican Kimar Farquharson was third in 45.90.
In the women's 400m semifinals, T&T's Taejha Badal was fifth in the first of two heats in 52.80 seconds.
<Chung reaches table tennis last-16>
France-based Rheann Chung stayed in the hunt for a medal in the women's table tennis singles competition after she defeated
Venezuelan Nathacha Mata in their round-of-32 encounter: 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7.
Today, she will face the winner of last night's last-32 meeting between Guatemalan Andrea Moscoso and Mexican Clio Barcenas for a spot in the quarterfinals.
However, fellow France-based T&T player Chloe Fraser was stopped in her round-of-32 after an 11-6, 4-11, 11-13, 9-11, 3-11 loss to Guatemala's Daniela Linares.
Earlier on, the France-based Fraser, 17, won an 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9 triumph over Cuban Estela Crespo in the round of 64, while Rheann Chung, 41, swept past Cuban Rosalba Aguiar 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, and 11-7.
However, T&T's Imani Edwards-Taylor, 20, went down 11-9, 2-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 2-11, and 10-12 against Venezuelan Camila Obando, and Jordan Thong, 18, was also ousted by Colombian Juliana Lozada, 4-11, 3-11, 7-11, and 5-11.
In the men's singles round of 64, USA-based T&T's Khaleel Asgarali, 39, stormed past Honduran Irving Zavala 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, and 11-8 to set up a round-of-32 clash with Cuban Adrian Perez today.
Asgarali will then pair with Fraser for a last-32 mixed doubles play.
<Calypso Girls whip Barbados 61-39>
England-based netballer Samantha Wallace-Joseph was once again a dominant force in the shooting circle with 36 goals from 38 attempts as T&T's 'Calypso Girls' brushed aside Barbados 61-39 at the Juan Bosch Sports Complex.
The 'Calypso Girls' led 16-9, 37-26, and 47-30 before closing out the match to record their second win in as many matches.
In addition to Wallace-Joseph, substitute Maikea Bramble chipped in with 14 goals from 15 attempts, while Kalifa McCollin added ten goals from 12 attempts and England-born Kira Rothwell one from two attempts.
For the Barbadians, Faye Agard led her team with 20 goals from 24 attempts, with Brianna Holder adding 15 from 20 attempts and Jada Smith, four goals from five attempts.
In the other earlier matches played, St. Lucia defeated the Dominican Republic 49-22 for their first win in two matches, while Jamaica's Sunshine Girls scolded Bermuda 79-19 to improve to a 2-0 record.
Today, T&T meets the Dominican Republic at 4 pm.
<Venezuela blanks Calypso Spikers>
T&T senior women's volleyballers were handed a third straight defeat by Venezuela in straight sets, 13-25, 16-25, and 14-25 at the Ricardo Gioriver Arias Volleyball Palace to end at the bottom of Group A.
Kiune Fletcher had a match-high 14 points for T&T, with Ruth St. Louis and Jalicia Ross-Kydd the next best scorers with four points each.
On the other side of the net, Mariangel Vivas Requena led Venezuela with 14 points, while she got good support from Meriyen Serrano and Gabriel Noguera with nine points each and Artigas Perez Reilbeth and Isabel Maria Fernandez with seven points apiece.
Venezuela dominated with 41-26 on attacks and 10-1 on service aces, while both teams had three blocks each.
T&T committed 21 unforced errors to the Venezuelans' 13.
T&T women will now contest the fifth to eight semifinals on Thursday.
Meanwhile, at the Palmarejo Equestrian Center, T&T's Marsha Bullen-Jones tallied 260 points for the 18th spot in the women’s 25m pistol qualification precision round, with the rapid event to come today from 9 am.
At the squash courts, the T&T pair of Kimberley Farah and Faith Marion Gillizeau combined to meet Colombian sisters Laura Tovar and Paula Tovar in the women's doubles quarterfinals.
