Toco put up a valiant effort throughout, but were unable to deny Defence Force the win, as they won the first game 5-23, the second game 25-20 and the third 25- 19. Robert Solomon, representing the Army- Coast Guard combination, was named as the game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Glamorgan were also in winners row as they took care of UTT 3-1 in a Women’s Super League encounter.

Glamorgan took the first game 25-21 as well as the second 25-10.

UTT responded with a win in the third game 25-16 but Glamorgan closed out the match with a 25-12 result in the fourth game.

Shushanna Marshall of Glamorgan was adjudged as the Most Valuable Player of the encounter.

Captain Steve Benny completed a four-week resident programme at the George C Marshall European Centre for Security Studies an Germany.

Newsday understands that the course was completed in March.

A release sent by the Regiment revealed that training was conducted with regional and international counterparts which gave participants strategies on developing a better understanding of the potential tension and trade-off between conducting better and more effective operations against terrorist bodies, while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.

The course also looked into the ideologies and operations of terrorist cells and how to counteract them. Benny was also recognised for his work in the Manoeuvre Captains Career Course. The release said that Benny competed against top US Marines and Army Ranges and excelled in all areas of the course. He was commended by Deputy Commander of US SOUTHCOM, Lieutenant General Joseph P DiSalvo for winning the overall top seminar award on this programme. “Captain Benny’s performance and high calibre of professionalism is demonstrative of the Officers, Men and Women of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment and the wider Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.” the release said.

Babwah, who will turn 40 later this year, struck 72 and grabbed two for 16 in four overs to lead Central Sports to a 41-run win over Trinidad and Tobago Prisons Service in round two of group three.

Babwah’s knock guided Central Sports to 165 for nine batting first.

Kamil Pooran pitched in with 32, while Johnathan Singh (3/25) and Javed Boodram (3/32) both took three wickets for Prisons.

In reply, Prisons could only muster 124/7 with Ricardo Sam scoring 37, while Deens Baird contributed 23. Babwah restricted the Prisons batsmen along with Rakesh Maharaj (2/24). Central Sports defeated Cane Farm by three wickets in round one. Round three of the group stage will be played tomorrow.

SUMMARISED SCORES: JAILAL ENTERPRISE VICTORIA 171/5 (H Mitchell 39, Andrae Bryce 34, Kareem Hamilton 2/30) vs MOOSAI 111 (16.2 overs) (A Daniel 32, Q Williams 17, Sanjiv Gooljar 3/12, V Rampersad 3/19) Victoria won by 60 runs.

QUEEN’S PARK TWO 118 (Namir Suepaul 30, D Drakes 28 not out, Keon Isaac 3/26, Aneil Kanhai 3/15) vs MERRY BOYS 122/3 (12 overs) (Isaiah Rajah 49 not out, Amir Jangoo 32) Merry Boys won seven wickets.

ALESCON COMETS 152/4 (Steven Katwaroo 48, Rayad Emrit 25 not out, Devendra Krishna 1/15) vs Courts Orangefield 148/8 (Shemroy Barrington 46, Trevon Griffith 42, Kenroy Williams 3/23, Imran Khan 2/20) Comets won by four runs.

CANE FARM 179/3 (Alcindo Holder 70, Romel Nanan 43, Gabriel Blackwell 2/26) vs TABLELAND 162/7 (Al Small 61, Keaton Mahabir 29, Anthony Simmons 2/43, Tevon Jadoo 2/38) Cane Farm won by 17 runs.

CALDRAC 133/8 (Eugene La Fleur 32, Allen Laurent 24, Anderson Phillip 2/15, Jyd Goolie 2/21, Yannick Ottley 2/35) vs CLARKE ROAD 134/1 (17 overs) (Adrian Ali 59 not out, Kyle Hope 35) Clarke Road won by nine wickets.

POWERGEN 185/6 (Evin Lewis 69, Jason Mohammed 34, Antonio Singh 2/35, Jevon George 2/38) vs F&E DIAMIOND 111/7 (Michael Collins 25, Dwayne Charles 25, Delroy Johnson 3/9, Mark Deyal 3/20) Powergen won by 74 runs.

ARANGUEZ 103/7 (19.4 overs) (Safraz Laloo 26, Khary Pierre 2/5, Terrance Hinds 2/15) vs QUEEN’S PARK ONE 104/2 (13.5 overs) (Justin Guillen 37 not out, Akeal Hosein 28 not out) Queen’s Park won by eight wickets.

The fact that such a prominent association could advance such a proposal for curbing indiscipline and violence in schools indicates that many principals really have no grasp of the requirements for learning.

Surely there are better ways for ensuring that children who are compelled to attend schools are properly supervised and protected by educational professionals at all times.

The point was made that teachers will be able to leave school earlier in order to prepare. I am not convinced this is a genuine position. Rather, it reveals the lazy mentality that has infiltrated many areas of work in TT .

Has teaching now become another “make work” programme? Why can principals not prepare appropriate duty rosters that can ensure that students are adequately supervised at all times? We should note also that not all acts of indiscipline occur during lunchtime. This is because indiscipline is a product of poor management of some schools, both primary and secondary.

Instead of only considering the needs of the staff, Napspa should take into account the needs of students to relax and socialise after a morning’s work.

The lunchtime break also provides a sensory break to reset their sensory systems so that they can stay alert and focused after lunch.

Although the Minister of Education has found some merit in this idea, I would advise him to reject it at once, and I expect better leadership from Napspa in the future.

DAVID SUBRAN via email

They have done so on sprint champion Control Unit for the feature 1350 metres race for horses rated 70 and over on Race Day 13 at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Saturday.

The Glenn Mendez- trained runner will have to give away lumps of weight to his six rivals including stablemate Whisper Light (54.5 kilos). Next highest weight in the race will be carried by Teniente Coronel – 57 kilos.

Saturday’s eight-race programme will see 93 horses entered with some full fields.

There will be a single winner bonus of over $4,000 on the Hi5, while the Pick 6 has a carryover of over $5,000. Racing on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 1 pm.

Jeremy Seecharan of Mohess Road was also charged with possession of house breaking implements at Ghandi Village substation when he stood before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John.

According to a TTEC press release, the arrest and prosecution of the accused was a result of an ongoing partnership between TTEC Estate Police Rapid Response and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, “to combat electricity theft and tampering with the Commission’s installations.” The statement continued: “TTEC reminds members of the public that, pursuant to the Electricity Act Chapter 44:70, it is a criminal offence to tamper with the Commission’s electricity installations and/ or make electricity connections.

The Commission will continue to investigate any such installations and/or connections and bring legal action against those found guilty of these offences. The public is therefore warned against carrying out such illegal acts, which pose a serious threat to safety.” Seecharan will reappear in court on May 22.

Number two seed Will Lee, will have to be at the top of his game in order to retain the men’s singles title against top seeded veteran Alistair Espinoza.

Equally as dominant in the local game over the past few years is the number one seed and defending champion in the women’s singles draw, Solangel Guzman.

Guzman, along with her partner Jada Renales, will seek to retain their woman’s doubles championship from among the seven other duos vying for the title.

A new champion will be crowned in the men’s doubles division, as defending champions Cory Fanus and Dakeil Thorpe from Barbados will not compete.

The defending champions and top seeds in the mixed doubles category are Espinoza and Jada Renales.

The masters division will be contested in a round robin format as Ronald Clarke and Derwin Renales seek to turn back all opponents in defence of their title.

The Trinidad and Tobago Badminton Association hailed the contribution of title sponsor Solo Beverages Limited, as the company is now in its 20th year of sponsorship.

In a statement, the ministry noted that while S&P lowered its long term credit rat- ings for TT from A- to BBB+ last Friday, it also revised this country’s economic outlook from “negative” to “stable.” S&P also maintained this country’s investment grade rating and affirmed TT’s “A-2 short term sovereign credit ratings.” The ministry said S&P believes that current economic policies being pursued by Government, including efforts to attract foreign investment to the energy sector and fiscal consolidation, will result in the country’s debt burden stabilising over the next two years. S&P also noted there was a decline in inflation to around three percent at the end of last year.

The ministry said S&P is also projecting that that despite economic challenges,”the local banking sector will maintain an average net external asset of 105 percent of current account receipts during 2017 to 2020 with public external debt remaining low, despite the global bond issue of US$1 billion in July 2016.” The ministry said this country’s stable outlook is also based on substantial financial buffers of more than adequate international reserves and a Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) of US$5.5 billion representing 25 percent of GDP. The ministry further indicated that provisional liabilities from the financial sector and non-financial public enterprises such as the National Gas Company and Petrotrin have been assessed as limited.

S&P cited the increased debt burden as one factor in lowering TT’s long term credit rating. The ministry said it is important to note that the significant increase in the debt to GDP ratio between 2014 and 2015 was largely attributable to significant downward revisions by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of the nominal GDP for those years.

The CSO’s estimate for 2014 was revised down from $174,756.9 million to $167,764.3 million.

The estimate for 2015 was reduced from $165,286.1 million to $150,246.6 million.

The ministry said these revisions were deemed necessary on account of downward adjustments of the originally projected values of the output of energy companies following the sudden collapse of international energy prices in late 2014 and again in 2015.

The Hyatt Waterfront restaurant was closed due to renovations, which are nearing completion.

Management decided to re-open for business and resume the brunch service.

Hyatt’s Marketing Communications manager, Neemah Persad Celestine said: “We have a newly renovated restaurant with a totally different look and feel. We are offering a lot more items with additional local flavours.” A Kids Corner with a variety of sweet treats and toppings for children of all ages has been introduced, she said, with choices of marshmallows, berry compote, M&Ms, wafers, oreo bits, gummy bears, chocolate sauce/vanilla sauce and dulce de leche ice cream. “We have also introduced our Sparkling Brunch option. This gives you brunch as well as over six different types of sparkling and non-sparkling wines to choose from,” said Celestine Venue manager Dessi-Ann Williams Alexis, supervisor Wendell Lakhan, and assistant Food & Beverage director Bryan Hudson welcomed guests to the brunch.

The meal started with a tasty fish broth, followed by a wide range of salads and dressings. There was also a cold cuts and cheese station.

The carving stations, one serving slow roasted lamb leg with mint jelly, and a stir-fry station with chicken and vegetables, egg noodle, onion, mixed peppers, carrot, cabbage, dried mushrooms, bean sprouts and tofu oyster sauce were also quite enticing.

At the omelette station patrons had a choice of ingredients such as mushrooms, cheese, ham, turkey, peppers, spinach, onions, tomatoes and bacon, while at the pancakes and waffles area, they were able to add a choice of whipped cream, maple syrup, shaved chocolate, fresh berries, chocolate syrup, fresh bananas and icing sugar.

One of the biggest culinary delights, especially for the meat lovers, came from the sumptuous main course that comprised sundried tomato and green pea rice, roasted baby potato and spinach, Trinidadian corn pie, steamed vegetables with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, steamed fish in okro, creole sauce, Cajun roasted chicken and grilled flank steak, in red wine and balsamic reduction.

Among the dessert items were apple mousse, raspberry gateaux, peach baked yogurt, New York cheesecake, and strawberry chloral petite gateaux.

The culinary team was led by executive chef Fernando Franco and included sous chef Avanelle James, executive sous chef Tony Rattigan, sous chef Kirk Seegobin and junior chef Shinelle Alexander.

Celestine told Newsday: “Every week our chefs create new menus with local specialties, live carving and cooking stations highlighting different international cuisine, and all our amazing desserts are exclusively made in-house by our talented pastry team.”

Latapy’s team featured in training match against a Southern Football Association (SFA) invitational Under 15 team on Saturday at Ato Boldon Stadium, coming away 8-1 winners to follow up their 3-1 win over a Republic Bank Invitational the previous weekend.

TT U-15s led 4-0 at half-time through goals by Jean-Heim McFee who notched a hat-trick while Jaiye Sheppard added another.

Further goals came in the second half from Ezekiel Kesar, Justin Araujo-Wilson, Zachery Welch and Macai Peters.

The teams scheduled to play in the Cayman tournament include Alchemy (USA), Bahamas Tottenham Hotspur FC (Bahamas), Cavalier SC (Jamaica), Cayman Islands National Team, La Ceiba FC (Honduras), Cuba National U-15 Team, DC United (USA), Harbour View FC (Jamaica), Houston Dynamo Academy (USA), IMG Academy (USA) and Manchester City FC (England).

Latapy spoke about Saturday’s match and his final selection for the Cayman Invitational “The game on Saturday against the SFA invitational was another valuable exercise in the sense that it allowed us to have the boys in a game situation which is again, preparation for the international tournament in the Cayman Islands and then the CONCACAF championship in August,” Latapy told TT FA Media.

“It was good to see the chances being taken and the victory being a comprehensive one. But in saying that,we know that the matches will be different when we head out and we will prepare for this.

“Regarding the final squad selection, I think my coaching staff and I have assessed these players over the past few weeks with some level of detail and we’ve come up with a squad that is balanced and comprising of talented young boys who are developing a good understanding for the game at this level. Our job now is to continue to nurture them.

We will continue to monitor the entire pool and there will be adjustments in the future because the doors are not closed on any player,” Latapy added.

TT U-15 Squad for Cayman Islands: Luke Savery (St Mary’s College), Zachary Welch (Fatima College), Justin Araujo-Wilson (Fatima College), Jarique Williams (St Anthony’s College), Jaheim Wickham (St Anthony’s College),Tyrese Pierre (Queen’s Royal College), Darian Bradshaw (Queen’s Royal College), Ezekiel Kesar (Naparima College),Josiah Edwards (Brazil High School), Jean-Heim McFee (St James Secondary), Micai Peters (El Dorado West Secondary), Kahlil Oliver (Malabar Secondary), Jaiye Sheppard (Scarborough Secondary), N’Kosi Corbin (Belmont Boys Secondary),Daniel Lake (Mucurapo West Secondary),Jabari Lee (San Fernando East Secondary), Ephraim Brown (Pleasantville Secondary), Tristan Ceasar (Pleasantville Secondary), Antonio Chee Ting (Trinity College East), Matthew De Souza (Trinity College East).