ST CROIX, US Virgin Islands (CMC):

Perennial champions Barbados needed nearly two hours before they could dispose of arch-rivals Jamaica and win the third place playoff at the 14th senior men's Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association Championship on Saturday night.

Barbados, who has won the tournament 10 times but not since 2006, were marching towards victory with a 2-0 lead in sets when the Jamaicans roared back to level at 2-2 and leave the contest on a knife's edge at the Ronald Charles Gymnasium.

In the end, however, Barbados pulled on their massive experience to come away with a 25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 18-16 victory in a marathon encounter.

"We had a great start and won the first two sets but credit to Jamaica though as they showed a lot of spirit and determination, got back into the match and had us playing catch-up," Barbados coach Ludger Niles said afterward.

"But we also showed our strength and came back to keep our record of at least claiming a medal at each tournament."

Shawn Simpson, voted the tourmament's Best Scorer, had a team-high 20 points, while veteran outsider Fabian Cox counted 16 and Akeem Payne, 11.

a game-high 21 points

Jamaica were led by Mark Lewis with a game-high 21 points, with Ryck Webb counting 19 and Dennis Nelson, 15.

The Jamaicans got the better of Barbados 16-11 on blocks but were edged 10-6 on service points.

Steve Davis, the Jamaica coach, complained of several calls that went against his side that could have determined the game, but said there was much for his unit to be proud of.

"Apart from that (calls) I must take some of the blame for my team's loss as well, but looking ahead Jamaica as a team has a lot to build on," he said.

In the fifth place play-off, Martinique stumbled briefly before beating fellow French-speaking nation Guadeloupe, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20.

Yoann Breleur pioneered Martinique's win by scoring 16 points.