Sunshine Girls captain, Nicole Aiken-Pinnock, said their 2-1 Supreme Ventures Sunshine Series victory over archrivals England is testament to their commitment, hard work and belief in one another.
The Jamaicans thrashed the English Roses 57-47 in the deciding Game Three on Tuesday night at the National Indoor Sports Centre, to clinch the series 2-1.
Aiken-Pinnock told The Gleaner in an interview that they were always confident of winning the series because the girls believed that they were the better team.
"I thought we could have really walked away with all three games in this series," said Aiken-Pinnock.
"England is not better than us, and once we start believing things in our mind, which the ladies are doing, then it is going to be difficult to beat us," she said.
"We really came out here and we worked hard, the ladies believe in themselves and we are very supportive of each other, and the support all round the team was great," Aiken-Pinnock said.
The series victory was a case of sweet revenge for the Jamaicans, who were thrashed 3-0 by the English Roses last year in England.
"We wanted to show Jamaica that we are better than England and, is belief that is coming from our minds. We wanted to send a message to everyone that the Sunshine Girls will be no pushovers," Aiken-Pinnock said.
"We have depth in our team, and once we continue to believe and believe in ourselves then we can only get better," she said.
Jamaica won the opening match 56-47, but England came back to capture Game Two 55-47 and tie the series.
However, Aiken-Pinnock admits that there is still a lot of work to be done before the World Championships in August.
"We are not there yet because we are on a journey, and the World Championship final is in August," she said.
Outstanding Showing
"It is a good way to start 2015 on a very positive note. Knowing that if we continue to progress, then we are definitely going to do fantastic things at the World Cup," Aiken reasoned.
Meanwhile, goal attack Shanice Beckford, who had an outstanding showing throughout the series, said winning means a lot to her.
"It is a good feeling to win this series against England because they are one of our biggest rivals," said the livewire Beckford.
"It only can boost my confident because the sky is limit for me," she said. "It is always a team to play at the highest level; I trained, put in the extra work and it's paying off now," said Beckford.
The 19-year-old Beckford was a member Jamaica's Under-21 team that won the bronze medal at the World Youth Championships in 2013.
