Bermuda may have lost to Canada in the Pan American Squash Championships on Sunday but they went down fighting.

Director of Squash Ross Triffitt said the performances in Quito, Ecuador augured well for last night's second pool match against Guatemala.

Bermuda's team of Nick Kyme, Tommy Sherratt, James Stout and Mel Caines can qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament even if they finish bottom of their pool. However, the higher up the pool they can climb the better chance they have of avoiding tougher opposition.

On Sunday Sherratt was rested and so the team consisted of Caines at number three, Stout at two and Kyme at one.

Caines lost to Ian Power, number 86 in the world and brother of Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jonathan Power 3-0 (1-9, 4-9, 2-9), while Stout went down to Shaun Delierre, the world number 118, 3-0 (0-9, 3-9, 6-9).

Kyme fought all the way against Victor Berg, 61 in the world, but eventually succumbed 3-1 (9-0, 8-10, 9-10, 8-10).

"Nick played extremely well and was a little unlucky," said Triffitt. "The key points basically got Victor through the match. Nick was dominating the rallies and Victor was really struggling to keep up with the pace, but he just played the big points better than Nick which showed he had a lot more experience."

Guatemala are seeded second in Bermuda's group, behind the Canadians and in front of Venezuela.

"If we win that that will have a huge impact on our pool," said Triffitt. "We are fielding our strongest team tonight (Monday). Nick will play at one, Tommy at two and James at three.

"We can still proceed even we lose, but if we are not winning our pool matches it means that we will come against one of the higher seeded teams when it comes to the knockout stage."

The goal for all the teams is to qualify for the Pan Am Games and with only nine spots available competition is stiff.

"If we can come second (in the pool) that will put us up against El Salvador, Ecuador or Jamaica," Triffitt said.

"We are still struggling with the elevation but the team is in high spirits and everyone is champing at the bit to do well."