a defeat by Bolivia in Cuba yesterday.

The Island's fifth successive loss came after Jenson Bascome and James Collieson had both been beaten in the singles rubbers in yesterday's play-off match between the two countries which had already been relegated to Group Four.

Both captains agreed there was no point in playing the doubles rubber on another hot and humid day in Havana.

The defeat meant Bermuda placed last in the eight-nation tournament, but the plucky performance of Collieson in particular gave captain Steve Bean something from which to draw hope.

The day after he had suffered crippling exhaustion in his four-set match against Carlton Alvarez of Honduras, Collieson bounced back well to give his all against Bolivia's Diego Camacho before going down 3-5, 2-4, 2-4.

In the opening rubber, 21-year-old Bascome was comfortably beaten by Rodrigo Navarro, 4-2, 4-1, 4-2.

Camacho is ranked in the top 950 on the ATP Tour and his superior consistency and some delightful volleys were too much for Collieson to overcome.

The Bermudian led 3-2 in the first set but Camacho raised his game when it mattered most to win the set 5-3.

Collieson produced some fearsome hitting and backed it up with some crisp winning volleys, as he produced probably his best tennis of the week.

But Camacho moved superbly around the court, made few unforced errors, timed his net charges superbly and his deft volleys showed what the experts call "good hands''.

Camacho also had the knack of raising the level of his game in the latter part of each set and hard though Collieson battled, it was never going to be quite enough.

Bascome did not have it any easier against Navarro, another ATP-ranked player in the world's top 1200.

Fifth loss leaves Bermuda last From Page 25 Like Collieson, Bascome showed no lack of commitment against the left-hander who had beaten him when the teams met in a Group B match on Friday.

But Navarro's unerringly accurate and deep groundstrokes consistently hit the lines and despite some breathtaking scurrying around the court and some unlikely retrievals, Bascome was soundly beaten in the end by the full-timer.

Cuba won the tournament and will go up to Group Two with surprise package Trinidad and Tobago.