One small hill scaled, another giant mountain still to climb.

Bermuda performed as expected at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Sub-Regional Qualifier A, emerging victorious against cricketing minnows Brazil, Belize, Bahamas and Panama.

However, even as the Terryn Fray-led crop perfectly followed the sporting axiom that suggests you can only beat the teams in front of you, the completed tournament was largely viewed as a precursor.

The end result was only partially satisfying despite its significance in enabling Bermuda to continue the hopeful journey towards participation in the T20 World Cup proper.

Bermuda Cricket Board president Lloyd Smith and sports minister Owen Darrell each lauded Bermuda for having completed the job, yet acknowledged there were much tougher tasks ahead.

“My immediate thought was that we had to accomplish what we accomplished during the course of this week,” said Smith following the post-event presentation ceremony.

“Being the highest-ranked team in this tournament, it was crucial that we came out on top. It also helped to boost our international rankings.”

In addition to lauding the team’s performance, Darrell offered additional praise to the administration and support staff for carrying out their assignments in manners conducive to the overall success of the event.

“I’m a sports lover and definitely one who enjoys cricket tremendously, so this is something that I grew up being definitely a part of,” said Darrell, admittedly anxious to get away to watch the final slate of group matches taking place during football’s World Cup.

“Good job to everyone that was a part of putting this tournament on. You can see that the grounds are pretty magnificent. The fans have come out. The officials have executed their roles well, so I want to say job well done.

“This was to get ourselves ready for the next stage of this tournament, where hopefully we can accomplish our final goal to get over that hurdle and get to the finals.”