Bermuda's Federation Cup squad enters their clash with Panama today buoyed by two factors - their spirited effort against Bolivia yesterday and the fact that they beat Panama last year.

Determined to break their losing streak so far in the Americas Qualifying Group Two tournament in Havana, Cuba, captain/coach Kelly Holland said yesterday "we're going for a win".

This third-round encounter follows successive 3-0 defeats for Bermuda, first by El Salvador and then at the hands of Bolivia yesterday.

"Their team (Panama) looks a little stronger this year but, as far as the next three days are concerned, Panama is our best bet, so we are going out there and try our best."

The Bermudians will finish their round-robin campaign against the Dominican Republic on Saturday after playing Chile tomorrow. Holland noted Bermuda was simply unlucky to get "a lousy draw" which has pitted them against some of the region's best teams.

"We did not get a good draw. Pool A is very tough. We have teams like the Dominican Republic and Bolivia which are very strong. Pool B has many of the weaker countries in it. It's just been the luck of the draw," she said.

Turning her attention to the Bermuda-Bolivia fixture which took place at the International Tennis Centre, she praised her players for putting up a sterling fight in the face of world-ranked opposition.

"They are an extremely strong team and all of our girls played well against them. As far as I could see Zara (DeSilva) and Danielle (Paynter) were making winners and these girls would get them back. They got beaten but they played well and it was better than yesterday. They gave a better performance against even tougher people," said Holland, discussing the two singles matches.

In the first match, Bermuda's No. 2 seed Danielle Paynter lost to Viviana Rivero 6-2, 6-0, while her compatriot and No. 1 seed Zara DeSilva was beaten 6-0, 6-0 by Monica Poveda, currently No. 807 in the world rankings.

Poveda then combined with Monica Hoz de Villa to triumph 6-2, 7-5, in the doubles over Sasha Fisher and Tara Lambert.

"They played a fabulous match. They were pretty much neck-and-neck with the Bolivians. They were very aggressive, coming into the net, volleying well and overall it was very good

"The difference between today and yesterday - even though we lost both matches 3-0 - is that our girls played better today and they felt better about their games today. It's much better when you go down fighting," said Holland.