Two of Bermuda's leading team medal hopes got off to the perfect start yesterday with victories over tough opponents.

And a pair of the eight-strong track and field team – Jeneko Lottimore Place and Xavier James – cruised into the semi-finals of the 200 metres.

All in all, it was an encouraging beginning as the Bermuda squad attempt to make their presence felt at the 13th edition of the Island Games, an event that will be staged in Bermuda in four years' time.

If there was one disappointment, it was that last night the Games result website crashed, making it impossible to learn how the Island's four Laser class sailors, Brett Wright, Sara Lane Adderley, Malcolm Smith and Rockal Evans as well as boardsailor Alex Jones, fared in their first outing in the waters off Eastern Harbour.

Led by the sharpshooting Chris Crumpler, who collected 32 points, the men's basketball team outgunned a talented Cayman Islands side 82-71 and the women's volleyball team began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Rhodes.

But the volleyball men, who went on court at the Baltichallen venue immediately afterwards, couldn't follow suit as they went down 1-3 to Gibraltar.

It was the basketball team, including experienced pro Sullivan Phillips, who showed why they are considered favourites to repeat their performance of 2005 when they won gold in Gibraltar. In 2003, the Bermuda team snatched bronze in Guernsey and two years' ago they won silver in Rhodes.

And on yesterday's performance, there's no reason why they can't finish on top of the pile again in a competition which has attracted nine teams split into three groups.

Victory over Jersey today would leave them on top of Group B and passage into the play-offs.

But despite a fast start yesterday, Bermuda didn't have everything their own way.

Leading 40-25 at the half and 61-43 at the end of the third quarter, they appeared to be on cruise control.

However, a gutsy Cayman team refused to throw in the towel and at one point in the final quarter they sunk four unanswered baskets to narrow the gap to just eight points.

The speedy Crumpler and Jason Lowe, who added 21 points, made sure they didn't get any closer.

But Phillips, who plays on the European circuit and is considering a move to Russia next season, admitted it was too close for comfort.

"We expected a tough match," he said. "They are no slouches. As a team we didn't give in and that was the most important thing. To get to the medal round you have to be tested and today we were tested by a team who we think can match up to us better than anyone else." As for the Caymans' final quarter comeback, he said he wasn't too concerned.

"You have to understand this is basketball, and some teams can go on a run but you've just got to contain them. We made some shots, some really big shots when we needed them.

"It was a good team performance . . . an absolutely great performance to start off with."

Equally pleased was team manager, Tim Trott, who kept the players on their toes throughout the game with a volley of instructions from the sidelines.

"We anticipated them to be a better team than at the last Island Games and they were definitely bigger and it especially showed on the offensive rebounds," said Trott. "They killed us on the offensive rebounds.

"But the guys stuck it out and came out with the win.

"It was a good team performance . . . an excellent performance by Chris Crumpler and, of course, Sullivan Phillips played a key role. Also up and coming player Jason Lowe made a big contribution.

"The way the tournament has been structured, this win has actually put us in medal position. I'm not saying anything bad about Jersey but the last couple of times we've played them, we've beaten them.

"I'm not going to say we are going to beat them tomorrow (today) but this win today makes our chance of making it to the medal round a whole lot better."

Earlier in the day, the women's volleyball team showed the same kind of form that saw them make a big impression in the Caribbean where they won four games in the World Championship qualifiers before bowing out.

Seemingly better organised than the Greek islanders, they took the first set 25-19 and with the hard-hitting Giovanna Pacheco and powerful Lianne Leonardi often dictating the points, they won the second set 25-11.

A loss of concentration and complacency might have allowed Rhodes to get back into the match as they won the third 25-20 before Bermuda clinched victory in the fourth, 25-14.

As for the men, a close first set might ultimately have decided the outcome. Gibraltar prevailed 27-25 and took the second 25-21.

Bermuda showed they were more than a match for their opponents in the third, winning convincingly 25-12, but Gibraltar regained their composure in the fourth, closing out the match 25-20.

Coach Jon Gazzard, commenting on the women's win, said: "We could have played better, no doubt about that. We made some mistakes. But it was a good start."

Head coach Gary LeBlanc added: "We didn't know anything about Rhodes. We went in blind but all in all I'm happy with the result."

As for being medal favourites, LeBlanc said: "We have no problem with that. That's what drives us. We know we can go on from here." The men's loss to Gibraltar, said Le Blanc, was simply a case of the team making too many errors.

"Gibraltar were very scrappy. In the third set, which we won, we completely dominated. But we weren't consistent.

"It's a rough start as we had been hoping for a win. Now we have to pick up our game."

In the evening track and field session, sprinters Place and James both looked sharp and staked their claim as medal contenders.

Place won his 200 metres heat in 22.07 seconds and James finished second in his heat in 22.43.