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| AFRICA, AMERICAS, ASIA & OCEANIA | |||
| Intercontinental Tournament: | March 30-April 4, 2015 | Corona del Mar/CA (USA) | info bulletin  |
Australia wins Interncontinental Tournament
Australia men's team the Aussie Sharks have captured a successful week by not only qualifying for the World League Super Final but also winning the Interncontinental Qualification Tournament in Newport Beach, California beating Brazil in the final 9-6. Australia could even afford not scoring in the final period while conceding 2 goals as they had won the three previous sessions and as a result led 9-4 going into the final quarter. Richie Campbell and Nathan Power top scored their team with 2 apiece. Bernardo Gomes and Felipe Perrone did so for the 2016 Olympic Games hosts' team. Team USA closed out their tournament with a bang claiming the bronze medal dominating China for the 19-7 victory. Bret Bonanni led the offence by scoring 4 goals for the young Dejan Udovicic coached side. In other results Japan took 5th place as they defeated Kazakhstan in high-scoring match 12-15. Yuki Kadono netted 5 shots to finish as top scorer for the winners. Canada made sure they wouldn't finished last rolling past Argentina 5-18. Kevin Graham and John Conway earned top scoring honours scoring 4 each. Australia, Brazil, USA and China will join the European prelims group winners, currently Hungary, Serbia and Croatia, and hosts Italy, for the Super Final showdown in Bergamo, Italy from 23-28 June. The winner of that tournament will be the first to ensure a spot at the 2016 Olympics.FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
Brazil vs. China 12-9 (3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2)
Canada vs. Argentina 15-6 (4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2)
Kazakhstan vs. Australia 7-13 (2-5, 1-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Japan vs. USA 6-10 (2-3, 0-1, 3-4, 1-2)
Wednesday, 1 April
Brazil vs. Kazakhstan 10-7 (1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2)
Canada vs. Japan 20-10 (4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2)
Australia vs. China 10-3 (4-0, 2-3, 2-0, 2-0)
USA vs. Argentina 19-8 (5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1)
Thursday, 2 April
Japan (3A) vs. Brazil (2B) 8-11 (3-2, 1-4, 2-3, 2-2) - game 14
Canada (1A) vs. China (4B) 10-11 (1-6, 3-3, 3-2, 3-0) - game 15
USA (2A) vs. Kazakhstan (3B) 17-11 (4-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-4) - game 13
Argentina (4A) vs. Australia (1B) 5-14 (1-2, 2-4, 2-3, 0-5) - game 16
Friday, 3 April
Kazakhstan (L13) vs. Argentina (L16) 19-8 (6-5, 5-2, 5-2, 3-1) - game 17
Japan (L14) vs. Canada (L15) 11-10 (4-3, 2-3, 2-2, 3-2) - game 18
USA (W13) vs. Australia (W16) 16-17 (4-3, 3-4, 2-1, 4-5; penalties: 3-4) - game 19
Brazil (W14) vs. China (W15) 14-12 (5-5, 3-1, 4-4, 2-2) - game 20
Saturday, 4 April
Argentina (L17) vs. Canada (L18) 5-18 (1-5, 1-5, 1-5, 2-3) - 7th/8th place
Kazakhstan (W17) vs. Japan (W18) 12-15 (2-4, 3-3, 3-3, 4-5) - 5th/6th place
USA (L19) vs. China (L20) 19-7 (7-1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3) - 3rd/4th place
Australia (W19) vs. Brazil (W20) 9-6 (2-1, 4-2, 3-1, 0-2) - 1st/2nd place
N.b.: times mentioned are local time.
Top 4 qualified for Super Final in Bergamo, Italy (23-28 June, 2015)
USA Water Polo Interncontinental Tournament dedicated page, click here.
Even without its head coach, Australia took gold over Brazil, 9-6, in the final day of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament in Newport Beach, California. Elvis Fatovic was ejected one night earlier in the semifinal shootout against the US, but the Aussie defense was unstoppable on Saturday and stymied a thrilling fourth-quarter rally from the 2016 Olympic host.
In the earlier matches, the US trounced China for the bronze medal, 19-7. Japan defeated Kazakhstan, 15-12, for fifth place by building a comfortable lead early in the game. And Canada routed Argentina, 18-5, to earn seventh place in an epic mismatch that no one had expected to see at the end of group play.
Final standings: (1) Australia (2) Brazil (3) USA (4) China (5) Japan (6) Kazakhstan (7) Canada (8) Argentina.
The top four teams will reconvene at the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 21: 09:00, Classification for 7th/8th Place, ARGENTINA 5 CANADA 18
Quarters: 1-5, 1-5, 1-5, 2-3.
Extra Man: ARG: 2/7/ CAN: 2/7.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (2), Carlos Camnasio (1), Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (1), Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (1), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba (1), Oliver Vikalo (2), David Lapins (2), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (1), Alec Taschereau (1), Kevin Graham (4), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (4), George Torakis (2), Jared McElroy (1), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
Canada never thought it would end up in the game to determine 7th and 8th place. It was undefeated in group play (3-0), then lost a pair of one-goal games when it mattered most (against China in the quarterfinal, and to Japan on Friday). Meanwhile, Argentina was 0-5 when they met.
In the first period, Canada took six shots and scored on five of them to lead, 5-1, after eight minutes. Canada scored five more times in the second period, including Constantin Kudaba’s lob-in with six seconds left in the first half to extend Canada’s lead, 10-2. In the third period, John Conway punctuated yet another five-goal spree for Canada when he stuffed his own rebound into the net with seven seconds to go to make it 15-3. In the fourth quarter, the teams alternated scoring but Canada got the last word when its left-handed captain Kevin Graham scored in the final 21 seconds to cap an 18-5 win for seventh place.
The top four teams will reconvene at the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 21: 09:00, Classification for 7th/8th Place, ARGENTINA 5 CANADA 18
Quarters: 1-5, 1-5, 1-5, 2-3.
Extra Man: ARG: 2/7/ CAN: 2/7.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (2), Carlos Camnasio (1), Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (1), Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (1), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba (1), Oliver Vikalo (2), David Lapins (2), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (1), Alec Taschereau (1), Kevin Graham (4), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (4), George Torakis (2), Jared McElroy (1), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
Canada never thought it would end up in the game to determine 7th and 8th place. It was undefeated in group play (3-0), then lost a pair of one-goal games when it mattered most (against China in the quarterfinal, and to Japan on Friday). Meanwhile, Argentina was 0-5 when they met.
In the first period, Canada took six shots and scored on five of them to lead, 5-1, after eight minutes. Canada scored five more times in the second period, including Constantin Kudaba’s lob-in with six seconds left in the first half to extend Canada’s lead, 10-2. In the third period, John Conway punctuated yet another five-goal spree for Canada when he stuffed his own rebound into the net with seven seconds to go to make it 15-3. In the fourth quarter, the teams alternated scoring but Canada got the last word when its left-handed captain Kevin Graham scored in the final 21 seconds to cap an 18-5 win for seventh place.
ARG-CAN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Robin Randall (CAN) – Canadian Goalkeeper (8 saves)
“We didn’t go into a lot of specifics for this game. We wanted to bring a little more energy that we hadn’t brought in the previous two games and win decisively. That was our plan.”
Nahuel Alfonso (ARG) – Head Coach for Argentina
“We tried to decrease the difference between the first game we play [in Group A, when we lost to Canada, 15-6], but it was not possible. The players are really tired and not enough concentrated.”
GAME 22: 10:30, Classification for 5th/6th Place, KAZAKHSTAN 12 JAPAN 15
Quarters: 2-4, 3-3, 3-3, 4-5.
Extra Man: KAZ: 2/7. JPN: 4/9.
Pens: KAZ: 2/3. JPN: 0/1.
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (2), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Miras Aubakirov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk (1), Murat Shakenov (1), Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (3), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga (3), Akira Yanase (1), Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu (2), Yuki Kadono (5), Koji Takei (2), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa (1), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In the match to determine fifth and sixth place, the first quarter was fairly even. Trailing 2-3, Kazakhstan had a chance to tie the game when Rustam Ukumanov took a 5-metre penalty shot, but Japanese goalie Katsuyuki Tanamura made the save, and Keigo Okawa scored with 1:53 left to give Japan a 4-2 lead instead. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan failed to close the two-goal gap and ended the half trailing, 7-5.
Each team added three goals in the third quarter to keep it a two-point game, 10-8, in Japan’s favor. In the fourth period, Japan scored three consecutive even-handed goals (by Akira Yanase, Mitsuaki Shiga, and Yuki Kadono, respectively) to go up 13-8. Kazakhstan rallied with two even-handed goals of its own (from Sergey Gubarev and Branko Pekovich) to make it 13-10. The teams traded the next four goals of the period – a run that began when Yuki Kadono made his fifth goal of the day, with 2:14 remaining – as Japan claimed fifth place.
“We tried to decrease the difference between the first game we play [in Group A, when we lost to Canada, 15-6], but it was not possible. The players are really tired and not enough concentrated.”
GAME 22: 10:30, Classification for 5th/6th Place, KAZAKHSTAN 12 JAPAN 15
Quarters: 2-4, 3-3, 3-3, 4-5.
Extra Man: KAZ: 2/7. JPN: 4/9.
Pens: KAZ: 2/3. JPN: 0/1.
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (2), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Miras Aubakirov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk (1), Murat Shakenov (1), Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (3), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga (3), Akira Yanase (1), Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu (2), Yuki Kadono (5), Koji Takei (2), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa (1), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In the match to determine fifth and sixth place, the first quarter was fairly even. Trailing 2-3, Kazakhstan had a chance to tie the game when Rustam Ukumanov took a 5-metre penalty shot, but Japanese goalie Katsuyuki Tanamura made the save, and Keigo Okawa scored with 1:53 left to give Japan a 4-2 lead instead. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan failed to close the two-goal gap and ended the half trailing, 7-5.
Each team added three goals in the third quarter to keep it a two-point game, 10-8, in Japan’s favor. In the fourth period, Japan scored three consecutive even-handed goals (by Akira Yanase, Mitsuaki Shiga, and Yuki Kadono, respectively) to go up 13-8. Kazakhstan rallied with two even-handed goals of its own (from Sergey Gubarev and Branko Pekovich) to make it 13-10. The teams traded the next four goals of the period – a run that began when Yuki Kadono made his fifth goal of the day, with 2:14 remaining – as Japan claimed fifth place.
KAZ-JPN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Yoji Omoto (JPN) – Head Coach of Japan
“We’re a counterattacking team, and last year at the Asian Championships we met Kazakhstan in the final, but we weren’t able to score on our counter attack. So we tried it again, to reinforce precision shooting, and the players did what they were expected to do.”
Sergey Markoch (KAZ) – Head Coach of Kazakhstan
“We slept all the game; we didn’t play water polo. We had many individual mistakes. We played very slowly and Japan was very fast for us.”
GAME 23: 12:00, Bronze-Medal Match, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 19 CHINA 7
Quarters: 7-1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3.
Extra Man: USA: 5/6. CHN: 1/8.
Pens: USA: 1/1. CHN: 1/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (2), Alex Obert (1), Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (2), Luca Cupido (2), Josh Samuels (2), Tony Azevedo (3), Alex Bowen (1), Bret Bonanni (4), Jesse Smith, John Mann (2), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (1), Sha Shi, Yu Li Jun, Liu Xiao, Li Li (2), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (2), Liang Nianxiang, Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
After losing a penalty shootout to Australia, 17-16, just 15 hours earlier, the US quickly hit “refresh” to defeat China, 19-7, for the bronze medal. All told, nine US players on its 13-man roster scored on Saturday. Meanwhile, China was missing its starting center Yu Li Jun because of an injured shoulder and back, according to head coach Paolo Malara.
In the first period, the US converted all three of its power plays to take a 7-1 lead. Luca Cupido opened the match with back-to-back goals. Josh Samuels followed with a solo shot. China got on the scoreboard with 5:21 to go when Chen Jinghao made an easy lob into the net. Tony Azevedo added two in a row, and Bret Bonanni scored on a power play and a penalty shot to close the period.
In the second period, China’s demoralisation continued. Even though Tan Feihu drew a penalty on Alex Obert to enable China’s Dong Tao to put away a penalty shot with 3:31 to go (making it 9-2), the US tally turned into double digits with 2:02 left in the half via Alex Bowen’s easy goal at point-blank range. Mann scored less than a minute later to make it 11-2 for the US at the half.
The US began the third period by scoring three goals in a row (Samuels, Azevedo, Janson Wigo). China retaliated with two goals of its own: one by Zhang Chufeng (the last power play goal of the game for either team) and one from Li Li with 3:03 remaining. Ben Hallock and Wigo then scored their second goals of the game to give the US a 16-4 lead. Each team would score three more times en route to a 19-7 bronze-medal victory for the US.
“We slept all the game; we didn’t play water polo. We had many individual mistakes. We played very slowly and Japan was very fast for us.”
GAME 23: 12:00, Bronze-Medal Match, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 19 CHINA 7
Quarters: 7-1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3.
Extra Man: USA: 5/6. CHN: 1/8.
Pens: USA: 1/1. CHN: 1/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (2), Alex Obert (1), Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (2), Luca Cupido (2), Josh Samuels (2), Tony Azevedo (3), Alex Bowen (1), Bret Bonanni (4), Jesse Smith, John Mann (2), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (1), Sha Shi, Yu Li Jun, Liu Xiao, Li Li (2), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (2), Liang Nianxiang, Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
After losing a penalty shootout to Australia, 17-16, just 15 hours earlier, the US quickly hit “refresh” to defeat China, 19-7, for the bronze medal. All told, nine US players on its 13-man roster scored on Saturday. Meanwhile, China was missing its starting center Yu Li Jun because of an injured shoulder and back, according to head coach Paolo Malara.
In the first period, the US converted all three of its power plays to take a 7-1 lead. Luca Cupido opened the match with back-to-back goals. Josh Samuels followed with a solo shot. China got on the scoreboard with 5:21 to go when Chen Jinghao made an easy lob into the net. Tony Azevedo added two in a row, and Bret Bonanni scored on a power play and a penalty shot to close the period.
In the second period, China’s demoralisation continued. Even though Tan Feihu drew a penalty on Alex Obert to enable China’s Dong Tao to put away a penalty shot with 3:31 to go (making it 9-2), the US tally turned into double digits with 2:02 left in the half via Alex Bowen’s easy goal at point-blank range. Mann scored less than a minute later to make it 11-2 for the US at the half.
The US began the third period by scoring three goals in a row (Samuels, Azevedo, Janson Wigo). China retaliated with two goals of its own: one by Zhang Chufeng (the last power play goal of the game for either team) and one from Li Li with 3:03 remaining. Ben Hallock and Wigo then scored their second goals of the game to give the US a 16-4 lead. Each team would score three more times en route to a 19-7 bronze-medal victory for the US.
USA-CHN - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Jackson Kimbell (USA)
“We came out pretty fast and scored a couple quick ones. That took the energy up pretty high. [After last night’s shootout loss to Australia, coach Dejan Udovicic] just said, ‘end on a positive note – and keep moving forward. Don’t move backwards.’ I think today was a step in a positive direction.”
Paolo Malara (CHN) – Head Coach for China
“Not a good result. Video analysis will give me a more precise idea on the future steps for this team of China.”
GAME 24: 20:00, Gold-Medal Match, AUSTRALIA 9 BRAZIL 6
Quarters: 2-1, 4-2, 3-1, 0-2.
Extra Man: AUS: 1/10. BRA: 1/7.
Pens: AUS: 1/1. BRA: 1/0.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford (1), Johnno Cotterill, Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (1), Aidan Roach, Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift (1), Tyler Martin (1), Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller, James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (1), Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (2), Adria Delgado, Felipe Silva, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone (2), Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
The gold-medal match promised to be the most competitive game of the day, but Australia pulled away in the second quarter, and by the third, it had amassed a five-goal lead. Brazil held Australia scoreless in the final eight minutes and nearly closed the gap, but Australia’s defense made it too tough and the Aussies took the game, 9-6, and the gold medal with a perfect record.
Australia was first to score when George Ford buried a shot with 4:32 remaining in the first period. One minute later, Felipe Perrone tied it for Brazil. Tyler Martin scored the go-ahead goal to give Australia a 2-1 edge at the horn. In the last three minutes of the second quarter, Australia pulled ahead to end the half, 6-3 – thanks to a three-goal march by Nathan Power, Richie Campbell, and Jarrod Gilchrist (all at even strength).
In the second half, Bernardo Gomes quickly converted a penalty shot to help Brazil come within two points with 7:32 left in the third. But the rest of that period was all Australia, as Richie Campbell scored on a power play, Rhys Howden put away a penalty shot, and Nathan Power earned his second goal of the game to end the period 9-4. In the fourth quarter, Brazil’s captain Felipe Perrone made it 9-5 with 5:40 remaining. Less than three minutes later, Aussie goalie James Stanton-French wedged himself into the left corner of the goalposts to deny Peronne a shot from about one foot away. With 2:13 to go – plenty of time for a comeback – Paulo Salemi scored a huge goal for Brazil to make it a 9-6 game. With about one minute to go, Bernardo Gomes slammed the ball at the Aussie net but Aidan Roach made a huge block to deny Brazil. With 22 seconds left, Adria Delgado fired another shot for Brazil, but the ball hit the post and the day ended 9-6 for Australia.
“Not a good result. Video analysis will give me a more precise idea on the future steps for this team of China.”
GAME 24: 20:00, Gold-Medal Match, AUSTRALIA 9 BRAZIL 6
Quarters: 2-1, 4-2, 3-1, 0-2.
Extra Man: AUS: 1/10. BRA: 1/7.
Pens: AUS: 1/1. BRA: 1/0.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford (1), Johnno Cotterill, Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (1), Aidan Roach, Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift (1), Tyler Martin (1), Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller, James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (1), Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (2), Adria Delgado, Felipe Silva, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone (2), Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
The gold-medal match promised to be the most competitive game of the day, but Australia pulled away in the second quarter, and by the third, it had amassed a five-goal lead. Brazil held Australia scoreless in the final eight minutes and nearly closed the gap, but Australia’s defense made it too tough and the Aussies took the game, 9-6, and the gold medal with a perfect record.
Australia was first to score when George Ford buried a shot with 4:32 remaining in the first period. One minute later, Felipe Perrone tied it for Brazil. Tyler Martin scored the go-ahead goal to give Australia a 2-1 edge at the horn. In the last three minutes of the second quarter, Australia pulled ahead to end the half, 6-3 – thanks to a three-goal march by Nathan Power, Richie Campbell, and Jarrod Gilchrist (all at even strength).
In the second half, Bernardo Gomes quickly converted a penalty shot to help Brazil come within two points with 7:32 left in the third. But the rest of that period was all Australia, as Richie Campbell scored on a power play, Rhys Howden put away a penalty shot, and Nathan Power earned his second goal of the game to end the period 9-4. In the fourth quarter, Brazil’s captain Felipe Perrone made it 9-5 with 5:40 remaining. Less than three minutes later, Aussie goalie James Stanton-French wedged himself into the left corner of the goalposts to deny Peronne a shot from about one foot away. With 2:13 to go – plenty of time for a comeback – Paulo Salemi scored a huge goal for Brazil to make it a 9-6 game. With about one minute to go, Bernardo Gomes slammed the ball at the Aussie net but Aidan Roach made a huge block to deny Brazil. With 22 seconds left, Adria Delgado fired another shot for Brazil, but the ball hit the post and the day ended 9-6 for Australia.
The winning team of Australia - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Aidan Roach (AUS)
“Defense made the difference for us today. They play heavy press and quickly counter. Today we did well to stop that. [Did the absence of your head coach Elvis Fatovic matter?] Of course, but our coach put systems in place. We played the systems and got the results we wanted.”
Vincius Antonelli (BRA) – Brazilian goalie with 11 saves, 3 steals
“It was a very important game for us, to build the Brazilian team to a higher level. We are growing. We had some chances. In the second quarter, we had some situations with counter attack from Australia and we got too far [away] in the score.”
“It was a very important game for us, to build the Brazilian team to a higher level. We are growing. We had some chances. In the second quarter, we had some situations with counter attack from Australia and we got too far [away] in the score.”
Day 5 at the FINA WPWL Men’s Intercontinental Tournament in Newport Beach, California, was riveting, tension-filled – perhaps even ulcer-inducing – because three of the four games (including both semifinals) were tied late in the fourth quarter.
One went to a shootout. (Australia beat the US, 17-16, on the final save to advance to the championship game.) Another came down to the last second. (Japan beat Canada, 11-10, when Keigo Okawa whipped in a time-expiring goal that rendered the Canadian coach speechless and his players distraught.) And another saw a rookie mistake lead to a game-winning penalty shot in the final 1:10 (as Brazil beat China 14-12 to advance to Saturday’s final).
The only lopsided match was Kazakhstan’s 19-8 victory over Argentina.
The tournament concludes Saturday as Argentina faces Canada to determine 7th/8th place, Kazakhstan plays Japan for 5th/6th, USA clashes with China for the bronze, and Australia battles Brazil for the gold.
All four teams in the medal matches have automatically earned berths in the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 17: 15:30, KAZAKHSTAN 19 ARGENTINA 8
Quarters: 6-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-1
Extra Man: KAZ: 4/15. ARG: 2/15.
Pens: KAZ: 0/1
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (5), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Miras Aubakirov (1), Aleksandr Godovanyuk (2), Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (4), Yulian Verdesh (3), Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (1), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio (1), Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni (2), Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes, Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (4), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In the only drubbing of the day, Kazakhstan beat Argentina after blazing to a 6-3 start in a first quarter fraught with blatant grappling. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan racked up five more goals; Sergey Gubarev delivered three and Rustam Ukumanov contributed two – giving each player four goals in the first half and extending Kazakhstan’s lead to 11-5 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Argentina’s German Yanez scored the opening and closing goals, but Kazakhstan netted five balls for a 16-7 advantage. In the fourth quarter, each team scored twice more. Notably, both of Kazakhstan’s points came from 19-year-old Yulian Verdesh who nailed the back of the net in the last second to punctuate a 19-8 victory that kept Argentina winless and advance Kazaskhstan to the classification match to determine fifth and sixth place where it will meet Japan on Saturday.
The tournament concludes Saturday as Argentina faces Canada to determine 7th/8th place, Kazakhstan plays Japan for 5th/6th, USA clashes with China for the bronze, and Australia battles Brazil for the gold.
All four teams in the medal matches have automatically earned berths in the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 17: 15:30, KAZAKHSTAN 19 ARGENTINA 8
Quarters: 6-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-1
Extra Man: KAZ: 4/15. ARG: 2/15.
Pens: KAZ: 0/1
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (5), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Miras Aubakirov (1), Aleksandr Godovanyuk (2), Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (4), Yulian Verdesh (3), Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (1), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio (1), Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni (2), Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes, Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (4), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In the only drubbing of the day, Kazakhstan beat Argentina after blazing to a 6-3 start in a first quarter fraught with blatant grappling. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan racked up five more goals; Sergey Gubarev delivered three and Rustam Ukumanov contributed two – giving each player four goals in the first half and extending Kazakhstan’s lead to 11-5 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Argentina’s German Yanez scored the opening and closing goals, but Kazakhstan netted five balls for a 16-7 advantage. In the fourth quarter, each team scored twice more. Notably, both of Kazakhstan’s points came from 19-year-old Yulian Verdesh who nailed the back of the net in the last second to punctuate a 19-8 victory that kept Argentina winless and advance Kazaskhstan to the classification match to determine fifth and sixth place where it will meet Japan on Saturday.
KAZ-ARG - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Sergey Markoch (KAZ) – Kazakhstan Head Coach
“This was a very important game for us because we are in the same group as Argentina in the world championships. Our group is: Argentina, Hungary, and South Africa. Best player today I think was No. 10, Yulian Verdesh. Today he scored three goals, played good in defense, and he’s young. I’m satisfied.”
GAME 18: 17:00, JAPAN 11 CANADA 10
Quarters: 4-3, 2-3, 2-2, 3-2
Extra Man: JPN: 5/9. CAN: 3/6
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (2), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu (2), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei, Kenya Yasuda (2), Keigo Okawa (4), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins (1), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (2), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (1), Dusan Radojcic (1), John Conway (2), George Torakis, Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
When Canada and Japan met earlier in group play, Canada won, 20-10. Two days later, it was a different story.
Early on, Canada tried to control the game but Japan matched its intensity. In the first period, Canada pulled itself up to a 3-3 tie when Jared McElroy scored with 1:02 remaining. But Yusuke Shimizu scored off a quick cross-pass with one second left to give Japan a 4-3 lead at the end of the first period. By halftime it was tied at 6, and Canada’s six goals had come from six different players.
Midway through the third period, John Conway broke the tie and David Lapins added one to give Canada an 8-6 lead. Japan rallied back when Kenya Yasuda fired a long-distance bullet that caught Canada’s goalie Robin Randall off guard and suddenly it was a one-point game. Yuki Kadono scored in the final 42 seconds to end the third period tied, 8-8. At 9-all in the fourth period, Japan’s aggressive goalie Katsuyuki Tanamura went out for his fifth steal of the game. With 3:17 to go, Keigo Okawa put Japan ahead, 10-9, with a hard skip shot. Canada’s Scott Robinson answered to tie it at 10 with 2:18 left in regulation. With one second to go, Okawa earned his fourth goal of the day – the game-winner for Japan, 11-10.
Sergey Markoch (KAZ) – Kazakhstan Head Coach
“This was a very important game for us because we are in the same group as Argentina in the world championships. Our group is: Argentina, Hungary, and South Africa. Best player today I think was No. 10, Yulian Verdesh. Today he scored three goals, played good in defense, and he’s young. I’m satisfied.”
GAME 18: 17:00, JAPAN 11 CANADA 10
Quarters: 4-3, 2-3, 2-2, 3-2
Extra Man: JPN: 5/9. CAN: 3/6
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (2), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu (2), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei, Kenya Yasuda (2), Keigo Okawa (4), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins (1), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (2), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (1), Dusan Radojcic (1), John Conway (2), George Torakis, Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
When Canada and Japan met earlier in group play, Canada won, 20-10. Two days later, it was a different story.
Early on, Canada tried to control the game but Japan matched its intensity. In the first period, Canada pulled itself up to a 3-3 tie when Jared McElroy scored with 1:02 remaining. But Yusuke Shimizu scored off a quick cross-pass with one second left to give Japan a 4-3 lead at the end of the first period. By halftime it was tied at 6, and Canada’s six goals had come from six different players.
Midway through the third period, John Conway broke the tie and David Lapins added one to give Canada an 8-6 lead. Japan rallied back when Kenya Yasuda fired a long-distance bullet that caught Canada’s goalie Robin Randall off guard and suddenly it was a one-point game. Yuki Kadono scored in the final 42 seconds to end the third period tied, 8-8. At 9-all in the fourth period, Japan’s aggressive goalie Katsuyuki Tanamura went out for his fifth steal of the game. With 3:17 to go, Keigo Okawa put Japan ahead, 10-9, with a hard skip shot. Canada’s Scott Robinson answered to tie it at 10 with 2:18 left in regulation. With one second to go, Okawa earned his fourth goal of the day – the game-winner for Japan, 11-10.
JPN-CAN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Yoji Omoto (JPN) – Japan’s Head Coach
“Our concentration and goalkeeping [was better than the last time we played Canada]. This tournament – as well as this match – is very important because this December we have the Asian qualification for the Olympics and we wanted this kind of high-level competition under our belts.”
David Lapins (CAN) – One goal
“Sorry, I’m just kind of pffffpfpfpf. Our main goal right now is to prepare ourselves for Pan Ams. We had a bit of bad luck and sometimes that’s just sport.”
GAME 19: 18:30, Semifinal, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 AUSTRALIA 17 in penalty shootout (F.T. 13-13)
Quarters: 4-3, 3-4, 2-1, 4-5. Pens: 3-4.
Extra Man: USA: 10/18. AUS 4/11.
Pens: USA: 0/1. AUS: 2/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (1), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell (1), Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido (3), Josh Samuels (3), Tony Azevedo, Alex Bowen (4), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith (1), John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (3), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (4), Nathan Power, Jarrod Gilchrist (2), Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards (1), Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (2), Billy Miller (1), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
After the first semifinal, Australia remained undefeated despite an improbable three-goal comeback by the US late in the fourth period that included Bret Bonanni’s game-tying goal with 14 seconds to go that forced a penalty shootout.
From the outset, it was clear how similar the teams were. They tied and traded leads in the first period until 20-year-old Jackson Kimbell scored with 51 seconds left to give the US a 4-3 edge at the horn. In the second period, Janson Wigo and Alex Bowen put the US up 6-4. With 4:38 remaining, Johnno Cotterill converted a 5-metre penalty shot to narrow the gap, 6-5, and Lachlan Edwards tied it for Australia. Two subsequent power play goals – first by Stanford star Bret Bonanni of the US, and later by Aussie Rhys Howden – yielded a 7-7 tie at halftime.
It looked like the third period might end in an 8-8 tie after the Australian goalie James Stanton-French saved Bonanni’s 5-metre penalty shot, and US defender Jesse Smith blocked a dangerous missile in front of the American cage with less than two minutes to remaining. But Luca Cupido created a 9-8 US lead in the final 16 seconds when he slammed in his second goal of the period.
And then, in a fourth period for the ages, Australia immediately went on a three-goal blitz to make it 11-9. After a US time-out, Josh Samuels scored for the US on a power play, but Aussie Cotterill responded with two goals of his own (a 5-metre penalty shot followed by a high lobbing goal) to give Australia a 13-10 lead with 3:11 to go. Alex Bowen initiated a comeback on a power play with 2:05 to go, but the US still needed two goals to tie it with one minute remaining. Seizing a 6-on-4 advantage, Samuels stuffed the ball into the Aussie net to make it a one-point game. With 14 seconds left, Bonanni tied it to send a partisan crowd aroar.
The shootout pitted 19-year-old American goalie McQuin Baron against Australia’s 2012 Olympic keeper Stanton-French. Australia shot first. Two-time Olympian Rhys Howden converted but Tony Azevedo did not. The next six shooters scored: Richie Campbell (AUS), Bonanni (USA), Cotterill (AUS), Cupido (USA), Jarrod Gilchrist (AUS), and Bowen (USA). The last shooter for Australia, Billy Miller, wound up. Baron made the save. The final American in the line-up was John Mann, a Corona Del Mar High School graduate who was competing in his alma mater’s pool. Stanton-French made the save. Goal denied. Australia won 17-16, to advance to the gold medal game. The US will meet China for the bronze.
“Sorry, I’m just kind of pffffpfpfpf. Our main goal right now is to prepare ourselves for Pan Ams. We had a bit of bad luck and sometimes that’s just sport.”
GAME 19: 18:30, Semifinal, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 16 AUSTRALIA 17 in penalty shootout (F.T. 13-13)
Quarters: 4-3, 3-4, 2-1, 4-5. Pens: 3-4.
Extra Man: USA: 10/18. AUS 4/11.
Pens: USA: 0/1. AUS: 2/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (1), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell (1), Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido (3), Josh Samuels (3), Tony Azevedo, Alex Bowen (4), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith (1), John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (3), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (4), Nathan Power, Jarrod Gilchrist (2), Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards (1), Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (2), Billy Miller (1), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
After the first semifinal, Australia remained undefeated despite an improbable three-goal comeback by the US late in the fourth period that included Bret Bonanni’s game-tying goal with 14 seconds to go that forced a penalty shootout.
From the outset, it was clear how similar the teams were. They tied and traded leads in the first period until 20-year-old Jackson Kimbell scored with 51 seconds left to give the US a 4-3 edge at the horn. In the second period, Janson Wigo and Alex Bowen put the US up 6-4. With 4:38 remaining, Johnno Cotterill converted a 5-metre penalty shot to narrow the gap, 6-5, and Lachlan Edwards tied it for Australia. Two subsequent power play goals – first by Stanford star Bret Bonanni of the US, and later by Aussie Rhys Howden – yielded a 7-7 tie at halftime.
It looked like the third period might end in an 8-8 tie after the Australian goalie James Stanton-French saved Bonanni’s 5-metre penalty shot, and US defender Jesse Smith blocked a dangerous missile in front of the American cage with less than two minutes to remaining. But Luca Cupido created a 9-8 US lead in the final 16 seconds when he slammed in his second goal of the period.
And then, in a fourth period for the ages, Australia immediately went on a three-goal blitz to make it 11-9. After a US time-out, Josh Samuels scored for the US on a power play, but Aussie Cotterill responded with two goals of his own (a 5-metre penalty shot followed by a high lobbing goal) to give Australia a 13-10 lead with 3:11 to go. Alex Bowen initiated a comeback on a power play with 2:05 to go, but the US still needed two goals to tie it with one minute remaining. Seizing a 6-on-4 advantage, Samuels stuffed the ball into the Aussie net to make it a one-point game. With 14 seconds left, Bonanni tied it to send a partisan crowd aroar.
The shootout pitted 19-year-old American goalie McQuin Baron against Australia’s 2012 Olympic keeper Stanton-French. Australia shot first. Two-time Olympian Rhys Howden converted but Tony Azevedo did not. The next six shooters scored: Richie Campbell (AUS), Bonanni (USA), Cotterill (AUS), Cupido (USA), Jarrod Gilchrist (AUS), and Bowen (USA). The last shooter for Australia, Billy Miller, wound up. Baron made the save. The final American in the line-up was John Mann, a Corona Del Mar High School graduate who was competing in his alma mater’s pool. Stanton-French made the save. Goal denied. Australia won 17-16, to advance to the gold medal game. The US will meet China for the bronze.
USA-AUS - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
James Stanton-French (AUS) – Australian goalie in the shootout
“We always knew it was going to be a tough game, but we definitely didn’t think it would be that close – especially three goals up with three minutes to go. Full credit to the USA team, they never gave up. I think it was a great spectacle for the crowd. And I think it’s what’s going to happen every time we play each other. They beat us in a shootout in the World Cup last year and I was in the net. Nice to finally get the right result.”
McQuin Baron (USA) – US goalie in shootout
“We’d rather have won, obviously, before the shootout. But it’s fun. [Was this your first international shootout?] That I was in the cage for, yeah. [What was going through your head?] Just focus on the ball. Don’t let emotions get to you. Just play your game, nothing different.”
GAME 20: 20:00, Semifinal, BRAZIL 14 CHINA 12
Quarters: 5-5, 3-1, 4-4, 2-2.
Extra Man: BRA: 1/3. CHN: 4/11.
Pens: BRA: 1/0. CHN: 1/2.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes (2), Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes (2), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (4), Gustavo Guimaraes (1), Danilo Correa (1), Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (3), Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li (2), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao, Xie Zekoi (1), Chen Jinghao (2), Zhang Chufeng (2), Liang Nianxiang, Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
The second semifinal was another tension-filled match.
The first period featured nearly non-stop scoring as China and Brazil drew to a 5-5 tie after eight minutes. But the second period was the opposite. It produced only four goals, including Felipe Perrone’s solo shot with 1:06 left to give Brazil a 7-6 lead – its first lead since tallying the first goal of the game. Then, with one second to go in the half, Adria Delgado stuffed in one more to give the 2016 Olympic host an 8-6 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, each team scored four times – including Li Li’s power-play power shot with 10 seconds left to keep China in the game but trailing 11-10. Then, with one second to go, China’s goalie Wu Honghui inadvertently tipped the ball to Adria Delgado who was waiting in front of the cage and batted it in to give Brazil a 12-10 edge.
In the fourth quarter, China scored twice to tie it at 12 with 2:49 left in the game. Bernardo Gomes of Brazil answered with putaway on a power play. Then, with 1:17 to go, both teams drew an exclusion, and when China’s Yu Li Jun reentered the game too early, Brazil got a crucial 5-metre penalty shot. Guilherme Gomes converted to make it 13-12. Bernardo Rocha scored once more as the clock read zero to seal Brazil’s win, 14-12, and advance to the gold-medal match against Australia. China will battle the US for the bronze.
“We’d rather have won, obviously, before the shootout. But it’s fun. [Was this your first international shootout?] That I was in the cage for, yeah. [What was going through your head?] Just focus on the ball. Don’t let emotions get to you. Just play your game, nothing different.”
GAME 20: 20:00, Semifinal, BRAZIL 14 CHINA 12
Quarters: 5-5, 3-1, 4-4, 2-2.
Extra Man: BRA: 1/3. CHN: 4/11.
Pens: BRA: 1/0. CHN: 1/2.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes (2), Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes (2), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (4), Gustavo Guimaraes (1), Danilo Correa (1), Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (3), Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li (2), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao, Xie Zekoi (1), Chen Jinghao (2), Zhang Chufeng (2), Liang Nianxiang, Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
The second semifinal was another tension-filled match.
The first period featured nearly non-stop scoring as China and Brazil drew to a 5-5 tie after eight minutes. But the second period was the opposite. It produced only four goals, including Felipe Perrone’s solo shot with 1:06 left to give Brazil a 7-6 lead – its first lead since tallying the first goal of the game. Then, with one second to go in the half, Adria Delgado stuffed in one more to give the 2016 Olympic host an 8-6 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, each team scored four times – including Li Li’s power-play power shot with 10 seconds left to keep China in the game but trailing 11-10. Then, with one second to go, China’s goalie Wu Honghui inadvertently tipped the ball to Adria Delgado who was waiting in front of the cage and batted it in to give Brazil a 12-10 edge.
In the fourth quarter, China scored twice to tie it at 12 with 2:49 left in the game. Bernardo Gomes of Brazil answered with putaway on a power play. Then, with 1:17 to go, both teams drew an exclusion, and when China’s Yu Li Jun reentered the game too early, Brazil got a crucial 5-metre penalty shot. Guilherme Gomes converted to make it 13-12. Bernardo Rocha scored once more as the clock read zero to seal Brazil’s win, 14-12, and advance to the gold-medal match against Australia. China will battle the US for the bronze.
BRA-CHN - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Ratko Rudic (BRA) – Brazil Head Coach
“We didn’t play well tonight. We made many mistakes. The team was not so well organised as before. Our qualification for the Super Final provoked a little relaxed in the players. We had to struggle during the game to keep the intensity. But when you play this kind of game not so well and win, it’s a good sign for the team.”
Paolo Malara (CHN) – China Head Coach
“We played very good in attack but defense gave away easy goals. Fourteen goals is no good. [With] 6-on-5, okay -- but today was more goals with 6-on-6.”
“We played very good in attack but defense gave away easy goals. Fourteen goals is no good. [With] 6-on-5, okay -- but today was more goals with 6-on-6.”
Day 4 A major upset came early as eight teams battled for semifinal berths on Day 4 of the FINA Men’s World League Intercontinental tournament in Newport Beach, California.
In what should have been a lopsided quarterfinal between China (who hadn’t won a game) and Canada (who hadn’t lost one), China took a massive 6-1 lead in the first period and defeated the North Americans, 11-10. The upset not only set up China’s semifinal meeting with Brazil (who beat Japan 11-8), but it also gave China automatic entry into the FINA World League Super Final in Italy in late June.
In what should have been a lopsided quarterfinal between China (who hadn’t won a game) and Canada (who hadn’t lost one), China took a massive 6-1 lead in the first period and defeated the North Americans, 11-10. The upset not only set up China’s semifinal meeting with Brazil (who beat Japan 11-8), but it also gave China automatic entry into the FINA World League Super Final in Italy in late June.
In fact, all four winners of Thursday’s quarterfinals earned berths in the World League Super Final.
That means that the US (who defeated Kazakhstan today, 17-11) and Australia (who beat Argentina, 14-5) will not only face each other in Friday’s semifinal in Newport Beach, but they will join China and Brazil at the Olympic qualifying event in Europe in June.
GAME 14: 15:30, BRAZIL 11 JAPAN 8
Quarters: 2-3, 4-1, 3-2, 2-2
Extra Man: BRA: 2/4. JPN: 2/11.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (1), Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (3), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone (4), Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga (1), Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu, Yuki Kadono, Koji Takei (2), Kenya Yasuda (1), Keigo Okawa (3), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In the Brazil-Japan quarterfinal, the teams were almost even on shots taken (24 for Brazil, 21 for Japan), but Japan was unable to convert nine of its 11 power plays and had 24 turnovers (compared to Brazil’s 20).
In a brisk first period, Japan earned a 3-2 lead, thanks to two goals by Koji Takei’s and one from Keigo Okawa. Then, 30 seconds into the second period, Felipe Perrone tied it at 3 for Brazil with his second goal of the night – a gorgeous sharp-angled shot from the right side of the net. Bernardo Gomes scored twice more for Brazil, and completed a hat trick with 55 seconds to go in the first half (interrupted only by Keigo Okawa’s second goal for Japan). Brazil led 6-4 at halftime.
In the second half, Brazil continued its streak with two more goals to go up 8-4. Then Okawa blasted a goal that knocked the cap off Brazilian goalie Vincius Antonelli and earned him a hat trick. Mitsuaki Shigo scored next, making it 8-6, until Brazil’s Paulo Salemi snuck in a goal with 1:30 left to end the period 9-6. In the fourth period, each team added two goals in alternating fashion, effectively cancelling each other out to seal an 11-8 victory for Brazil and send the 2016 Olympic host to the World League Super Final in June.
Brazil will meet China in the semifinals on Friday.
That means that the US (who defeated Kazakhstan today, 17-11) and Australia (who beat Argentina, 14-5) will not only face each other in Friday’s semifinal in Newport Beach, but they will join China and Brazil at the Olympic qualifying event in Europe in June.
GAME 14: 15:30, BRAZIL 11 JAPAN 8
Quarters: 2-3, 4-1, 3-2, 2-2
Extra Man: BRA: 2/4. JPN: 2/11.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (1), Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (3), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva, Bernardo Rocha, Felipe Perrone (4), Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga (1), Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu, Yuki Kadono, Koji Takei (2), Kenya Yasuda (1), Keigo Okawa (3), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In the Brazil-Japan quarterfinal, the teams were almost even on shots taken (24 for Brazil, 21 for Japan), but Japan was unable to convert nine of its 11 power plays and had 24 turnovers (compared to Brazil’s 20).
In a brisk first period, Japan earned a 3-2 lead, thanks to two goals by Koji Takei’s and one from Keigo Okawa. Then, 30 seconds into the second period, Felipe Perrone tied it at 3 for Brazil with his second goal of the night – a gorgeous sharp-angled shot from the right side of the net. Bernardo Gomes scored twice more for Brazil, and completed a hat trick with 55 seconds to go in the first half (interrupted only by Keigo Okawa’s second goal for Japan). Brazil led 6-4 at halftime.
In the second half, Brazil continued its streak with two more goals to go up 8-4. Then Okawa blasted a goal that knocked the cap off Brazilian goalie Vincius Antonelli and earned him a hat trick. Mitsuaki Shigo scored next, making it 8-6, until Brazil’s Paulo Salemi snuck in a goal with 1:30 left to end the period 9-6. In the fourth period, each team added two goals in alternating fashion, effectively cancelling each other out to seal an 11-8 victory for Brazil and send the 2016 Olympic host to the World League Super Final in June.
Brazil will meet China in the semifinals on Friday.
BRA-JPN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Felipe Perrone (BRA) – Scored four goals for Brazil
“We didn’t have that pressure [of Olympic qualifying], but for us it’s really important for us to qualify to the finals in Bergamo. [How did you neutralise Japan’s speed?] They have a completely different way of water polo from Europe’s style but I think we were focused the entire game. I want to congratulate the Japan team because they are not so big guys and they play amazing. It’s beautiful to see them play.”
Yoji Omoto (JPN) – Head coach of Japan
“Before the game, I told the players to shoot when they had a chance. But I guess the players knew how important this game was so they were very cautious when they took the shots. [Also] the fundamentals like ball handling and the ability to shoot well from the perimetre, it’s always been a problem for the Japanese.”
GAME 15: 17:00, CHINA 11 CANADA 10
Quarters: 6-1, 3-3, 2-3, 0-3
Extra Man: CHN: 4/10. CAN: 4/10.
Pens: CHN: 1/1. CAN: 1/1
Teams:
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu, Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li, Chen Zhongxian (1), Dong Tao, Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (5), Liang Nianxiang (2), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba (1), Oliver Vikalo, David Lapins, Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (3), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (3), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy, Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
Canada hadn’t lost, and China hadn’t won – until Thursday’s quarterfinal.
Canada’s defense unraveled in the first period as China built a 6-1 lead that featured three goals by Zhang Chufeng – including one at the horn to end the period. In the second period, the teams were even on scoring so China maintained its five-goal advantage, 9-4, at the half.
The third period opened with Yu Li Jun drawing a 5-metre penalty on John Conway, allowing Zhang Chufeng to take the penalty shot and score his fourth goal of the game to give China a 10-4 lead. Canada then went on a three-goal scoring blitz that included two in a row by Kevin Graham. China bookended the period with a goal of its own (marking Zhang Chufeng’s fifth of the game), making 11-7 for China. In the fourth period, Canada’s Scott Robinson netted back-to-back goals to narrow the deficit 9-11 with 2:49 remaining. Robinson added a third goal (on a power play) to make it a one-point game with 32 seconds to go. After a flurry of desperation, Canadian goalie Dusan Aleksic launched a full-pool redirect just as time was expiring, hoping a fellow Canadian would tip the ball into the net, but China’s goalkeeper Wu Honghui made the catch and prevented a penalty shootout. China upset Canada, 11-10, to advance in the semifinals against Brazil.
“Before the game, I told the players to shoot when they had a chance. But I guess the players knew how important this game was so they were very cautious when they took the shots. [Also] the fundamentals like ball handling and the ability to shoot well from the perimetre, it’s always been a problem for the Japanese.”
GAME 15: 17:00, CHINA 11 CANADA 10
Quarters: 6-1, 3-3, 2-3, 0-3
Extra Man: CHN: 4/10. CAN: 4/10.
Pens: CHN: 1/1. CAN: 1/1
Teams:
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu, Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li, Chen Zhongxian (1), Dong Tao, Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (5), Liang Nianxiang (2), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba (1), Oliver Vikalo, David Lapins, Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson (3), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (3), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy, Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
Canada hadn’t lost, and China hadn’t won – until Thursday’s quarterfinal.
Canada’s defense unraveled in the first period as China built a 6-1 lead that featured three goals by Zhang Chufeng – including one at the horn to end the period. In the second period, the teams were even on scoring so China maintained its five-goal advantage, 9-4, at the half.
The third period opened with Yu Li Jun drawing a 5-metre penalty on John Conway, allowing Zhang Chufeng to take the penalty shot and score his fourth goal of the game to give China a 10-4 lead. Canada then went on a three-goal scoring blitz that included two in a row by Kevin Graham. China bookended the period with a goal of its own (marking Zhang Chufeng’s fifth of the game), making 11-7 for China. In the fourth period, Canada’s Scott Robinson netted back-to-back goals to narrow the deficit 9-11 with 2:49 remaining. Robinson added a third goal (on a power play) to make it a one-point game with 32 seconds to go. After a flurry of desperation, Canadian goalie Dusan Aleksic launched a full-pool redirect just as time was expiring, hoping a fellow Canadian would tip the ball into the net, but China’s goalkeeper Wu Honghui made the catch and prevented a penalty shootout. China upset Canada, 11-10, to advance in the semifinals against Brazil.
CHN-CAN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Paolo Malara (CHN) – Head coach of China
Paolo Malara (CHN) – Head coach of China
“Today was a good match from the first minute to the last minute – also, the last second. It was very important, the result – for my work, for the team. [What did you say to the team before the match?] Nothing. I prepare the match all the time. [And after the win?] Nothing, haha. I’m tired.”
Oliver Vikalo (CAN) – One shot, no goals for Canada
“They came out firing and we came out really flat. I don’t know if we underestimated them or what. That’s why we lost. Our defense wasn’t doing well the first half, and that’s that.”
GAME 13: 18:30, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 17 KAZAKHSTAN 11
Quarters: 4-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-4.
Extra Man: USA: 8/14. KAZ: 5/11.
Pens: KAZ: 0/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo, Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (1), Luca Cupido (1), Josh Samuels (1), Tony Azevedo (4), Alex Bowen (5), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith, John Mann (2), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (1), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov (2), Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (2), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (4), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
The US had just watched Canada get trounced in the first eight minutes of its loss to China, so the Americans tried to set the tempo early to prevent a gaping deficit in its quarterfinal with Kazakhstan. The US took an immediate 2-0 lead from Olympic veterans Tony Azevedo and John Mann who nailed a cross-cage skip shot with 5:23 left. Rustam Ukumanov put Kazakhstan on the board with a power play goal with 5:01 remaining. The teams traded the next four goals, and the first period ended with US up 4-3. In the second period, the US was converting on its 6-on-5s, and took high percentage shots to produce four consecutive goals plusone more in the last 10 seconds from high school junior Ben Hallock to end the half, 9-5 USA.
In the third period, the US added five goals (four on power plays and three of them by Alex Bowen, a 21-year-old Stanford University student) and Kazakhstan scored twice (via Murat Shakenov and Branko Pekovich) to make it 14-7 for the US at the break. In the fourth quarter, Kazakhstan added four even-handed goals (including Petkovich’s third and fourth of the game) but the US put three more in the net (including Azevedo’s third and fourth goal of the night) to win, 17-11, and advance to the semis where it faces Australia on Friday.
“They came out firing and we came out really flat. I don’t know if we underestimated them or what. That’s why we lost. Our defense wasn’t doing well the first half, and that’s that.”
GAME 13: 18:30, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 17 KAZAKHSTAN 11
Quarters: 4-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-4.
Extra Man: USA: 8/14. KAZ: 5/11.
Pens: KAZ: 0/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo, Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (1), Luca Cupido (1), Josh Samuels (1), Tony Azevedo (4), Alex Bowen (5), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith, John Mann (2), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovicic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (1), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov (2), Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (2), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (4), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
The US had just watched Canada get trounced in the first eight minutes of its loss to China, so the Americans tried to set the tempo early to prevent a gaping deficit in its quarterfinal with Kazakhstan. The US took an immediate 2-0 lead from Olympic veterans Tony Azevedo and John Mann who nailed a cross-cage skip shot with 5:23 left. Rustam Ukumanov put Kazakhstan on the board with a power play goal with 5:01 remaining. The teams traded the next four goals, and the first period ended with US up 4-3. In the second period, the US was converting on its 6-on-5s, and took high percentage shots to produce four consecutive goals plusone more in the last 10 seconds from high school junior Ben Hallock to end the half, 9-5 USA.
In the third period, the US added five goals (four on power plays and three of them by Alex Bowen, a 21-year-old Stanford University student) and Kazakhstan scored twice (via Murat Shakenov and Branko Pekovich) to make it 14-7 for the US at the break. In the fourth quarter, Kazakhstan added four even-handed goals (including Petkovich’s third and fourth of the game) but the US put three more in the net (including Azevedo’s third and fourth goal of the night) to win, 17-11, and advance to the semis where it faces Australia on Friday.
USA-KAZ - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Dejan Udovicic (USA) – US Head Coach
“As you can see, we can score as much goals as we want, as much as we need. This is not our problem. I think we need to perform much better, especially on defense one-on-one. We are failing in some situations to defend one-on-one and need to play zone. I want to play passing as much as we can.”
McQuin Baron (USA) – US goalkeeper, made 15 saves
“Tonight there was definitely improvements in our communication, our front-court defense, we were countering hard, but there’s nothing we’re perfect at. We’re a young team. Every game we’ve got to learn from our mistakes to improve and capitalise.”
Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) – Kazakhstan Assistant Coach
“Today we played bad game, very bad defense. [Did you think the score would be closer?] Yes, yes.”
GAME 16: 20:00, AUSTRALIA 14 ARGENTINA 5
Quarters: 2-1, 4-2, 3-2, 5-0.
Extra Man: AUS: 3/5. ARG: 6/10.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (4), Nathan Power (1), Jarrod Gilchrist, Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards (1), Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller (1), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (1), Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (2), Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (2), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In a low-scoring first period, Australia had a 2-0 lead when Argentina’s Ramiro Velch made it 2-1 with 4:22 to go. In the second period, the physically dominant Aussies went on a four-goal streak that included back-to-back goals by Aidan Roach and back-to-back goals by Johnno Cotterill before Argentina could respond with two goals of its own (one by Ivan Martin Carbantes in the final two minutes and one from German Yanez with 16 seconds left in the half). At halftime, Australia led 6-3.
In the third period, each team scored twice before Cotterill scored his fourth goal of the night on a power play with 10 seconds to go to give Australia a 9-5 lead. In the fourth period, Australia put the hurt on Argentina, adding five unanswered goals to win 14-5, and claim a semifinal slot against the US on Friday.
“Tonight there was definitely improvements in our communication, our front-court defense, we were countering hard, but there’s nothing we’re perfect at. We’re a young team. Every game we’ve got to learn from our mistakes to improve and capitalise.”
Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) – Kazakhstan Assistant Coach
“Today we played bad game, very bad defense. [Did you think the score would be closer?] Yes, yes.”
GAME 16: 20:00, AUSTRALIA 14 ARGENTINA 5
Quarters: 2-1, 4-2, 3-2, 5-0.
Extra Man: AUS: 3/5. ARG: 6/10.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (4), Nathan Power (1), Jarrod Gilchrist, Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards (1), Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller (1), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (1), Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (2), Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (2), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In a low-scoring first period, Australia had a 2-0 lead when Argentina’s Ramiro Velch made it 2-1 with 4:22 to go. In the second period, the physically dominant Aussies went on a four-goal streak that included back-to-back goals by Aidan Roach and back-to-back goals by Johnno Cotterill before Argentina could respond with two goals of its own (one by Ivan Martin Carbantes in the final two minutes and one from German Yanez with 16 seconds left in the half). At halftime, Australia led 6-3.
In the third period, each team scored twice before Cotterill scored his fourth goal of the night on a power play with 10 seconds to go to give Australia a 9-5 lead. In the fourth period, Australia put the hurt on Argentina, adding five unanswered goals to win 14-5, and claim a semifinal slot against the US on Friday.
AUS-ARG - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Elvis Fatovic (AUS) – Head Coach of Australia
“That’s one of our not-so impressive games. When we don’t start 100% then we are in problems. Definitely we received too many goals in the first two quarters. Also we couldn’t shoot in the cage. We tried some spectacular shots instead of the simplest ones. Try to play as simple as we can; that’s what you want."
Elvis Fatovic (AUS) – Head Coach of Australia
“That’s one of our not-so impressive games. When we don’t start 100% then we are in problems. Definitely we received too many goals in the first two quarters. Also we couldn’t shoot in the cage. We tried some spectacular shots instead of the simplest ones. Try to play as simple as we can; that’s what you want."
Day 3 at the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament in Newport Beach, California, was crucial because it set up Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Although the tournament concludes on Saturday, the teams that win on Thursday will automatically advance to the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
In Group A, Canada earned the top ranking with a 20-10 victory over Japan to remain undefeated. The US ranked No. 2 after beating Argentina, 19-8, in group play despite a tight first period. That left Japan ranked third with one victory and two losses. Argentina, in fourth, had three losses.
Although the tournament concludes on Saturday, the teams that win on Thursday will automatically advance to the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
In Group A, Canada earned the top ranking with a 20-10 victory over Japan to remain undefeated. The US ranked No. 2 after beating Argentina, 19-8, in group play despite a tight first period. That left Japan ranked third with one victory and two losses. Argentina, in fourth, had three losses.
In Group B, Australia topped the standings with a perfect 3-0 record after defeating China, 10-3, on Wednesday thanks in part to impressive goalkeeping by James Stanton-French. Meanwhile, Brazil beat Kazakhstan, 10-7, to move into the No. 2 slot with one two wins and one loss. Kazakhstan took the third berth, ahead of China who had yet to win a game.
GAME 9: 15:30, BRAZIL 10 KAZAKHSTAN 7
Quarters: 1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2
Extra Man: BRA: 5/9. KAZ: 4/11.
Pens: KAZ 1/1.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes, Adria Delgado (3), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (3), Gustavo Guimaraes (2), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (1), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
On the last day of group play, Brazil and Kazakhstan were both trying to improve their 1-1 records. Kazakhstan took an early lead on Wednesday, but Brazil scored six times in the second period en route to a 10-7 triumph.
The first period began with Kazakhstan initiating a 2-0 lead on a power play goal by Yevgeniy Medvedev and a penalty shot by Rustam Ukumanov. Brazil answered with 1:15 remaining to make it 2-1. In the second period, Adria Delgado added three goals for Brazil – one to tie it at 2-2, another to tie it at 3, and go-ahead goal to make it 4-3 Brazil. Bernardo Rocha, Filipe Perrone, and Gustavo Guimaraes added one goal apiece and Brazil’s string of five unanswered goals took the 2016 Olympic host to a 7-3 lead at halftime. By then, Brazil had outshot Kazakhstan 22 to 10 and scored on 5 of 7 exclusions.
In the third period, Kazakhstan scored twice and limited Brazil to one goal, yet Brazil led 8-5 entering the fourth quarter. Each team scored twice more to finish 10-7, Brazil.
Brazil will face Japan in Thursday’s quarterfinal; Kazakhstan will meet the U.S.
GAME 9: 15:30, BRAZIL 10 KAZAKHSTAN 7
Quarters: 1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2
Extra Man: BRA: 5/9. KAZ: 4/11.
Pens: KAZ 1/1.
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes, Adria Delgado (3), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (3), Gustavo Guimaraes (2), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (1), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3), Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
On the last day of group play, Brazil and Kazakhstan were both trying to improve their 1-1 records. Kazakhstan took an early lead on Wednesday, but Brazil scored six times in the second period en route to a 10-7 triumph.
The first period began with Kazakhstan initiating a 2-0 lead on a power play goal by Yevgeniy Medvedev and a penalty shot by Rustam Ukumanov. Brazil answered with 1:15 remaining to make it 2-1. In the second period, Adria Delgado added three goals for Brazil – one to tie it at 2-2, another to tie it at 3, and go-ahead goal to make it 4-3 Brazil. Bernardo Rocha, Filipe Perrone, and Gustavo Guimaraes added one goal apiece and Brazil’s string of five unanswered goals took the 2016 Olympic host to a 7-3 lead at halftime. By then, Brazil had outshot Kazakhstan 22 to 10 and scored on 5 of 7 exclusions.
In the third period, Kazakhstan scored twice and limited Brazil to one goal, yet Brazil led 8-5 entering the fourth quarter. Each team scored twice more to finish 10-7, Brazil.
Brazil will face Japan in Thursday’s quarterfinal; Kazakhstan will meet the U.S.
BRA-KAZ - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Ratko Rudic (BRA) – Head Coach of Brazil
“We played a very organised defense. The players were disciplined. We had a lot of occasions we didn’t score on everything we could. But Kazakhstan is experienced. Our players are less experienced, so for us it was a great controlled game. If we continue like this we can expect some other good results.”
Gustavo Guimaraes (BRA) – Two goals for Brazil
“It was a very fun game. It was the last one of the group, so it was very important to us to finish in second place. Now we need to see Japan play – to see who the good players are so tomorrow we can play a good game and qualify to the Super Final.”
GAME 10: 17:00, CANADA 20 JAPAN 10
Quarters: 4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2
Extra Man: CAN: 6/7. JPN: 4/12.
Pens: CAN: 2/2. JPN: 1.1.
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (3), David Lapins (4), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson, Alec Taschereau (3), Kevin Graham (1), Dusan Radojcic (1), John Conway (5), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai, Mitsuaki Shiga (1), Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi (1), Yusuke Shimizu (3), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei (3), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa (1), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In a 30-goal game between Canada and Japan, Japan’s slow passing left it unable to convert on 75% of its exclusions and get the win it needed to move into second place in Group A.
In the first half, Canada and Japan were even on shooting, with 16 apiece. But Canada scored on all three of its power play opportunities (including twice by John Conway), while Japan converted on only two power plays. At halftime, Canada led 8-5.
In the third period, Canada pulled away with five unanswered goals to open a 13-5 lead punctuated by Dusan Radojcic’s power play goal. Japan’s Koji Takei put Japan back on the board with an unassisted goal then scored on a penalty shot for a hat trick. The two teams traded one goal apiece in the last 22 seconds to close the third period 14-8 in Canada’s favor. In the fourth quarter saw John Conway score his fourth and fifth goals of the night for Canada, and four other Canadians add goals. Japan earned two more goals on power plays, but the deficit was too great and Canada prevailed 20-10.
Canada will meet China in Thursday’s quarterfinal; Japan will play Brazil.
“It was a very fun game. It was the last one of the group, so it was very important to us to finish in second place. Now we need to see Japan play – to see who the good players are so tomorrow we can play a good game and qualify to the Super Final.”
GAME 10: 17:00, CANADA 20 JAPAN 10
Quarters: 4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2
Extra Man: CAN: 6/7. JPN: 4/12.
Pens: CAN: 2/2. JPN: 1.1.
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (3), David Lapins (4), Justin Boyd, Scott Robinson, Alec Taschereau (3), Kevin Graham (1), Dusan Radojcic (1), John Conway (5), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai, Mitsuaki Shiga (1), Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi (1), Yusuke Shimizu (3), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei (3), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa (1), Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In a 30-goal game between Canada and Japan, Japan’s slow passing left it unable to convert on 75% of its exclusions and get the win it needed to move into second place in Group A.
In the first half, Canada and Japan were even on shooting, with 16 apiece. But Canada scored on all three of its power play opportunities (including twice by John Conway), while Japan converted on only two power plays. At halftime, Canada led 8-5.
In the third period, Canada pulled away with five unanswered goals to open a 13-5 lead punctuated by Dusan Radojcic’s power play goal. Japan’s Koji Takei put Japan back on the board with an unassisted goal then scored on a penalty shot for a hat trick. The two teams traded one goal apiece in the last 22 seconds to close the third period 14-8 in Canada’s favor. In the fourth quarter saw John Conway score his fourth and fifth goals of the night for Canada, and four other Canadians add goals. Japan earned two more goals on power plays, but the deficit was too great and Canada prevailed 20-10.
Canada will meet China in Thursday’s quarterfinal; Japan will play Brazil.
CAN-JPN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
John Conway (CAN) – Five goals for Canada
“We played our game plan solidly, and that helped us through a team like Japan which brings a lot of energy. [What was the game plan?] A lot of ball control. They like to steal balls and they put on a lot of pressure, so ball control was definitely key.”
Yusuke Shimizu (JPN) – Three goals for Japan
John Conway (CAN) – Five goals for Canada
“We played our game plan solidly, and that helped us through a team like Japan which brings a lot of energy. [What was the game plan?] A lot of ball control. They like to steal balls and they put on a lot of pressure, so ball control was definitely key.”
Yusuke Shimizu (JPN) – Three goals for Japan
“Our exclusion shoot situation was no good in this game. We must [fix it] tomorrow, because the important game is tomorrow. [Why was Japan unable to convert on exclusions?] I think everyone has small body and it’s not good if the ball is high. And we need quicker passing. [Did you hurt your left eye in the fourth quarter?] It’s okay. I think this bone [right chest] is broken from training in the US at university – from kicking. But I must play.”
GAME 11: 18:30, AUSTRALIA 10 CHINA 3
Quarters: 4-0, 2-3, 2-0, 2-0
Extra Man: AUS: 2/7. CHN: 0/9
Pens: AUS: 1/1. CHN: 1/1.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (1), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (1), Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist, Aidan Roach (1), Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin (1), Rhys Howden, Billy Miller (2), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu, Sha Shi, Yu Li Jun, Liu Xiao, Li Li, Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao, Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao, Zhang Chufeng (2), Liang Nianxiang (1), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
China outshot Australia 30 to 21, but James Stanton-French made 17 saves en route to Australia’s 10-3 victory on Wednesday.
Australia built a 4-0 lead in the first period. Early in the second, Chen Jinghao drew a foul on Canada’s George Ford which gave Zhang Chufeng a 5-metre penalty shot to put China on the scoreboard with 7:30 left in the half. China scored twice more, but so did Australia (including a penalty shot goal by Richie Campbell with 3:22 remaining). At halftime, Australia led 6-3, aided by stellar Stanton-French who had 10 saves in the first half.
In the third period, Australia scored twice more in a game full of turnovers (10 for Australia, 11 for China at that point). In the fourth period, Billy Miller scored the first power play goal of the entire match (by any team) to extend Australia’s lead to 9-3. Johnno Cotterill also added a power play goal with 3:38 left to make it 10-3 and end the scoring.
Top-ranked Australia will play winless Argentina in the quarterfinals. And China will seek its first victory of the tournament against an undefeated Canada on Thursday.
AUS-CHN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Elvis Fatovic (AUS) – Head Coach of Australia
“I think we played really good defense today – that’s something we wanted from the beginning – but especially the extra-man defense against China. That gives me satisfaction. Or course we still have some things to improve in our attack – especially with the extra-man position. We must be much, much more mobile. We’ll try to do that in the next couple games.”
Paolo Malara (CHN) – Head Coach of China
“Australia is very good, but I am happy for my team. We had more shots, but not final goals. For China, this is our third official match of the season. If we had more official matches, I think it would be [a big plus].”
GAME 12: 20:00, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 19 ARGENTINA 8
Quarters: 5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1
Extra Man: USA: 6/13. ARG 2/6.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (3), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (1), Luca Cupido (4), Josh Samuels (3), Tony Azevedo (3), Alex Bowen (2), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith, John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni (1), Juan Pablo Montana (1), Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (1), Andres Maroni (2), Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (3), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
Seven different Americans scored in the United States’ 19-8 victory over Argentina. The US also put both of its goalies to work while giving one of the team’s three Olympic veterans the night off.
In the first half, Argentina was outshot 21 to 14, and plagued by turnovers (11 to the United States’ 4). But the first period was a back-and-forth affair. The US kept inching ahead until Argentina’s Juan Pablo Montana rallied to tie it at four apiece on an even-handed goal. American Bret Bonanni answered with a power play goal with 34 seconds to go and the US led, 5-4, at the end of the first period.
In the second quarter, the US settled down and widened its lead to 9-4 on a pair of goals by Luca Cupido, and solo shots by Janson Wigo and Alex Bowen (on a power play). Argentina’s German Yanez lobbed one into the net with 2:09 to go – Argentina’s only goal of the second period – but American Tony Azevedo retaliated with his second goal of the night to give the US a five-goal lead at the half: 10-5.
In the third period, the US added five goals to extend its lead to 15-7. The splurge included Cupido’s third and fourth goal of the night, as well as one by high school junior Ben Hallock. In the fourth quarter, the US scored four more times (making it eight in a row) – including two goals by Janson Wigo, the half-brother of retired three-time US Olympian Wolf Wigo. Argentina got the last word, however, as Andres Maroni made the final goal in a 19-8 rout.
In Thursday’s semifinals, the US (second-ranked in Group A) will play Kazakhstan (third-ranked in Group B). And Argentina will seek its first victory of the tournament against Australia who hasn’t lost a game.
“Australia is very good, but I am happy for my team. We had more shots, but not final goals. For China, this is our third official match of the season. If we had more official matches, I think it would be [a big plus].”
GAME 12: 20:00, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 19 ARGENTINA 8
Quarters: 5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1
Extra Man: USA: 6/13. ARG 2/6.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (3), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock (1), Luca Cupido (4), Josh Samuels (3), Tony Azevedo (3), Alex Bowen (2), Bret Bonanni (3), Jesse Smith, John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni (1), Juan Pablo Montana (1), Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (1), Andres Maroni (2), Franco Demarchi, German Yanez (3), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
Seven different Americans scored in the United States’ 19-8 victory over Argentina. The US also put both of its goalies to work while giving one of the team’s three Olympic veterans the night off.
In the first half, Argentina was outshot 21 to 14, and plagued by turnovers (11 to the United States’ 4). But the first period was a back-and-forth affair. The US kept inching ahead until Argentina’s Juan Pablo Montana rallied to tie it at four apiece on an even-handed goal. American Bret Bonanni answered with a power play goal with 34 seconds to go and the US led, 5-4, at the end of the first period.
In the second quarter, the US settled down and widened its lead to 9-4 on a pair of goals by Luca Cupido, and solo shots by Janson Wigo and Alex Bowen (on a power play). Argentina’s German Yanez lobbed one into the net with 2:09 to go – Argentina’s only goal of the second period – but American Tony Azevedo retaliated with his second goal of the night to give the US a five-goal lead at the half: 10-5.
In the third period, the US added five goals to extend its lead to 15-7. The splurge included Cupido’s third and fourth goal of the night, as well as one by high school junior Ben Hallock. In the fourth quarter, the US scored four more times (making it eight in a row) – including two goals by Janson Wigo, the half-brother of retired three-time US Olympian Wolf Wigo. Argentina got the last word, however, as Andres Maroni made the final goal in a 19-8 rout.
In Thursday’s semifinals, the US (second-ranked in Group A) will play Kazakhstan (third-ranked in Group B). And Argentina will seek its first victory of the tournament against Australia who hasn’t lost a game.
USA-ARG - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Tony Azevedo (USA) – Three goals
“We started being more aggressive offensively. We started attacking, 6-on-5 especially. John [Mann] was out today, taking the day off, so we really worked with our two young two-meter men: Ben Hallock and Alex Obert. I thought they did a good job. We earned a lot of ejections, but we kept our head. That was most important. Argentina was pretty aggressive.”
Australia, Brazil in Interncontinenal Tournament final
The final of the World League Super Final Interncontinental Qualification Tournament will be played between Australia and Brazil. Both won their respective semifinals on Friday with the most important feature, Super Final qualification, already under their belt. The Aussie Sharks needed a shoot-out to edge hosts USA 16-17. An early missed penalty shot attempt by USA veteran Tony Azevedo proved crucial as all other players converted their attempts to see Australia clinching their spot in the final. Joining them are 2016 Olympics hosts Brazil who held their composure a little longer than surprising oponnents China in the semifinals. A tie game saw Brazil clincing the win in its final phase as Brazil scored twice in the penultimate minute of the game clincing the final score coming off 12-12 levelled score. In other results Kazakhstan dominated Argentina 19-8 to now play for the 5th place on Saturday facing Japan who defeated a dissapointed Canada side 11-10 in the classification semifinal round on Thursday.FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
Brazil vs. China 12-9 (3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2)
Canada vs. Argentina 15-6 (4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2)
Kazakhstan vs. Australia 7-13 (2-5, 1-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Japan vs. USA 6-10 (2-3, 0-1, 3-4, 1-2)
Wednesday, 1 April
Brazil vs. Kazakhstan 10-7 (1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2)
Canada vs. Japan 20-10 (4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2)
Australia vs. China 10-3 (4-0, 2-3, 2-0, 2-0)
USA vs. Argentina 19-8 (5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1)
Thursday, 2 April
Japan (3A) vs. Brazil (2B) 8-11 (3-2, 1-4, 2-3, 2-2) - game 14
Canada (1A) vs. China (4B) 10-11 (1-6, 3-3, 3-2, 3-0) - game 15
USA (2A) vs. Kazakhstan (3B) 17-11 (4-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-4) - game 13
Argentina (4A) vs. Australia (1B) 5-14 (1-2, 2-4, 2-3, 0-5) - game 16
Friday, 3 April
15.30: Kazakhstan (L13) vs. Argentina (L16) 19-8 (6-5, 5-2, 5-2, 3-1) - game 17
17.00: Japan (L14) vs. Canada (L15) 11-10 (4-3, 2-3, 2-2, 3-2) - game 18
18.30: USA (W13) vs. Australia (W16) 16-17 (4-3, 3-4, 2-1, 4-5; penalties: 3-4) - game 19
20.00: Brazil (W14) vs. China (W15) 14-12 (5-5, 3-1, 4-4, 2-2) - game 20
Saturday, 4 April
09.00: Argentina (L17) vs. Canada (L18) - 7th/8th place
10.30: Kazakhstan (W17) vs. Japan (W18) - 5th/6th place
12.00: USA (L19) vs. China (L20) - 3rd/4th place
13.30: Australia (W19) vs. Brazil (W20) - 1st/2nd place
China stuns Canada for Super Final berth
After winning three straight games the decisive one was lost by Canada in the World League Intercontinental Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. China, winless in the group stage, used a big 1-6 start to stun the group A winners 10-11 and secure a Super Final berth at the expense of the favourites. Canada's Scott Robinson single-handedly tried to erase the opening-quarter deficit scoring all 3 goals in the final period but saw his side falling short just a single goal to force a penalty shootout. It marked the biggest surprise of the decisive quarterfinal day in Newport Beach, California where the semifinalists knew they're sure of participation in the Super Final in Bergamo, Italy (23-28 June). Brazil, Australia and hosts USA joined China in the semifinals to earn a Super Final berth. Brazil opened the quarterfinal day with an 8-11 victory over Japan with Felipe Perrone once again leading the attack scoring 4 goals. Hosts USA were up after China's victory over Canada as they faced Kazakhstan. Led by Tony Azevedo and Alexander Bowen, who combined for 9 goals on offence, the home team took control in the second period and did not let go. Despite the high number of goals Team USA remained on the good side of the score posting a 17-11 victory. In Thursday's final match Australia confirmed their tournament favourite role by letting Argentina no chance. In another match-up of a winless side facing an unbeaten opponent, Australia lived up to the expectation running away to the big final margin in the 4th quarter (0-5). Johnno Cotterill once again earned top scoring honours netting 4 shots. The Aussie Sharks now take on hosts USA in an anticipated semifinal while Brazil faces China in the second semis match-up on Friday.FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
Brazil vs. China 12-9 (3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2)
Canada vs. Argentina 15-6 (4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2)
Kazakhstan vs. Australia 7-13 (2-5, 1-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Japan vs. USA 6-10 (2-3, 0-1, 3-4, 1-2)
Wednesday, 1 April
Brazil vs. Kazakhstan 10-7 (1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2)
Canada vs. Japan 20-10 (4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2)
Australia vs. China 10-3 (4-0, 2-3, 2-0, 2-0)
USA vs. Argentina 19-8 (5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1)
Thursday, 2 April
Japan (3A) vs. Brazil (2B) 8-11 (3-2, 1-4, 2-3, 2-2) - game 14
Canada (1A) vs. China (4B) 10-11 (1-6, 3-3, 3-2, 3-0) - game 15
USA (2A) vs. Kazakhstan (3B) 17-11 (4-3, 5-2, 5-2, 3-4) - game 13
Argentina (4A) vs. Australia (1B) 5-14 (1-2, 2-4, 2-3, 0-5) - game 16
Friday, 3 April
15.30: Kazakhstan (L13) vs. Argentina (L16) - game 17
17.00: Japan (L14) vs. Canada (L15) - game 18
18.30: USA (W13) vs. Australia (W16) - game 19
20.00: Brazil (W14) vs. China (W15) - game 20
Favourites dominate
No surprises on the final day of group stage action at the World League Super Final Intercontinental Qualification Tournament as the teams from Brazil, Canada, Australia and USA confirmed their strong cases for not only the semifinals but also qualification for the Super Final in Bergamo, Italy (23-28 June). Brazil was up first as they held off Kazakhstan 10-7 behind a combined 6 goals from Adria Delgado and Felipe Perrone. Group A winners Canada then dominated Japan in a high-scoring contest 20-10 with John Conway leading the Canadian offence with 5 goals. Australia put up a nice defensive effort keeping China scoreless for 3 quarters in a clear 10-3 victory. Youngster Nathan Power, centre-forward Joel Swift and driver Billy Miller netted 2 shots each. In the final game on Wednesday hosts USA dominated Argentina 19-8 where Luca Cupido led the charge scoring 4 goals. Lefty Janson Wigo, Italian Serie A league SS Lazio player Josh Samuels and attacker Bret Bonanni added 3 apiece. The tournament favourites all are now up for the decisive quarterfinal battles where winning means securing a spot in the Super Final. Japan could be expected to put a decent fight against Brazil, perhaps Kazakhstan will be able to do the same facing the home team, but for both group winners these quarterfinals should mean clear wins.
FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
Brazil vs. China 12-9 (3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2)
Canada vs. Argentina 15-6 (4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2)
Kazakhstan vs. Australia 7-13 (2-5, 1-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Japan vs. USA 6-10 (2-3, 0-1, 3-4, 1-2)
Wednesday, 1 April
Brazil vs. Kazakhstan 10-7 (1-2, 6-1, 1-2, 2-2)
Canada vs. Japan 20-10 (4-2, 4-3, 6-3, 6-2)
Australia vs. China 10-3 (4-0, 2-3, 2-0, 2-0)
USA vs. Argentina 19-8 (5-4, 5-1, 5-2, 4-1)
Thursday, 2 April
15.30: Japan (3A) vs. Brazil (2B) - game 14
17.00: Canada (1A) vs. China (4B) - game 15
18.30: USA (2A) vs. Kazakhstan (3B) - game 13
20.00: Argentina (4A) vs. Australia (1B) - game 16
Day 2 On Day 2 of the FINA Men’s Intercontinental Tournament in Newport Beach, California, Canada blew out Argentina, 15-6, to remain undefeated. Australia also beat Kazakhstan, 13-7, to maintain its perfect winning record in the competition.
Meanwhile, Brazil and the US earned their first victories. Brazil beat China, 12-9, and led from start to finish. China had 12 chances to score with a man advantage – and did so seven times – but it wasn’t enough to catch the 2016 Olympic host. The US also found its rhythm to beat Japan, 10-6 (after losing to Canada on Monday) – in a duel of opposing styles.
Wednesday will mark the end of Group Play, and the top four teams at the end of the tournament will advance to the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 6: 15:30, BRAZIL 12 CHINA 9
Quarters: 3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2
Extra Man: BRA: 3/4. CHN 7/12.
Pens: CHN 1/1
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (2), Guilherme Gomes (1), Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes, Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silve (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (3), Gustavo Guimares (2), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (2), Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li (1), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao, Zhang Chufeng (1), Liang Nianxiang (2), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
Both Brazil and China were seeking their first victory after losing their opening matches on Monday night in Group B. Brazil immediately opened a 3-0 lead, aided by two goals from Adria Delgado. China retaliated on a power play goal by Zhang Chufeng, making it 3-1 at the end of the first period. In the second period, the teams alternated the next six goals (earning three apiece) but Brazil maintained a 6-4 lead at halftime. By then, Brazil had outshot China 19-12, and each had converted three times on four exclusions.
The second half began in similar fashion: the squads alternated the three goals apiece – including a penalty shot goal by Sha Shi of Japan to make it 8-7 with 33 seconds to go in the third. Brazil’s Felipe Silva scored once more with 5 seconds remaining to put Brazil up 9-7 entering the final period. In the fourth, the trading continued, until Brazil’s Felipe Perrone closed it out with two goals to seal a personal hat trick and the Brazil victory, 12-9.
GAME 6: 15:30, BRAZIL 12 CHINA 9
Quarters: 3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2
Extra Man: BRA: 3/4. CHN 7/12.
Pens: CHN 1/1
Teams:
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello (2), Guilherme Gomes (1), Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi, Bernardo Gomes, Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silve (1), Bernardo Rocha (1), Felipe Perrone (3), Gustavo Guimares (2), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feihu (2), Sha Shi (1), Yu Li Jun (1), Liu Xiao, Li Li (1), Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao, Zhang Chufeng (1), Liang Nianxiang (2), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
Both Brazil and China were seeking their first victory after losing their opening matches on Monday night in Group B. Brazil immediately opened a 3-0 lead, aided by two goals from Adria Delgado. China retaliated on a power play goal by Zhang Chufeng, making it 3-1 at the end of the first period. In the second period, the teams alternated the next six goals (earning three apiece) but Brazil maintained a 6-4 lead at halftime. By then, Brazil had outshot China 19-12, and each had converted three times on four exclusions.
The second half began in similar fashion: the squads alternated the three goals apiece – including a penalty shot goal by Sha Shi of Japan to make it 8-7 with 33 seconds to go in the third. Brazil’s Felipe Silva scored once more with 5 seconds remaining to put Brazil up 9-7 entering the final period. In the fourth, the trading continued, until Brazil’s Felipe Perrone closed it out with two goals to seal a personal hat trick and the Brazil victory, 12-9.
BRA-CHN - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
Thye Mattos (BRA) – Brazil’s second-half goalie (made 7 saves, allowed 4)
Thye Mattos (BRA) – Brazil’s second-half goalie (made 7 saves, allowed 4)
“It was a good game. We did everything we talked about before, like a very hard, strong defense. After the game yesterday, we were thinking about everything because we had a very good game but we couldn’t win. Today we said we had to win, we will win, and we did it.”
GAME 7: 17:00, CANADA 15 ARGENTINA 6
Quarters: 4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2
Extra Man: CAN: 9/15. ARG 1/9.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins, Justin Boyd (2), Scott Robinson (3), Alec Taschereau (1), Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (3), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (3), Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes, Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (2), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
Canada was trying to stay undefeated after beating the U.S. by a single goal in its Group A opener on Monday. Argentina, meanwhile, was trying to avenge a five-goal loss to Japan in its own debut – but after the first quarter on Tuesday, it wasn’t even close.
At the end of the first period, Canada led 4-3, with two goals coming from Justin Boyd. Then, in the second quarter, the Canadian scoring festival began. Canada extended its lead to 7-4, on a pair of power plays goals by Scott Robinson and captain Kevin Graham, and a third from Jared McElroy with 1:08 to go. At the end of the third, Canada had a gaping six-goal lead with power play goals by Oliver Vikalo and John Conway and another Graham shot with one second remaining in the period. In the fourth quarter, Canada scored five more times. Despite Argentina Ramiro Velch capping a hat trick in the fourth, Canada ultimately prevailed, 15-6, to remain undefeated in the tournament.
Quarters: 4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2
Extra Man: CAN: 9/15. ARG 1/9.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins, Justin Boyd (2), Scott Robinson (3), Alec Taschereau (1), Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway (3), George Torakis (1), Jared McElroy (2), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch (3), Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes, Andres Maroni, Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (2), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
Canada was trying to stay undefeated after beating the U.S. by a single goal in its Group A opener on Monday. Argentina, meanwhile, was trying to avenge a five-goal loss to Japan in its own debut – but after the first quarter on Tuesday, it wasn’t even close.
At the end of the first period, Canada led 4-3, with two goals coming from Justin Boyd. Then, in the second quarter, the Canadian scoring festival began. Canada extended its lead to 7-4, on a pair of power plays goals by Scott Robinson and captain Kevin Graham, and a third from Jared McElroy with 1:08 to go. At the end of the third, Canada had a gaping six-goal lead with power play goals by Oliver Vikalo and John Conway and another Graham shot with one second remaining in the period. In the fourth quarter, Canada scored five more times. Despite Argentina Ramiro Velch capping a hat trick in the fourth, Canada ultimately prevailed, 15-6, to remain undefeated in the tournament.
CAN-ARG - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Dusan Radojcic (CAN) - One assist
“At the beginning we just came out a little bit slow. The difference was we kept our calm, we kept to our systems, and we just knew our hard work was going to pay off in the long run. Just not rushing, basically.”
Nahuel Alfonso (ARG) – Argentina Head Coach
“In the first quarter we could go one to one, physically. But the swim part, Canada has very good speed, and physicality. That’s what made the real difference in the result.”
GAME 8: 18:30, AUSTRALIA 13 KAZAKHSTAN 7
Quarters: 5-2, 1-1, 4-2, 3-2
Extra Man: AUS: 5/7. KAZ: 5/10.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell, George Ford (2), Johnno Cotterill (3), Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (3), Aidan Roach, Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift, Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller (2), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov (1), Anton Koliadenko (1), Rustam Ukumanov (1), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich, Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
Both Australia and Kazakhstan were trying to stay undefeated in Group B. At the end of a fast first quarter, Australia had a 5-2 lead, aided by a pair of goals by Jarrod Gilchrist including a cross-cage slammer with 1:10 to go. Australia’s Nathan Power scored his second goal of the night in the second period to make it 6-3 at the half.
In the third period, Australia continued to show its depth, going up 10-5 with a pair of Billy Miller goals, Jarrod Gilchrist capping a hat trick, and George Ford scoring his second goal of the game. In the final period, Australia added three more goals and Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Medvedev scored twice, but it wasn’t enough, as Australia won in a 13-7 rout.
Dusan Radojcic (CAN) - One assist
“At the beginning we just came out a little bit slow. The difference was we kept our calm, we kept to our systems, and we just knew our hard work was going to pay off in the long run. Just not rushing, basically.”
Nahuel Alfonso (ARG) – Argentina Head Coach
“In the first quarter we could go one to one, physically. But the swim part, Canada has very good speed, and physicality. That’s what made the real difference in the result.”
GAME 8: 18:30, AUSTRALIA 13 KAZAKHSTAN 7
Quarters: 5-2, 1-1, 4-2, 3-2
Extra Man: AUS: 5/7. KAZ: 5/10.
Pens: Nil.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell, George Ford (2), Johnno Cotterill (3), Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (3), Aidan Roach, Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift, Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden (1), Billy Miller (2), James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
KAZAKHSTAN: Madikhan Mahmetov, Sergey Gubarev (1), Maxim Zhardan (1), Yevgeniy Medvedev (2), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk, Murat Shakenov (1), Anton Koliadenko (1), Rustam Ukumanov (1), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich, Valeriy Shlemov. Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
Both Australia and Kazakhstan were trying to stay undefeated in Group B. At the end of a fast first quarter, Australia had a 5-2 lead, aided by a pair of goals by Jarrod Gilchrist including a cross-cage slammer with 1:10 to go. Australia’s Nathan Power scored his second goal of the night in the second period to make it 6-3 at the half.
In the third period, Australia continued to show its depth, going up 10-5 with a pair of Billy Miller goals, Jarrod Gilchrist capping a hat trick, and George Ford scoring his second goal of the game. In the final period, Australia added three more goals and Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Medvedev scored twice, but it wasn’t enough, as Australia won in a 13-7 rout.
AUS-KAZ - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Joel Swift (AUS)
“They’re a very physical squad and we wanted to continue playing our game and the structures that we’ve developed. So we stuck to our game plan and that was the result today. I think we can still improve.”
Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) – Kazakhstan Assistant Coach
“Today we make a lot of mistakes on defense because we get a lot of counterattack. Australia is very strong on counter attack and they got a lot of goals from counterattack. And some of our players are young and they have not enough experience, but they try to play. They make a lot of mistake on defense. That’s okay. Tomorrow we play Brazil and we will try to play without mistakes.”
GAME 5: 20:00, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 JAPAN 6
Quarters: 3-2, 1-0, 4-3, 2-1.
Extra Man: USA: 3/8. JPN: 1/7.
Pens: USA: 1/1. JPN: 1/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo, Alex Obert (1), Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido, Josh Samuels (2), Tony Azevedo (1), Alex Bowen (1), Bret Bonanni (2), Jesse Smith, John Mann (3), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu, Yuki Kadono, Koji Takei (4), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa, Atsuto Iida (1), Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In a clash of styles – Japan speedy and crafty, USA large and strong – the US took a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, but Koji Takei scored twice for Japan to tie, and Josh Samuels scored on a penalty shot to put the US up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, both teams were scoreless until Alex Obert took a long pass from Josh Samuels and put it away to make it 4-2 for the US with 2:03 remaining in the first half.
The second half opened with a penalty on American Josh Samuels. Koji Takei took the penalty shot and nailed it to narrow Japan’s deficit, 4-3. John Mann (one of only three Olympic veterans on the US team) retaliated to make it 5-3 for the host nation. The pace then picked up dramatically, and both teams alternated goals en route to a 7-5 US lead with 1:40 to go. With 50 seconds left in the third, Mann buried an inside shot to extend the American lead to 8-5. In the final quarter, Takei earned his fourth goal to make it 8-6, and Bret Bonanni scored a big safety goal on a power play (following Yuki Kadono’s ejection) to make it 9-6 with 3:49 left in the game. Mann snuck in one more shot with 12 seconds to go for a hat trick, thanks to an assist from four-time Olympian Tony Azevedo. Final score: 10-6. Both teams now have one victory, one loss in the tournament.
Quarters: 3-2, 1-0, 4-3, 2-1.
Extra Man: USA: 3/8. JPN: 1/7.
Pens: USA: 1/1. JPN: 1/1.
Teams:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo, Alex Obert (1), Jackson Kimbell, Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido, Josh Samuels (2), Tony Azevedo (1), Alex Bowen (1), Bret Bonanni (2), Jesse Smith, John Mann (3), Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi, Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi, Yusuke Shimizu, Yuki Kadono, Koji Takei (4), Kenya Yasuda, Keigo Okawa, Atsuto Iida (1), Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
In a clash of styles – Japan speedy and crafty, USA large and strong – the US took a quick 2-0 lead in the first period, but Koji Takei scored twice for Japan to tie, and Josh Samuels scored on a penalty shot to put the US up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, both teams were scoreless until Alex Obert took a long pass from Josh Samuels and put it away to make it 4-2 for the US with 2:03 remaining in the first half.
The second half opened with a penalty on American Josh Samuels. Koji Takei took the penalty shot and nailed it to narrow Japan’s deficit, 4-3. John Mann (one of only three Olympic veterans on the US team) retaliated to make it 5-3 for the host nation. The pace then picked up dramatically, and both teams alternated goals en route to a 7-5 US lead with 1:40 to go. With 50 seconds left in the third, Mann buried an inside shot to extend the American lead to 8-5. In the final quarter, Takei earned his fourth goal to make it 8-6, and Bret Bonanni scored a big safety goal on a power play (following Yuki Kadono’s ejection) to make it 9-6 with 3:49 left in the game. Mann snuck in one more shot with 12 seconds to go for a hat trick, thanks to an assist from four-time Olympian Tony Azevedo. Final score: 10-6. Both teams now have one victory, one loss in the tournament.
USA-JPN - Photo credit: Jared Gray
FLASH QUOTES:
John Mann (USA) – Three goals
John Mann (USA) – Three goals
“Japan always comes out with so much effort and intensity so you always have to prepare for a fight the whole time. They’re moving everywhere, and you just have to be very aware. It’s a good chance for us to work on our team defense and communication.”
Yoji Omoto (JPN) – Japan Head Coach
“US shooting is good. No. 8 [Tony Azevedo], No. 6 [Luca Cupido], No. 2 [Janson Wigo], No. 9 [Alex Bowen] are good shooters. Japan has to intercept. Block no – because Japanese players are shorter.”
“US shooting is good. No. 8 [Tony Azevedo], No. 6 [Luca Cupido], No. 2 [Janson Wigo], No. 9 [Alex Bowen] are good shooters. Japan has to intercept. Block no – because Japanese players are shorter.”
Canada, Australia remain unbeaten
Canada and Australia are well underway in the World League Interncontinental Tournament after two days of action in Newport Beach, California. Both posted their second straight win on Tuesday to lead their respective groups unbeaten. Canada walked away from Argentina after a close 4-3 score at quarter-time to beat the South Americans 15-6. Scott Robinson and John Conway shared top scoring honours netting 3 each. Meanwhile Australia started off nicely against Kazakhstan and used that early lead (2-5) to post a clinical yet solid 6-goal win: 7-13. Johnno Cotterill once again led the scoring this time scoring 3 goals, as did Jarrod Gilchrist for the Elvis Fatovic coached side. In other results hosts USA posted their first victory beating Japan 6-10 behind 3 goals from centre-forward John Mann. Brazil rebounded from the opening day loss to Australia by topping China 12-9. Felipe Perrone led his team in scoring with 3 in this game.
FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
Brazil vs. China 12-9 (3-1, 3-3, 3-3, 3-2)
Canada vs. Argentina 15-6 (4-3, 3-1, 3-0, 5-2)
Kazakhstan vs. Australia 7-13 (2-5, 1-1, 2-4, 2-3)
Japan vs. USA 6-10 (2-3, 0-1, 3-4, 1-2)
Wednesday, 1 April
15.30: Brazil vs. Kazakhstan
17.00: Canada vs. Japan
18.30: Australia vs. China
20.00: USA vs. Argentina
Day 1 Eight nations from three continents produced high drama in the opening night of the FINA Men’s Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament at Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach, California. With an average of 21 goals scored per game, and all four games sandwiched back to back (with a colourful yet concise Opening Ceremony after the third match) the action never seemed to ebb.
The night began with the back-and-forth domination of Australia and Brazil (in a match that Australia ultimately won, 13-10) and ended when a young U.S. team barely fell to Canada 10-9. In between, Kazakhstan topped China 10-9, and Japan overtook Argentina 14-9.
When the tournament concludes on Saturday, the top four teams will advance to the FINA World League Super Final in Bergamo, Italy, from June 23-28.
GAME 1: 15:30, AUSTRALIA 13 BRAZIL 10
Quarters: 2-3, 4-4, 5-1, 2-2
Extra Man: AUS: 7/12. BRA 3/4
Pens: Nil
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (3), Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (2), Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden, Billy Miller, James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (1), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (2), Felipe Perrone (2), Gustavo Guimaraes (1), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
Australia took the early 2-0 lead, but Brazil quickly woke up and scored five consecutive goals (by five different players, including three on power plays) to open a 5-2 lead with 5:24 remaining in the second quarter. By halftime, however, Australia narrowed its deficit and trailed 7-6. In the third quarter, Australia gained the lead with on a five-goal spree similar to the one Brazil had exhibited earlier. This time, five different Aussie players scored (also on three power plays, including one that gave Johnno Gilchrist his third goal of the day). Entering the final period, Australia led 11-8. Each team scored twice more, and Australia beat the 2016 Olympic host, 13-10.
While Australia had more turnovers (20, compared Brazil’s 12), Australia was able to convert seven of its 12 power plays. Brazil only had four power plays (converting three). Each team took 24 shots.
AUS-BRA - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Ratko Rudic (BRA) - Brazil head coach
“You see the scoreboard and how many exclusions we get and how many Australia get. Very strange with this referee[ing]. There are a lot of situations with the brutality against us. Maybe we have to try to apply different kind of water polo for this game. It was a good game for us, to get experience. I hope that we will adapt better. [Did you like what you saw from any of your Brazilian players?] A few players, but when you lose a game, there is no individual player.”
Johnno Cotterill (AUS) – Three goals
“It was a really hard game to start with. Brazil’s put in a lot of hard work, they’re really fit, they’re energetic and they’ve got a lot of motivation. We’re lucky. We got away with a win – probably not as well as we wanted to play. But personally, I’m pretty happy just to contribute and put some goals on the board.”
GAME 3: 17:00, KAZAKHSTAN 10 CHINA 9
Quarters: 2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1
Extra Man: KAZ: 4/11, CHN 3/16
Pens: KAZ: 1/1, CHN: 1/2
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Valeriy Shlemov, Sergey Gubarev (2), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (1), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk (1), Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (3), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3). Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feiihu (3), Sha Shi, Yu Li Jun, Liu Xiao, Li Li, Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (3), Liang Nianxiang (1), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
China controlled the first half, 8-6, never letting Kazakhstan take the lead. The second half was markedly more physical, and became a defensive showcase featuring dynamic saves by both goalies, Valeriy Schlemov and Wu Honghui, and hard body blocks by defenders. In the third quarter, Kazakhstan held China scoreless and erased China’s lead with two goals of its own, including an unassisted outside shot on a power play by Yevgeniy Medvedev with 5:13 to go. The fourth quarter began with an 8-8 tie. Kazakhstan took the lead with 5:45 left, on Rustam Ukumanov’s third goal of the day. About a minute and a half later, Tan Feihu tied it for China, but Kazakstan’s Branko Pekovich scored the game winner with 3:49 remaining (also earning him a hat trick).
Neither team was able to capitalize on powerplays, however. Kazakshtan converted just 4 of 11. China only scored on 3 of its 16 chances with an extra man.
KAZ-CHN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) – Kazakhstan assistant coach
“We started very bad, but after the second period we started playing better, and the last period we played very good defense. Team China is a young but a strong team. We are happy we won today. It’s difficult because [when the game ended at 6 p.m. local time] in Kazakhstan now it’s 7 o’clock in the morning. Thirteen hours different time is difficult for players.”
Paolo Malara (CHN) – China head coach
“If you lose all the time [with an] extra-man, you lose normally the match. [The takeaway from today?] One day, one match. Another day, another match. Step by step. [Will you change your strategy?] I don’t know. Tonight we’ll see the video.”
GAME 4: 18:30, JAPAN 14 ARGENTINA 9
Quarters: 4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3
Extra Man: JPN: 2/7. ARG: 3/6.
Pens: JPN 0/1.
Teams:
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi (2), Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi (1), Yusuke Shimizu (3), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei (1), Kenya Yasuda (1), Keigo Okawa (4) Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (2), Andres Maroni (2), Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (4), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In a rare match between Asian and South America teams, Japan and Argentina were tied at four at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, Japan scored four consecutive goals before Ivan Martin Carbantes interrupted with a power play goal for Argentina to make it 5-8 with 1:01 remaining in the half. Kenya Yasuda netted another goal for Japan just 10 seconds before halftime to make it 9-5 Japan at the game’s midpoint. In the second half, German Yanez would score twice more for Argentina (giving him four goals for the night), but Keigo Okawa also scored twice for Japan (producing another four-goal tally) and Argentina never caught up. All told, Japan took nearly twice as many shots as Argentina (30, compared to 16).
JPN-ARG - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
FLASH QUOTES:
Yusuke Shimizu (JPN) – Three goals
“It was difficult because this pool is 25 metres. My game is speed and counterattack. But it’s short …and I want longer swims. And Argentina today is our first game. I don’t have a lot of data with Argentina. Who’s a good player, who is a good shooter – I don’t know.”
Nahuel Alfonso (ARG) – Argentina head coach
“We have problems because we had a lot of turnovers [19]. We have mistakes in passing. We need to have a little more concentration and the organisation of the attack.”
GAME 2: 20:30, CANADA 10 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 9
Quarters: 4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1
Extra Man: CAN: 4/14. USA: 4/11
Pens: CAN: 1/2. USA: 1/1
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins, Justin Boyd (1), Scott Robinson (2), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway, George Torakis, Jared McElroy (4), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (1), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell (1), Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido (3), Josh Samuels, Tony Azevedo (2), Alex Bowen (2), Bret Bonanni, Jesse Smith, John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
Canada scored first on Scott Robinson’s power play goal. Four-time U.S. Olympian Tony Azevedo tied it at 1 apiece with 4:21 remaining in the first period, but Canada continually surging ahead to prevent the US from taking the lead. By halftime Canada led 7-3, and the clear difference was that Canada had scored on four of its four power play opportunities, while the US had drawn six exclusions and converted on none.
In the third quarter, the US ripped out five unanswered goals, including a slammer by Alex Bowen over Canadian goalkeeper Robin Randall’s head to tie it at 7. A solo shot by Luca Cupido gave the US its first lead of the game with 44 seconds to go in the third, making it 8-7. In the fourth quarter, American Alex Bowen extended the US lead, 9-7, but CAN scored the next three, and the U.S. was unable to tie it in the last 2:36, although Cupido took a shot with about 6 seconds to go, but it sailed over the top of the goalpost, and Canada won, 10-9.
FLASH QUOTES:
Alex Breslin (CAN) – Canada head coach
“To be honest, I didn’t have any expectations result-wise. We have certain target goals, some strategic and tactical approaches. I was looking more toward it than the results – how we are able to execute in certain situations. [What did you accomplish tactically?] Some small things, but there is a lot for us to work on. I cannot be unsatisfied but, still, this is just a process prior to the summer Pan American Games and world championship.”
Dejan Udovicic (USA) – US Head coach
“It’s obviously a bad performance by us in the first two quarters. We are still trying to adjust to a 25-metre pool because it’s new for us. We lost our rhythm and made some turnovers.”
Jesse Smith (USA)
“It was a pretty exciting game to play and to watch. We have a really young team. Canada seized the opportunities and they won.”
The night began with the back-and-forth domination of Australia and Brazil (in a match that Australia ultimately won, 13-10) and ended when a young U.S. team barely fell to Canada 10-9. In between, Kazakhstan topped China 10-9, and Japan overtook Argentina 14-9.
GAME 1: 15:30, AUSTRALIA 13 BRAZIL 10
Quarters: 2-3, 4-4, 5-1, 2-2
Extra Man: AUS: 7/12. BRA 3/4
Pens: Nil
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: James Stanton-French, Richie Campbell (2), George Ford, Johnno Cotterill (3), Nathan Power (2), Jarrod Gilchrist (2), Aidan Roach (2), Lachlan Edwards, Joel Swift (2), Tyler Martin, Rhys Howden, Billy Miller, James Clark. Head Coach: Elvis Fatovic.
BRAZIL: Vincius Antonelli, Jonas Crivello, Guilherme Gomes, Ruda Franco, Paulo Salemi (1), Bernardo Gomes (1), Adria Delgado (2), Felipe Silva (1), Bernardo Rocha (2), Felipe Perrone (2), Gustavo Guimaraes (1), Danilo Correa, Thye Mattos. Head Coach: Ratko Rudic.
Australia took the early 2-0 lead, but Brazil quickly woke up and scored five consecutive goals (by five different players, including three on power plays) to open a 5-2 lead with 5:24 remaining in the second quarter. By halftime, however, Australia narrowed its deficit and trailed 7-6. In the third quarter, Australia gained the lead with on a five-goal spree similar to the one Brazil had exhibited earlier. This time, five different Aussie players scored (also on three power plays, including one that gave Johnno Gilchrist his third goal of the day). Entering the final period, Australia led 11-8. Each team scored twice more, and Australia beat the 2016 Olympic host, 13-10.
While Australia had more turnovers (20, compared Brazil’s 12), Australia was able to convert seven of its 12 power plays. Brazil only had four power plays (converting three). Each team took 24 shots.
AUS-BRA - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
Ratko Rudic (BRA) - Brazil head coach
“It was a really hard game to start with. Brazil’s put in a lot of hard work, they’re really fit, they’re energetic and they’ve got a lot of motivation. We’re lucky. We got away with a win – probably not as well as we wanted to play. But personally, I’m pretty happy just to contribute and put some goals on the board.”
GAME 3: 17:00, KAZAKHSTAN 10 CHINA 9
Quarters: 2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1
Extra Man: KAZ: 4/11, CHN 3/16
Pens: KAZ: 1/1, CHN: 1/2
Teams:
KAZAKHSTAN: Valeriy Shlemov, Sergey Gubarev (2), Maxim Zhardan, Yevgeniy Medvedev (1), Vladimir Ushakov, Aleksandr Godovanyuk (1), Murat Shakenov, Anton Koliadenko, Rustam Ukumanov (3), Yulian Verdesh, Ravil Manafov, Branko Pekovich (3). Head Coach: Sergey Markoch.
CHINA: Wu Honghui, Tan Feiihu (3), Sha Shi, Yu Li Jun, Liu Xiao, Li Li, Chen Zhongxian, Dong Tao (1), Xie Zekoi, Chen Jinghao (1), Zhang Chufeng (3), Liang Nianxiang (1), Liang Zhiwei. Head Coach: Paolo Malara.
China controlled the first half, 8-6, never letting Kazakhstan take the lead. The second half was markedly more physical, and became a defensive showcase featuring dynamic saves by both goalies, Valeriy Schlemov and Wu Honghui, and hard body blocks by defenders. In the third quarter, Kazakhstan held China scoreless and erased China’s lead with two goals of its own, including an unassisted outside shot on a power play by Yevgeniy Medvedev with 5:13 to go. The fourth quarter began with an 8-8 tie. Kazakhstan took the lead with 5:45 left, on Rustam Ukumanov’s third goal of the day. About a minute and a half later, Tan Feihu tied it for China, but Kazakstan’s Branko Pekovich scored the game winner with 3:49 remaining (also earning him a hat trick).
Neither team was able to capitalize on powerplays, however. Kazakshtan converted just 4 of 11. China only scored on 3 of its 16 chances with an extra man.
KAZ-CHN - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
Sergey Drozdov (KAZ) – Kazakhstan assistant coach
“We started very bad, but after the second period we started playing better, and the last period we played very good defense. Team China is a young but a strong team. We are happy we won today. It’s difficult because [when the game ended at 6 p.m. local time] in Kazakhstan now it’s 7 o’clock in the morning. Thirteen hours different time is difficult for players.”
Paolo Malara (CHN) – China head coach
“If you lose all the time [with an] extra-man, you lose normally the match. [The takeaway from today?] One day, one match. Another day, another match. Step by step. [Will you change your strategy?] I don’t know. Tonight we’ll see the video.”
GAME 4: 18:30, JAPAN 14 ARGENTINA 9
Quarters: 4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3
Extra Man: JPN: 2/7. ARG: 3/6.
Pens: JPN 0/1.
Teams:
JAPAN: Katsuyuki Tanamura, Seiya Adachi (2), Atsashi Arai (1), Mitsuaki Shiga, Akira Yanase, Yuta Hemmi (1), Yusuke Shimizu (3), Yuki Kadono (1), Koji Takei (1), Kenya Yasuda (1), Keigo Okawa (4) Atsuto Iida, Tomoyoshi Fukushima. Head Coach: Yoji Omoto.
ARGENTINA: Hernan Mazzini, Ramiro Velch, Carlos Camnasio, Andres Monutti, Emanuel Lopez, Tomas Bulgheroni, Juan Pablo Montana, Esteban Corsi, Ivan Martin Carbantes (2), Andres Maroni (2), Franco Demarchi (1), German Yanez (4), Diego Malnero. Head Coach: Nahuel Alfonso.
In a rare match between Asian and South America teams, Japan and Argentina were tied at four at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, Japan scored four consecutive goals before Ivan Martin Carbantes interrupted with a power play goal for Argentina to make it 5-8 with 1:01 remaining in the half. Kenya Yasuda netted another goal for Japan just 10 seconds before halftime to make it 9-5 Japan at the game’s midpoint. In the second half, German Yanez would score twice more for Argentina (giving him four goals for the night), but Keigo Okawa also scored twice for Japan (producing another four-goal tally) and Argentina never caught up. All told, Japan took nearly twice as many shots as Argentina (30, compared to 16).
JPN-ARG - Photo credit: Aimee Berg
Yusuke Shimizu (JPN) – Three goals
“It was difficult because this pool is 25 metres. My game is speed and counterattack. But it’s short …and I want longer swims. And Argentina today is our first game. I don’t have a lot of data with Argentina. Who’s a good player, who is a good shooter – I don’t know.”
Nahuel Alfonso (ARG) – Argentina head coach
“We have problems because we had a lot of turnovers [19]. We have mistakes in passing. We need to have a little more concentration and the organisation of the attack.”
GAME 2: 20:30, CANADA 10 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 9
Quarters: 4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1
Extra Man: CAN: 4/14. USA: 4/11
Pens: CAN: 1/2. USA: 1/1
Teams:
CANADA: Robin Randall, Constantin Kudaba, Oliver Vikalo (1), David Lapins, Justin Boyd (1), Scott Robinson (2), Alec Taschereau, Kevin Graham (2), Dusan Radojcic, John Conway, George Torakis, Jared McElroy (4), Dusan Aleksic. Head Coach: Alex Breslin.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: McQuin Baron, Janson Wigo (1), Alex Obert, Jackson Kimbell (1), Ben Hallock, Luca Cupido (3), Josh Samuels, Tony Azevedo (2), Alex Bowen (2), Bret Bonanni, Jesse Smith, John Mann, Drew Holland. Head Coach: Dejan Udovic.
Canada scored first on Scott Robinson’s power play goal. Four-time U.S. Olympian Tony Azevedo tied it at 1 apiece with 4:21 remaining in the first period, but Canada continually surging ahead to prevent the US from taking the lead. By halftime Canada led 7-3, and the clear difference was that Canada had scored on four of its four power play opportunities, while the US had drawn six exclusions and converted on none.
In the third quarter, the US ripped out five unanswered goals, including a slammer by Alex Bowen over Canadian goalkeeper Robin Randall’s head to tie it at 7. A solo shot by Luca Cupido gave the US its first lead of the game with 44 seconds to go in the third, making it 8-7. In the fourth quarter, American Alex Bowen extended the US lead, 9-7, but CAN scored the next three, and the U.S. was unable to tie it in the last 2:36, although Cupido took a shot with about 6 seconds to go, but it sailed over the top of the goalpost, and Canada won, 10-9.
FLASH QUOTES:
Alex Breslin (CAN) – Canada head coach
“It’s obviously a bad performance by us in the first two quarters. We are still trying to adjust to a 25-metre pool because it’s new for us. We lost our rhythm and made some turnovers.”
Jesse Smith (USA)
“It was a pretty exciting game to play and to watch. We have a really young team. Canada seized the opportunities and they won.”
Canada rallies late to beat USA
Scoring the game's final 3 goals Canada rallied late to beat World League Interncontinental Tournament hosts USA 10-9 on the opening day of the Super Final qualification tournament. With 2.36 remaining Canada's top scorer Jared McElroy netted his 4th shot of the contest to give Canada the win overcoming a 0-5 run by the home team in the third period. It marked the last action on the first of six days of competition in Newport Beach, California. The tournament opener saw Australia posting a nice 10-13 victory over fellow Super Final contenders Brazil. London Olympian Johnno Cotterill led the Aussie Sharks scorers with 5 as they grabbed control in a dominant third quarter and did not let go. Kazakhstan and China battled out another close contest, won by Kazakhstan 10-9 on a winning goal by former Serbian international and two-time European champion (2001, 2006) but now playing for the Asian squad, Branko Peković with still 3.49 remaining. Kazakhstan then survived a tense final phase including two ejections on their side to beat the continental rivals. Japan meanwhile started off well by beating Argentina 14-9.FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Monday, 30 March
Brazil vs. Australia 10-13 (3-2, 4-4, 1-5, 2-2)
Kazakhstan vs. China 10-9 (2-5, 4-3, 2-0, 2-1)
Japan vs. Argentina 14-9 (4-4, 5-1, 2-1, 3-3)
Canada vs. USA 10-9 (4-2, 3-1, 0-5, 3-1)
Tuesday, 31 March
15.30: Brazil vs. China
17.00: Canada vs. Argentina
18.30: Kazakhstan vs. Australia
20.00: Japan vs. USA
Wednesday, 1 April
15.30: Brazil vs. Kazakhstan
17.00: Canada vs. Japan
18.30: Australia vs. China
20.00: USA vs. Argentina
World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament live streamed
The USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team will host the FINA Intercontinental Tournament starting this Monday 30 March through 4 April at the Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center on the campus of Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, California. The teams will battle for the top 4 spots in order to qualify for the Super Final in Bergamo, Italy (23-28 June). The hosting USA men look to bolster their roster by the likes of Olympic veterans Tony Azevedo, Jesse Smith and centre-forward John Mann. Fellow Super Final contenders are expected to be Canada, opponents in the very first match for USA, last year's World League semifinalists Australia and 2016 Olympics hosts Brazil while outsiders Japan, Kazakhstan, China and Argentina will be looking for an upset. All games will be streamed live.FINA Men's World League Intercontinental Qualification Tournament
Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, California
Group A
Japan, Canada, USA, Argentina
Group B
Kazakhstan, Brazil, Australia, China'
Schedule
Monday, 30 March
15.30: Brazil vs. Australia
17.00: Kazakhstan vs. China
18.30: Japan vs. Argentina
20.30: Canada vs. USA
Tuesday, 31 March
15.30: Brazil vs. China
17.00: Canada vs. Argentina
18.30: Kazakhstan vs. Australia
20.00: Japan vs. USA
Wednesday, 1 April
15.30: Brazil vs. Kazakhstan
17.00: Canada vs. Japan
18.30: Australia vs. China
20.00: USA vs. Argentina
Thursday, 2 April
15.30: 2A vs. 3B - game 13
17.00: 3A vs. 2B - game 14
18.30: 1A vs. 4B - game 15
20.00: 4A vs. 1B - game 16
Friday, 3 April
15.30: L13 vs. L16 - game 17
17.00: L14 vs. L15 - game 18
18.30: W13 vs. W16 - game 19
20.00: W14 vs. W15 - game 20
Saturday, 4 April
09.00: L17 vs. L18
10.30: W17 vs. W18
12.00: L19 vs. L20
13.30: W19 vs. W20
N.b.: times mentioned are local time.
Top 4 qualifies for Super Final in Bergamo, Italy (23-28 June, 2015)
All games streamed live free of charge, click here.
USA Water Polo Interncontinental Tournament dedicated page, click here.
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