DAY 1 - 12 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 12) - The FINA Water Polo World League Super Final kicked off in the splendid city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. The venue of the summer’s biggest water polo showcase (besides the Olympics, of course) could not be more suitable for the occasion, the 10th anniversary of the first FINA World League Super Final: a fine outdoor pool bathing in sunshine with spectacular views of the magnificent, snow-capped mountains in the background.

The spectacular opening ceremony featured national folk-dancers to the delight of the crowd. On behalf of FINA, Bureau Member and Technical Water Polo Committee Liaison, Dimitris Diathesopoulos addressed those in the stands and at poolside. The event was officially opened by the Mayor of Almaty, Ahmedzan Esimov. The first day of action almost brought the first upset of the tournament as China challenged the Italians for the duration of the game, only to settle a narrow loss to the current World champions.

#1 CRO 14 vs. AUS 11

(6-2, 3-2, 4-2, 1-5)

Referees: Irfan Sadekov (RUS), Filippo Gomez (ITA)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

CROATIA: Josip Pavic – Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic 2, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic 2, Andelo Setka 1, Petar Muslim 3, Andro Buslje 1, Sandro Sukno 3, Samir Barac, Igor Hinic 1, Ivan Buljubasic 1. Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley – Richard Campbell 2, Timothy Cleland 1, John Cotterill 1, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin, Aidan Roach, Samuel McGregor 1, Thomas Whalan 1, Aaron Younger, Jamie Beadsworth 2, William Miller 3. Head coach: John Fox.

Extramen
Croatia: 8 for 12
Australia: 6 for 10

Penalties
Croatia: 2 for 3
Australia: 0 for 1

Croatia started the opening game in commanding mood: they scored four connecting goals after 2-2 and earned a 6-2 lead in eight minutes. Their powerplay was the key and this picture didn't change in the following two periods. They scored eight goals on their first 10 man-ups, the other two were missed through the violation of the 2m-rule. The Aussies couldn't neutralise the Croatians' shooting skills, and in fact their starting goalie, Joel Dennerley didn’t enjoy the best day of his career... The difference was also clear in defending: while the Croatians used more sophisticated tools to mark their opponents, the Aussies' raw style wasn’t tolerated by the referees, which resulted in a handful of added powerplay opportunities for the Croats, though their disciplined playing system of feeding the centre-forward also worked well in this game.

Ratko Rudic’s team widened the gap easily and earned a massive 13-6 lead in 24 minutes – the remaining eight saw a late come-back of the Australians who took advantage of the dramatic lapse of their rivals' concentration level, which was highlighted by a series of defensive errors and a missed penalty. Still, the Croatians' victory was never endangered.

AUS-CRO credit Joan Bertocci-Gould

#2 ITA 10 vs. CHN 9

(2-2, 2-3, 4-2, 2-2)

Referees: Joaquin Fernandez Escola (ESP), Mark Koganov (AZE)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Valerio Rizzo 1, Niccolo Gitto, Pietro Figlioli 2, Alex Giorgetti 1, Maurizio Felugo 1, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo 1, Christian Presciutti 1, Deni Fiorentini 1, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti 2, Tamas Marcz. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu 1, Liang Zhongsing 2, Zhu Gelin, Guo Jungliang 2, Zhang Jian, Li Bin 1, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin 1, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng 1, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

Extramen
Italy: 0 for 3
China: 5 for 6

Penalties
Italy: 1 for 3
China: 1 for 1

When the Italians missed a penalty (not the last one...) in the first period and China levelled the score from the following attack for 2-2, it seemed just a minor accident. But it wasn’t. The reigning world champions lacked their usual edge and they had to battle hard to earn a 4-2 lead with 2:29 to go in the second period. What came next was something special: the Chinese netted three goals on three attacks within a span of 90 seconds. Two finely tuned 6 on 5s and Guo Jungliang’s second hit with 0:03 remaining on the clock gave the Asian team a rather surprising 5-4 lead by half-time.

The Italians found themselves right in a middle of a dogfight as the Chinese played quite disciplined, didn’t get tired and made the best of their opportunities. They always found a way to answer, led 7-6 deep into the third quarter and when the Italians missed another penalty they seemed to face a huge upset. Still, their skills and wider knowledge of the game brought them back as they scored two in the last minute of this period. Alex Giorgietti’s blast opened the final quarter for 9-7, but the Chinese weren’t done, converted a penalty for 10-9 and had two attacks to equalise. But they couldn’t harm the Italian defence this time and Fiorentini’s fine shot seemed to have decided the outcome (10-8). The Chinese tried desperately but were able to score only with 51 seconds to go – and the Italians managed to keep the ball until the final whistle.

CHN-ITA credit Joan Bertocci-Gould

#3 BRA 3 vs. ESP 8

(3-3, 0-2, 0-2, 0-1)

Referees: Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ), Steven Rotstart (USA)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:
BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda 1, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella, Felipe Silva 1, Bernardo Rocha, Ruda Franco, Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa. Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

SPAIN: Inaki Aguilar – Mario Garcia 1, Blai Mallarach 1, Balazs Sziranyi, Guillermo Molina, Marc Minguell 1, Ivan Gallego 1, Albert Espanol, Xavi Valles 1, Felipe Perrone 1, Ivan Perez, Javier Garcia 2. Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.

Extramen
Brazil: 2 for 2
Spain: 4 for 9

Penalties: none

After eight minutes the game promised another huge fight and unexpected excitement but the Spaniards tightened up their defence to avoid facing a situation similar to the Italians had against China. It was the usual Spanish way of winning the game: defending with the utmost discipline and never taking any risk while in attack. It worked out pretty well as they managed to shut-out the Brazilians for the entire 24 minutes remaining (during these quarters no exclusion was called against the Spanish as their well organised zonal defence worked perfectly).

Valles scored one in the beginning of the second period and Mario Garcia added another one with 1:07 minutes before half-time. The pattern was the same in the third: a goal at the beginning and another one towards the end of the quarter. The first came from a 6 on 5 (by Gallego) and the second from action, courtesy of Felipe Perrone (a former Brazilian player). The final goal of the game was netted by Blai Mallarach in the middle of the last period – and the Spanish collected their first win with ease.

BRA-ESP credit Joan Bertocci-Gould

#4 USA 11 vs. KAZ 8

(4-4, 4-1, 2-0, 1-3)

Referees: Ni Shiwei (CHN), Nenad Peris (CRO)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams: 

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner 2, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo 3, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili 3, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov 1, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 1, Mikhail Ruday 1, Ravil Manafov 1, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

Extramen
USA: 7 for 9
Kazakhstan: 5 for 9

Double extra
USA: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

Penalties
USA: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

After eight minutes the game promised another huge fight and unexpected excitement but the Spaniards tightened up their defence to avoid facing a situation similar to the Italians had against China. It was the usual Spanish way of winning the game: defending with the utmost discipline and never taking any risk while in attack. It worked out pretty well as they managed to shut-out the Brazilians for the entire 24 minutes remaining (during these quarters no exclusion was called against the Spanish as their well organised zonal defence worked perfectly).

Valles scored one in the beginning of the second period and Mario Garcia added another one with 1:07 minutes before half-time. The pattern was the same in the third: a goal at the beginning and another one towards the end of the quarter. The first came from a 6 on 5 (by Gallego) and the second from action, courtesy of Felipe Perrone (a former Brazilian player). The final goal of the game was netted by Blai Mallarach in the middle of the last period – and the Spanish collected their first win with ease.

The Americans, fresh from wins over European powerhouses Hungary and Croatia in lead-up games played in California, played with tremendous confidence against the hosts who were able to keep up with them only for the first eight minutes. In the opening period the Kazakhs managed to climb back from 2-4 to 4-4, credit to Panfili’s fine shot which just beat the buzzer.

But the first minutes of the second quarter proved to be decisive as the US players hit three in a row. Their 6 on 5 was flawless for a while, they buried 6 out of 6 until the middle of the third period with Shea Buckner and Tony Azevedo netting two apiece from the left-wing position, and Ryan Bailey and Jeff Powers added goals from the wall. The Americans sit comfortably in the driving seat after denying all efforts of the Kazakhs in the third period while netting two more goals. Varellas third goal of the afternoon gave a 11-5 lead to the Americans who thought it was time to pull one or even two gears back. It opened the way to a late surge from the hosts who scored three connecting goals for 11-8 with 3:08 on the clock but that was the end of the story this time: the Americans tightened up their defence and that was enough to secure their well-deserved win.

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 12 - The USA Water Polo Men's Senior National Team opened the FINA World League Super with an 11-8 win over host Kazakhstan. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) and Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) each scored three times in the victory. Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) went the whole way in net for the win. Team USA will meet up with China tomorrow.

The two squads were even in the first period, tied 4-4 headed to the second. It was in the second period where the United States took advantage, outscoring Kazakhstan 4-1 to claim an 8-5 lead at halftime. In the third it was more of the same with Team USA outscoring the opponent 2-0 to grab a 10-5 lead with one period left. In the fourth the hosts tried to rally posting three goals, but it would not factor in the decision as the United States took the 11-8 victory.

The United States went 7/9 on power plays while Kazakhstan was 5/9 on the player advantage and went 1/1 on penalty shots.

(4-4, 4-1, 2-0, 1-3)

Referees: Ni Shiwei (CHN), Nenad Peris (CRO)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner 2, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo 3, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili 3, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov 1, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 1, Mikhail Ruday 1, Ravil Manafov 1, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

Extramen
USA: 7 for 9
Kazakhstan: 5 for 9

Double extra
USA: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

Penalties
USA: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

USA-KAZ credit Joan Bertocci-Gould

DAY 2 - 13 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 13) – Kazakhstan came back and forced the game against Italy to a penalty-shootout despite trailing 9-4 early in the third period. The herioc efforts of the hosts were wildly celebrated by the capacity crowd: this was the real highlight on Day 2 which saw Croatia clinching the top spot after two rounds in Group A and China causing some head-ache for the U.S. team.

#5 USA 6 vs. CHN 4

(2-1, 1-0, 1-2, 2-1)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Roberto Cabral (BRA)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 1, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo 1, Ryan Bailey 3, Tim Hutten 1, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu, Liang Zhongsing 1, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang, Zhang Jian 1, Li Bin 1, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng 1, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

Extramen
USA: 3 for 8
China: 2 for 4

Penalties
None

It was a tough defending game, both sides put special emphasis to kill the strengths of the other side: actually, the Chinese enjoyed some advantage in this area since their head coach, Rick Azevedo came from the US. Further interesting fact that his son, Tony is the key-figure of the American team. And as it was expected, the younger Azevedo was double-guarded for most of the time, he was on target only once but that was a sensational pin-point shot to the upper-left corner. This gave the US a well-deserved 3-1 lead by half-time as the defences worked pretty well at both ends. Considering the difference in the skills, the Chinese had to put into much more effort to deny the American attacks and they seemed to be lost a bit in front of their rivals‘ cage: their single goal in the first half came from a 6 on 5, and they couldn’t create more clear chances. When Ryan Bailey managed to send home an extra for 4-1 early in the third period, the Americans might start to think of an easy cruise – but all of a sudden the Chinese hit back. Liang Zhongsing’s perfect shot found the back of the net and not much later Zhang Jian buried an extra (4-3) – while the Americans missed another powerplay.

They stood 1 for 5 after three periods, but they managed to regroup themselves and netted two back-to-back extras in the beginning of the fourth quarter, credit to Peter Vallares and Ryan Bailey (it was his third goal of the game). Despite trailing 3-6, the Chinese fought on and a Zhang Chufeng’s goal from a counter brought them closer again. But that was all they had: they missed a 6 on 5 for 6-5, and the Americans collected their second win. Still, Rick Azevedo could be satisfied with their boys‘ performance and he was, indeed: „I took over this job three months ago. We worked very hard during this time, we started to educate the players and they have learnt a lot. The federation is doing a great job, they back my plans. We have plenty of players to pick for the team, they are open to learn more, they have great physical abilities, so we can be ready for Rio 2016. And if we reach a good level, it’s good for the world of water polo!“

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 13 - The USA Water Polo Men's National Team made it two straight victories to open play at the FINA World League Super Final with a 6-4 win over China. Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) led the way on offense with three goals in the victory. Team USA will meet Italy tomorrow as they close out group play.

Team USA was in control of the low scoring game most of the time opening up a 2-1 lead after the first quarter and a 3-1 lead by halftime. China battled back in the third quarter outscoring the United States 2-1 to draw the score to 4-3 after three periods. In the fourth the United States closed things out with two more goals to take the match 6-4.

Notes: Team USA went 3/8 on power plays while China was 2/4, neither team attempted a penalty shot. The match featured USA team captain Tony Azevedo (Long Beach, CA/Stanford/NYAC) taking on his father and former USA Head Coach Ricardo Azevedo, now the Head Coach of the Chinese Men's National Team. Azevedo scored one goal in the match.

(2-1, 1-0, 1-2, 2-1)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Roberto Cabral (BRA)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

USA: Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas 1, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo 1, Ryan Bailey 3, Tim Hutten 1, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu, Liang Zhongsing 1, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang, Zhang Jian 1, Li Bin 1, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng 1, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

Extramen
USA: 3 for 8
China: 2 for 4

Penalties
None

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

USA-CHN credit Joan Bertocci-Gould

#6 CRO 7 vs. ESP 6

(4-2, 1-0, 1-2, 1-2)

Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Steven Rotstart (USA)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

CROATIA: Frano Vican – Damir Buric 1, Miho Boskovic 1, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic 1, Andelo Setka, Petar Muslim 1, Andro Buslje 1, Ivan Krapic, Samir Barac, Igor Hinic 1, Ivan Buljubasic 1. Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

SPAIN: Inaki Aguilar – Mario Garcia, Blai Mallarach 1, Balazs Sziranyi, Guillermo Molina, Marc Minguell, David Martin, Albert Espanol 1, Xavi Valles, Felipe Perrone 2, Ivan Perez 1, Javier Garcia 1, Daniel Lopez. Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.

Extramen
Croatia: 1 for 5
Spain: 4 for 11

Penalties
None

Croatia came up with a pretty strong start, scoring three great goals: Damir Buric pushed the ball under the bar from the opening 6 on 5, this was followed by two sensational blasts from the distance, by Petar Muslim and Andro Buslje. In the meantime Spain missed two extras so just four minutes gone and it was 3-0. An early time-out and substituting the starting goalie wakened up the Spaniards who climbed back to 4-2 by the end of the first period. The second saw a handful of man-ups missed here and there, Frano Vican and Daniel Lopez did a great job in the red caps, and the period seemed to go scoreless but Ivan Buljubasic found the way to the net with 2.2 seconds to go (5-2).

Though the Spanish struggled to bury their 6 on 5s, finally they managed to score twice (on four attempts in the third period), so they could close the gap as the Croatians could produce a lonely goal again (6-4). Miho Boskovic’s fine bouncing shot opened the last quarter which put the Croatians to a winning position at 7-4, but they slowed down again and this gave the field for the Spaniards who sent home another extra, and Felipe Perrone’s nice action goal set up a rather exciting final 93 seconds. The Croats couldn’t create any chance while the huge centre-forward of Spain, Ivan Perez managed to grab the ball at the other end, however, his shot was well saved by Vican which virtually ended the contest: Croatia earned its second win and the top spot in this group.

#7 BRA 6 vs. AUS 15

(2-2, 1-4, 2-4, 1-3)

Referees: Filippo Gomez (ITA), Irfan Sadekov (RUS)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda 1, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella 2, Felipe Silva 1, Bernardo Rocha 1, Ruda Franco, Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa 1. Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley – Richard Campbell, Timothy Cleland 1, John Cotterill 1, Robert Maitland 1, Anthony Martin 3, Aidan Roach 3, Samuel McGregor 2, Thomas Whalan 1, Aaron Younger 1, Jamie Beadsworth, William Miller. Head coach: John Fox.

Extramen
Brazil: 2 for 7
Australia: 4 for 8

Penalties
Brazil: none
Australia: 1 for 1

It was the same old story for Brazil: a great opening period, followed by some miserable moments in the next three. They stood 3-3 against Spain on day 1, but lost the remaining of the game 0-5. This time, against Australia it was 2-2 after eight minutes but the rest of the game well also could be regarded a nightmare – from Brazil’s point of view. The Aussies played a great match, they have created chances in the position-game but led a handful of counter attacks and also played rather efficiently in man-ups. The Brazilians tried to stage a come-back after being 3-7 down at the beginning of the third but they ran out of gas after 5-7: the Aussies netted three goals in a span of 63 seconds late in the quarter for 10-5, so the fourth served as a cool-down period while the weather got a bit warmer after some rainy spells in the afternoon.

#8 ITA 13 vs. KAZ 10

(3-1, 5-3, 1-3, 1-3; penalties: 3-0)

Referees: German Moller (ARG), Nenad Peris (CRO)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez 1, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 1 (1), Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo 1 (1), Niccolo Figari 1, Valentino Gallo (1), Christian Presciutti, Deni Fiorentini 1, Daniel Premus 1, Arnaldo Deserti 1, Tamas Marcz. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili, Alexey Shmider 1, Vladimir Ushakov 3, Rustam Ukumanov 1, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 2, Mikhail Ruday 1, Ravil Manafov 2, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

Extramen:
Italy: 5 for 12
Kazakhstan: 6 for 7

Double extra:
Italy: 1 for 1
Kazakhstan: none

Penalties:
Italy: 1 for 1
Kazakhstan: none

The hosts were up to the task to play the game of their life against the reigning World Champions and to much of the delight of the home crowd they managed to earn a draw and lost to Italy only in the penalty shootout. Though, for two and a half periods Italy sat comfortably in the driving seat, they were cool, common and collected, defended well with Stefano Tempesti making nice saves in the back and they were great in creating chances and scoring a wide range of goals from manups, shots from the distance and counters. Three minutes gone in the third when Italy was 9-4 up and probably not even the home fans dreamt of such a come-back what followed shortly after. In fact, the Italians considered the job done, even after the Kazakhs scored two in 55 seconds. The world title-holders‘ concentration dropped, they started to miss their 6 on 5s (two in a row) and Alexey Shmider’s hit from an extra gave some hope for the last period (9-7). And the crowd went wild when the miracle came even closer with Rustam Ukumanov sending home another extra for 9-8, right from the first attack in the fourth. A missed man-up seemed to cost the hosts their momentum as from the very next attack Deni Fiorentini scored for 10-8. But Nikolay Maximov, the former Olympic medallist goalie with Russia, proved his class with a great stop on the next Italian extra and Vladimir Ushakov brought the Kazakh hopes back with 1:17 remaining on the clock. And that was enough to send the fans to the seventh heaven: 36 seconds later Ushakov sent a rocket under the bar from a free-throw to tie the game at 10-10.

However, the Kazakh fairytale ended here as the ensuing penalty shootout finished quite early: three home players tried to find the net but Stefano Tempesti saved each attempt while Pietro Figlioli, Valentino Gallo and Maurizio Felugo all scored from the penalties to save some pride for the Italians who will have a showdown with the US in the third round to clinch the first place of the group.

DAY 3 - 14 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 14) – The last day of the group stage was opened by a scoring festival, courtesy of Croatia, then came three thrillers offering tremendous excitements – a great way to turn into the knock-out phase. Besides Croatia, Italy clinched the top spot of their respective group after a nailbiter against the U.S. – the Americans settled for the second place here –, Spain came second in the other quartet after bouncing back from 1-4 against Australia. To the sorrow of hundreds, the locals lost their second consecutive penalty shootout, this time to China.

  #9 CRO 20 vs. BRA 2

(3-2, 7-0, 6-1, 4-0)

Referees: Ni Shiwei (CHN), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

CROATIA: Josip Pavic– Damir Buric 1, Miho Boskovic 3, Niksa Dobud 1, Maro Jokovic 5, Andelo Setka 3, Petar Muslim, Andro Buslje, Ivan Krapic 1, Samir Barac 1, Igor Hinic, Ivan Buljubasic 5, Frano Vican (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella, Felipe Silva 1, Bernardo Rocha, Ruda Franco, Gustavo Guimaraes 2, Danilo Correa, Vinicius Antonelli (GK). Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

Extramen
Croatia: 2 for 4
Brazil: 1 for 6

Penalties
Croatia: 2 for 2
Brazil: none

In the most one-sided game of the tournament the Croatians staged a scoring festival against the Brazilians. The Croats – already won the group after two rounds – took a rather slow start and the Brazilians found themselves being 2-1 up after three minutes. That might have been too embarassing for the European powerhouse, they turned the score within 57 seconds and started to play their usual game from the second period. They tightened up their defence, and offered some appetiser from their tremendous shooting power – they also scored a handful of goals from fast counterattacks as they managed to grab the ball thanks to their hard pressing game. The only question was whether they reach the 20-goal barrier – and the answer was yes, thanks to Maro Jokovic‘s fifth goal of the afternoon. So Croatia marched to the quarterfinals as the only team winning three out of three in the regular time.

#10 ITA 7 vs. USA 5

(2-3, 3-0, 0-2, 2-0)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Nenad Peris (CRO)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 1, Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 2, Deni Fiorentini 1, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti, Tamas Marcz. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann 2. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

Extramen
Italy: 1 for 8
USA: 2 for 8

Penalties
Italy: none
USA: 0 for 1

The battle for the first place of Group A was a real show of present day water polo, a great contest with twists and turns, fantastic goals and huge misses.

After a quick exchange of goals, Italy missed two extras – a scenario repeated a bit too often later on –, then came two hits, one apiece, when the shooter beat the shotclock by milliseconds (Jeff Powers here, Valerio Rizzo there). John Mann’s fine centre-shot gave the USA a 3-2 lead by the end of the first and few would have guessed that this would be the Americans' last goal for a while. But it happened as they also started to waste their 6 on 5 opportunities. Italy did the same but in the meantime, they found the net three times, including two one-on-one counters, a rare scene at this level. Tony Azevedo could have pushed his team back on track but his penalty-shot was sensationally stopped by Stefano Tempesti. Interestingly enough, the Italians lost their momentum in the third period: after they succeeded to kill a U.S. powerplay, they had a man-up for a 6-3 lead, instead, they missed it and John Mann, the man who scored the last goal for USA, hit another one from the centre, and within a minute Layne Beaubien sent home an extra to tie the score at 5-5.

The last quarter brought sheer excitements: Italy finally managed to score from an extra – though they needed strange circumstances to do so. The U.S. goalie was ejected for delaying the game and Presciutti had an easy job to beat Tony Azevedo in the goal (6-5). When Merryl Moses stood in front of the cage, Italy was denied again – but the Americans weren’t at their best either, as they missed two man-ups at the other end. Both sides fought desperately and the world champions got the upper hand: they earned a 6 on 5 with 36 seconds on the clock, didn’t shoot the ball, just in the very last moment of their attack and Alex Giorgetti’s let his fine lob fly just in time to decide the outcome (7-5). Courtesy of this well-deserved victory, the Italians clinched the top spot of the group while the US had to settle for the second place.

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 14 - The USA Water Polo Men's National Team lost their final match of group play at the FINA World League Super Final, dropping a 7-5 decision to Italy. John Mann (Newport Beach, CA/California/NYAC) scored two goals in the loss while Merrill Moses (Palos Verdes, CA/Pepperdine/NYAC) added 10 saves. Team USA will meet with Spain tomorrow in the quarterfinals.

Team USA opened up a lead early, taking a 3-2 lead after the first period. The following three quarters saw each team exchanging offensive outbursts. In the second period it was Italy outscoring Team USA 3-0 to take a 5-3 at halftime. The United States battled back in the third to tie the game at 5-5. In the fourth Italy surged back ahead posting two unanswered goals to take the match 7-5. Team USA went 2/8 on power plays and 0/1 on penalties while Italy was 1/8 on power plays and did not attempt any penalties.

"We can't give up soft goals. We gave up two one on nobodies. We are working too hard on defense to do that," said USA Head Coach Terry Schroeder.

(2-3, 3-0, 0-2, 2-0)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Nenad Peris (CRO)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 1, Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 2, Deni Fiorentini 1, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti, Tamas Marcz. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

USA: Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 1, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann 2. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

Extramen
Italy: 1 for 8
USA: 2 for 8

Saves - USA - M. Moses 10

Penalties
Italy: none
USA: 0 for 1

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

#11 AUS 7 vs. ESP 8

(2-0, 2-2, 0-4, 3-2)

Referees: Irfan Sadekov (RUS), German Moller (ARG)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

AUSTRALIA: James Clark – Richard Campbell 1, Timothy Cleland, John Cotterill, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin, Aidan Roach 1, Samuel McGregor 1, Thomas Whalan 3, Gavin Woods, Jamie Beadsworth, William Miller 1, Aaron Younger. Head coach: John Fox.

SPAIN: Inaki Aguilar – Mario Garcia, Blai Mallarach 1, Balazs Sziranyi, Ivan Gallego, Marc Minguell 3, David Martin, Albert Espanol 2, Xavi Valles, Felipe Perrone 1, Ivan Perez, Javier Garcia 1, Daniel Lopez (GK). Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.

Extramen
Australia: 0 for 5
Spain: 4 for 9

Penalties
Australia: 1 for 1
Spain: 1 for 1

Spain woke up in time to beat the Aussies for the second place of the group and to earn a chance to play a relatively easier quarterfinal, compared to the losers‘ task, an encounter against the United States. The Spaniards faced the same problem as on Day 2: their starting goalie, Inaki Aguilar struggled to find his rythm and conceded embarrasing goals. This forced head coach Rafael Aguilar to substitute him again (no relationship between the two Aguilars, just the names) and it paid off again. It wasn’t necessary the saves by Daniel Lopez but the double-efforts by the defenders to help the reserve goalie which halted the Aussies‘ campaign. In the meantime the Spanish found their pace in the rear, a last-grasp goal by Marc Minguell before half-time gave them hope (they trailed 2-4) and after scoring right from the first attack in the third it was clear that their struggle finished right there. In fact, they managed to stage a 5-0 run after being down 1-4, while the Aussies seemed to run out of ideas. However, luck mixed it up a bit in the second: after the Australians‘ scoreless struggle of 16:40 minutes, Richard Campbel’s shot hit the post, then the head of the goalie and crossed goal-line by a whisper... But luck a kind of neutralised this present immediately: on the next attack the Spanish earned an extra, the first shot was saved by James Clark but it rebounced into the hand of Marc Minguell who swept it to the net for 7-5. Thomas Whalan sent home a penalty, but the Spanish managed to answer immediately, also converting a penalty, by Javier Garcia. Still, there was some excitement left as Thomas Whalan scored his third of the game for 7-6 with 64 seconds left. But the Spanish managed to force a corner-shot and stayed in front of their rivals‘ goal for another half minute. Five seconds were left when the Aussies got the ball, called for a time-out, but then they couldn’t set up a fine shooting position in that short period of time.

#12 CHN 13 vs. KAZ 12 (Penalty shoot out)

(3-2, 2-2, 2-3, 1-1, penalties: 5-4)

Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Joaquin Fernandez Escola (ESP)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu 2 (1), Liang Zhongsing 2 (1), Yu Lijun 1 (1), Guo Jungliang, Zhang Jian, Li Bin (1), Wang Yang 1, Xie Junmin (1), Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev 2, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili 1 (1), Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 2 (1), Rustam Ukumanov 1 (1), Evgeniy Zhilyayev 2 (1), Mikhail Ruday, Ravil Manafov, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov

Extramen:
China: 3 for 8
Kazakhstan: 1 for 8

Double extra:
China: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

Penalties:
China: 1 for 1
Kazakhstan: 2 for 2

China controlled most of this all-Asian game right from the beginning, though they had to wait until the end of the penalty shootout to earn their first win in this tournament. The Chinese took a flying start as they went 3-1 up in 3:30 minutes – but the hosts climbed back to 5-4 by half-time while China missed a 6 on 5 when the Kazakh goalie was excluded. Liang Zhongsing, arguably the best player among the Chinese, was cool enough to send home an extra for 6-4 in the third, but a double men-up and a great action goal put the Kazakhs on equal terms again (6-6). Liang Nianxiang netted an extra and soon after Zhang Chufeng had a golden chance but he chose a rather poor finish at a one-on-one and that was a costly miss as the home hero, Vladimir Ushakov beat the buzzer from a 6 on 5 (7-7). The fourth quarter saw a huge battle, Yu Lijun pushed the ball in from the wall on the first extra of this period, while the Kazakhs struggled in powerplay, two chances were wasted without a single shot, and a third one also gone as Ge Weiqing came up with a brilliant save. However, the hosts‘ efforts paid off finally when they were rewarded a penalty: Rustam Ukumanov converted it with 1:04 on the clock (8-8) – so more penalties came soon after, in the shootout. All shooters but one managed to find the net: the decisive moment came in the fourth round when Sergey Gubarev’s left-handed shot was stopped by Ge, while Liang Zhongsing remained cool again to score so a great celebration could start at their bench.

DAY 4 - 15 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 15) – Shortly before the quarter final games, a touching event was held as a memorial to the most noted water polo figure in Kazakhstan, Alexander Kryukov (his son, Andriy is member of the FINA Technical Water Polo Committee and is chief organiser of this Super Final event). The legendary player and coach was a key figure of the sport in the Soviet era and also did a tremendous job after Kazakhstan had become an independent state, and was among those who fought wholeheartedly to the recognition and Olympic inclusion of women’s water polo. At the memorial banquet a short documentary was shown and after the film FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu addressed the representatives of the local sporting life and FINA Family.

In the pool, only one game offered the usual excitement: the Australians challenged the Americans towards the end of the game, but the USA proved too strong. Italy and Spain both scored a rather easy victory and will face each other in the semis. Croatia had some tough moments in the first half against the hosts, but the third period was decisive – their semi final against the USA will be a mouthwatering encounter, too.

#13 USA 7 vs. AUS 5

(3-1, 2-0, 0-1, 2-3)

Referees: Joaquin Fernandez Escola (ESP), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 2, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner 2, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley – Richard Campbell 1, Timothy Cleland 1, John Cotterill 1, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin, Aidan Roach 1, Samuel McGregor, Thomas Whalan, Gavin Woods, Jamie Beadsworth 1, William Miller, Aaron Younger. Head coach: John Fox.

Extramen:
USA: 5 for 12
Australia: 2 for 8

Penalties:
None

Despite wasting a handful of extras, the US managed to prevail in the first quarter final, thanks to its effective defence. During the first half, the Americans had the edge in the 6 on 5s, Shea Buckner and Peter Vareallas were both on target, while the Aussies managed to score only once, Jamie Beadsworth also buried an extra. Buckner let a free-throw fly just in time to beat the buzzer for a 3-1 lead after the first period. A downpour hit the pool in the second but it wasn’t the rain which washed away the Aussie goals: the U.S. defence worked pretty well and denied all their rivals' attempts. Credits to U.S. goalie Merryl Moses who came up with a fantastic save when Samuel McGregor took a shot from a one on one. It was costly for the Australians as instead of 3-2 they trailed 4-1 soon after, since Jeff Powers sent home a 6 on 5, and later he netted another one, so the U.S. led 5-1 and seemed to enjoy an easy cruise further on. But it happened the other way as the Americans failed to finish off their opponents: they missed four powerplays in the third period while John Cotterill managed to score at the other end. Adrian Roach hit one from a counter in the first minute of the last quarter for 5-3, so Peter Varellas found the back of the net from a man-up in the best moment for the Americans. But the Aussies kept coming back and scored back-to-back action goals, by Richard Campbell and Tim Cleland. It stood 6-5 and the Australians even had a chance to level. In fact, the ball hit the top-right corner, but the referee whistled a counter foul against the centre at the moment of the shot so the goal was disallowed. What made the scenario more painful that Peter Varellas scored from the distance from the following attack: his third goal sent the U.S. team to the semis as only a minute was left from the game. 

Terry Schroeder (head coach, USA): "Australia gave us a tough game, they are great athletes who fight until the end. We have a really good start and we managed to hold the off. The key of the game was obviously being able to score from the 6 on 5s and stopping the 5 on 6s, and we were struggling a bit with out 6 on 5, but our defence was good so we could win the game."

John Fox (head coach, AUS): "We are disappointed to lose this game. We were a bit nervous in the first half, committed too many defensive mistakes, easy mistakes. We started to come back in the second half, it was much better but unfortunately few things went against us."

Layne Beaubien (USA): "Actually, the real start of the tournament was today with the knock-out games and today we’ve got the result we looked for. It’s a preparation for us to the Olympics, after a long travel and the hard trainings we are not the sharpest, this was the reason for missing too many extras today. But we are a good team, always try to find the way to win games."

John Cotterill (AUS): "We are very disappointed. We wanted to show we had a strong game yesterday and we wanted to have another strong one today. We started badly, the second half was better, we defended better – but we lost so we are really disappointed."

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 15 - The USA Water Polo Men's National Team advanced to the semifinals of the FINA World League Super Final with a 7-5 win over Australia. Peter Varellas (Moraga, CA/Stanford/Olympic Club) led the attack with three goals. Team USA will meet Croatia in the semifinal round, a rematch from two weeks ago that saw USA victorious 9-5 in Pasadena, CA. The match will be streamed live through FINA TV at 4:50pm local time (3:50am pst) and can be viewed by clicking here.

In the win over Australia, the United States got off to a great start opening up a 3-1 lead after the first period and leading 5-1 at halftime. Despite a rainstorm that hit the pool in the second period, play continued on. In the third the Aussies battled back holding the Americans scoreless while adding a goal of their own to make it 5-2. In the fourth Australia nearly completed the comeback scoring back to back goals at one point to draw to within 6-5. A tying goal from Australia was disallowed and moments later Team USA would seal the match with their seventh goal to take the contest 7-5.

Team USA went 5/12 on power plays while Australia was 2/8, neither team attempted a penalty shot. "It was a much better game overall," said USA Head Coach Terry Schroeder. "That said we have to do a better job on our six on five, we did do a better job today on the defensive end."

Notes: Team USA and Croatia met twice in Southern California two weeks ago. In the first match at Newport Harbor High School on May 26, Croatia was victorious 8-7. The United States won days later on June 1 at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, CA by a score of 9-5. Team USA last won a medal at the FINA World League Super Final in 2008 when they took Silver.

(3-1, 2-0, 0-1, 2-3)

Referees: Joaquin Fernandez Escola (ESP), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

USA: Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 2, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner 2, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley – Richard Campbell 1, Timothy Cleland 1, John Cotterill 1, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin, Aidan Roach 1, Samuel McGregor, Thomas Whalan, Gavin Woods, Jamie Beadsworth 1, William Miller, Aaron Younger. Head coach: John Fox.

Extramen:
USA: 5 for 12
Australia: 2 for 8

Penalties:
None

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

#14 CHN 1 vs. ESP 11

(0-3, 0-2, 1-2, 0-4)

Referees: Roberto Cabral (CUB), Steven Rotstart (USA)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu, Liang Zhongsing, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang, Zhang Jian, Li Bin, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng, Liang Nianxiang 1, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

SPAIN: Inaki Aguilar – Mario Garcia 2, Blai Mallarach, Balazs Sziranyi, Eric Marsall 1, Marc Minguell, David Martin, Albert Espanol 5, Xavi Valles, Felipe Perrone 2, Ivan Perez, Javier Garcia 1. Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.

Extramen:
China: 0 for 5
Spain: 3 for 4

Penalties:
China: none
Spain: 1 for 2

Though the Chinese had three great games in the group – lost narrowly to Italy and the U.S., and won against Kazakhstan in the penalty shootout –, this afternoon they were no match for the Spanish. Perhaps their previous performance was too convincing and the Spaniards put everything together to avoid any embarrassment: they played with maximum concentration in the back which was bad news for the Chinese as stronger and more experienced teams also find it difficult to harm this disciplined zonal defence. It took more than two and a half periods for the Asians to score their lonely goal of the game – by then the Spanish was far away, they led 6-0, and never looked back. They seemed to force themselves to keep up their determination right until the end, to save this mentality to their next game, a semi final showdown with the World Champion Italians.

Rafael Aguilar (head coach, ESP): "We respected the Chinese as they played really good games in their group. We put special emphasis on defending and we managed to do it on high level and maintain this for the entire game. This was the key of our success."

Rick Azevedo (head coach, CHN): "Today we tried different things but this time it didn’t go our way. Previously we had some shots which bounced in from the post now they all came out, so instead having a score like 1-2 or 2-3 we were 0-4 down. But that’s no problem, we have a very good defending today, we have good defending on Ivan Perez. It didn’t help that we played without our centre-forward who got a kick to his shoulder yesterday. Also, we conceded only one counter-attack goal in our previous games, now we got four from the counters and this should not happen in today’s water polo."

Felipe Perrone (ESP): "We were a bit worried about the Chinese so we played with full concentration and determination. Our defence was good, that was the most important thing today. Tomorrow will be a different story: a game with Italy in the Super Final in the Olympic year has a special importance."

Li Bin (CHN): "We conceded four counter-attack goals, it’s too much. Our offensive play was also bad today, we had too many shots blocked. We didn’t move in our 6 on 5s, but our defending on the centre-forward was fine."

#15 ITA 14 vs. BRA 1

(3-0, 4-1, 3-0, 4-0)

Referees: Ni Shiwei (CHN), Daniel Flahive (AUS)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

ITALY: Giacomo Pastorino – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 3, Pietro Figlioli 2, Alex Giorgetti 3, Maurizio Felugo 3, Tamas Marcz, Valentino Gallo 1, Christian Presciutti 1, Deni Fiorentini, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti 1. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella, Felipe Silva, Bernardo Rocha, Ruda Franco 1, Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Vinicius Antonelli (GK). Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

Extramen:
Italy: 5 for 7
Brazil: 1 for 2

Penalties:
Italy: 1 for 1
Brazil: none

By holding the Chinese on one goal by rather tight defending, the Spanish sent a tough message to the Italians. However, the reply came immediately in the next game, as the World Champions also played with the utmost discipline in the back, didn’t let the Brazilians into the game. Similarly to the previous QF between Spain and China, Brazil’s single goal of the game was scored when Italy was 6-0 up – it was a 6 on 5 in the middle of the second period. But that was all the Brazilians could have – their only delight was some neatly neutralised Italian attacks. Sometimes the Italians didn’t make the best choices while setting up their chances, nevertheless they did what it took to win easily.

Alessandro Campagna (head coach, ITA): "We played with good concentration especially in defence. Then, step by step, we started to see some good things in attack as well. The muscles of the players were still a bit tight as we had tough workouts during the first two-three days here. Now the trainings will be eased up as we want to play our last two games in the best possbile condition."

Carlos Carvalho (head coach, BRA): "We knew it would be a really hard game against the World number one. We tried to play better in offense than we did yesterday against Croatia, however, playing with teams at this level is really hard for us. They are quite tough in defending, also really tough in offence, so for us it’s pretty hard to create scoring opportunities. All in all, we expect a much better performance against the Chinese."

Alex Giorgetti (ITA): "It was an easy game. We played with concentration with the semi-final against the Spanish in mind, as we’ll meet them in the Olympics as well. We tested some tactical moves in the defence and we did the same in our extras, and mostly they worked. Though our opponent wasn’t the strongest one, still, this game served well for most of the players to gain some more self-confidence."

#16 KAZ 6 vs. CRO 13

(2-2, 2-3, 0-4, 2-4)

Referees: German Moller (ARG), Filippo Gomez (ITA)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

KAZAKHSTAN: Alexandr Shvedov – Sergey Gubarev 1, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov 1, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 2, Mikhail Ruday, Ravil Manafov 1, Sergey Gorovoy. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

CROATIA: Frano Vican – Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic 1, Niksa Dobud 3, Maro Jokovic 1, Andelo Setka 1, Petar Muslim 3, Andro Buslje 1, Sandro Sukno 1, Samir Barac 2, Igor Hinic, Ivan Buljubasic, Josip Pavic (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

Extramen:
Kazakhstan: 3 for 8
Croatia: 4 for 8

Double extra:
Kazakhstan: 0 for 1
Croatia: none

Penalties
Kazakhstan: none
Croatia: 2 for 2

The partial scores tell the story: until the home side had enough gas in the tank and the Croatians didn’t give their best, the contest was rather tight, the favourites led only 5-4 at half-time. Then they geared up, raise their level of concentration and produced an 8-2 scoreline for the second half. The Kazakhs didn’t want to disappoint their fans who cheered for them enthusiastically in the previous games so they began with the utmost determination. The Croats seemed to trust in their better skills and physical strength but those factors started to dominate only after the half-time break when the hosts got tiring. In the meantime, the Croatians pulled out the rabbits from their top-hats, and offered the very best of their knowledge of this sport. The short show was enough to win the third quarter 4-0, with some excellent outside shots and great centre-actions. The fourth was also dominated by the Croats who finally looked to be ready for their semis against the US team.

Ratko Rudic (head coach, CRO): "We didn’t start well, we played without motivation, without real preparation. Our player a bit undervalued their rivals, but the Kazakh team is really good as the result showed it half time. A had to lift my voice a bit to force my team playing at a faster pace, more organized, and to do all those things we are capable of. Actually, we tried to play in a way to save some reserve energy for tomorrow, but today you cannot rest, you have to fight in each game."

Sergey Drozdov (head coach, KAZ): "It was a good game for the first half, our defense was fine, but as we got tired we started to commit mistakes afterwards and the Croatians immediately punished us by shooting a series of goals. Before the game I told my players not to give easy goals for the Croatians but that happened in the second period. However, as a coach I can be satisfied with our performance. We played a good game with a team which is among the best of the world – and I hope it will be different at the Olympics."

Samir Barac (CRO): "We knew that the Kazakhs had good games in their group so we tried to enter the match playing as hard as we could. And it turned out to be a hard contest, the result is not real, I have to say, since the Kazakhs are better what the scoreline shows."

Alexandr Shvedov (KAZ): "At the beginning we played well, but this is the fourth game on the fourth day and we didn’t have too much energy left. I cannot be satisfied with my and the team’s performance. Had it finished 10-10 like yesterday, I would be more happy..."

DAY 5 - 16 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 16) – World champion Italy couldn’t make it to the final this time: they were pushed aside by Mediterranean arch rivals Spain in a game decided by the penalties. The other semi final saw Croatia coming from behind to beat the U.S., thanks to Sandro Sukno’s hat-trick in the fourth period. For the lower places Kazakhstan scored a bit surprising win over Australia, while China took the upper hand in the last quarter against Brazil.

#17 Aus 6 vs. KAZ 7

(1-2, 1-1, 2-2, 2-2)

Referees: Roberto Cabral (CUB), Filippo Gomez (ITA)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

AUSTRALIA: James Clark – Richard Campbell 1, Timothy Cleland, John Cotterill 2, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin, Aidan Roach, Samuel McGregor, Thomas Whalan 2, Gavin Woods, Jamie Beadsworth, William Miller 1, Aaron Younger. Head coach: John Fox.

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev 3, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili 1, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 1, Mikhail Ruday, Ravil Manafov, Sergey Gorovoy 1. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

Extramen:
Australia: 2 for 7
Kazakhstan: 2 for 5

Double extras:
Australia: none
Kazakhstan: 3 for 3

Penalties:
Australia: none
Kazakhstan: 1 for 1

Nikolay Maximov was a key figure of Russia’s last great team, which won an Olympic silver medal in 2000 and a bronze in 2004. The excellent goalie, turning 40 this November, now serves the Kazakh national team and this afternoon he came up with a performance as if he were ten years (or more) younger. He was the man who saved the day for the hosts who earned their first win of this week.

Maximov was on fire right from the beginning, he made a handful of stops in man-downs and even in one-on-one situations. In the meantime, his team mates managed to score three times in the first half and led 3-2. And they managed to keep this single goal lead for a further eight minutes, as their leftie, Sergey Gubaryev was cool enough to send the ball home from a 6 on 4 and later from a 6 on 5. The Aussies were still trying to find the ways to trick Maximov, twice he managed to do it, but the Kazakh goalie denied them on golden occasions again.

The home side seemed to get more and more tired, several attacks ended without a shot – fifth game on the fifth day: demanding task even for the big boys of sport –, and when the Aussies scored twice from two fast counter-attacks in a span of 20 seconds, the hosts got to the brink of another defeat. They missed their next extra, but the Aussies did the same at the other end, and the home side got one last chance, a double extra – third of the game – and they buried it nicely (6-6). 3:30 minutes remained on the clock, but neither side managed to create any good opportunity to score. The sheets for the penalty shoot-out were already put on the jury table when a silly mistake decided the outcome: Samuel McGregor fouled his opponent while the other prepared for a free-throw so he was thrown out – but he didn’t recognised the referees‘ call, stayed and even caught the incoming ball; it couldn’t be other than a penalty shot, with 1.2 seconds to go. Evgeny Zhilyayev made no mistake, so instead of a chain of five-metre shots a single penalty was the decider, much to the delight of the home crowd which enthusiastically celebrated the Kazakh team’s first win.

Sergey Drozdov (head coach, KAZ): "It was a very good game, our defence was very good, Maximov was fantastic in the goal. We were a bit lucky, as our players got tired as the time was passing. However, everyone played with their heart and this brought success."

John Fox (head coach, AUS): "I think maybe the pressure of the Olympic selection is too much for some of our players. We will announce the team tomorrow."

Nikolay Maximov (KAZ): "Every player tried to give his best and it was a very special win for us here – but this was just one game and tomorrow will be another one and we will have to be ready for that too. As for my performance today, I thank to God, all my coaches and my teammates that I can still play and help my team."

Thomas Whalan (AUS): "It’s obviously a very disappointing result, we didn’t play our normal high intensity water polo. At start we let them stay in the game and it cost us towards the end when were even and we should have closed off the game. We missed many opportunities, but we are still in a building phase so we have time to be better."

#18 BRA 7 vs. CHN 10

(2-1, 1-2, 2-3, 5-1)

Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), German Moller (ARG)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu, Liang Zhongsing 3, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang 1, Zhang Jian, Li Bin 3, Wang Yang 2, Xie Junmin 1, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng, Liang Nianxiang, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella 1, Felipe Silva 1, Bernardo Rocha, Ruda Franco, Gustavo Guimaraes 3, Danilo Correa 2. Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

Extramen:
China: 3 for 8
Brazil: 3 for 8

Penalties:
China: 1 for 1
Brazil: 1 for 1

The better condition gave the Chinese their first win in regular time as they thrashed the Brazilians in the fourth quarter: a well-deserved feat indeed. The first half saw numerous missed extras, but also three goals apiece: first the Chinese were in front, than the Brazilians turned the score – but it was tied at half-time (3-3). The third brought similar scenes, Gustavo Guimaraes gave the lead for the Brazilians, but Liang Zhongsing buried a penalty and Xie Junmin sent home an extra after a time-out for 5-4. But the Brazilians geared up, a penalty and a man-up put them into the driving seat again (5-6).

But the fourth period they had no chance against the Chinese who seemed to have more fuel in the tank: in a span of 50 seconds they turned the score again, and Wang Yang added a third one for 8-6. Brazil pulled one back as Felipe Silve scored from an extra, but the last two minutes the Chinese were unstoppable as Liang Zhongsing scored his third goal of the game and Guo Jungliang also netted one – so the period ended with a dreamlike 5-1 scoreline for the Asian team.

Rick Azevedo (head coach, CHN): "We were really disappointed yesterday so we had a one hour meeting today, to play with a bit more concentration, with a bit more aggressiveness, and I think it was shown today as we controlled the whole game, though we missed two or three good opportunities which would have easily opened up the score. In the fourth quarter our superiority in the physio trainings paid off, we stayed concentrated, we played what I call good water polo. We were in control, there were no counter-attack goals, no goals from the centre, as long as my Chinese team do that I’m happy because it means we move forward."

Carlos Carvalho (head coach, BRA): "Though we lost, still, it was a good learning occasion for our team: these tight games help us to learn to make good decisions when the match is tight. Our players can benefit from this lessons – and of course, we go on to build our team for the 2016 Games in Rio."

#19 USA 10 vs. CRO 11

(4-3, 3-3, 1-2, 2-3)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 2, Adam Wright 2, Shea Buckner 1, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten 1, Jesse Smith 1, JW Krumpholz 1, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

CROATIA: Josip Pavic – Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic 2, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic 3, Andelo Setka, Petar Muslim 1, Andro Buslje, Sandro Sukno 4, Samir Barac 1, Igor Hinic, Ivan Buljubasic, Frano Vican (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

Extramen:
USA: 6 for 8
Croatia: 4 for 7

Penalties:
USA: none
Croatia: 3 for 3

A beautiful game, full of action, excitement and sensational goals – thanks to the fantastic shots of Sandro Sukno, Croatia reached the final. The US got a flying start, jumping to a 2-0 lead, but the Croats were also up to the task, scored fine goals from extras – courtesy of Sandro Sukno and Maro Jokovic. Still, the first period went to the Americans after Jeff Powers‘ blast hit the top right corner (4-3). Goals of the opening eight minutes were mainly scored from 6 on 5s, the following period saw a handful of action goals. Jesse Smith made a neat finish from a counter for 5-3, but two blistering shots from the distance by Miho Boskovic and Samir Barac tied the score again. Petar Muslim also netted one from the wing, but Croatia’s run was halted soon – this time two nicely played man-ups gave back the lead to the US by half-time (7-6).
It was the Croats‘ turn to score powerplay goals and their leftie, Maro Jokovic didn’t make any mistake, he hit twice, though between the two Adam Wright’s shot from the distance was also on target, so the fourth started from 8-8.

The last quarter brought the Sandro Sukno Show: the young Croatian scored a range of goals, he netted one from a 6 on 5, from a penalty and from action, and had a great free throw hitting the post. His hat-trick was enough to push his team to the final: though the Americans managed to score from two man-ups (one for 8-8, but the other came when they were trailing 9-11), but those were their only chances as the Croatian defence was really tight, prevented their rivals from feeding the centre-forward, stole the ball a handful of times, while Sukno was unstoppable at the other end, he was the one who made the difference in this game.

Ratko Rudic (head coach, CRO): "We started the game a little bit nervous, we made three-four big mistakes in defence and they could score easy goals. After this bad periods we began to reorganize our game, with a bit more focus on the defending and everything got better. In the offence we have a strong center-forward, a really good shooter and they made the difference."

Terry Schroeder (head coach, USA): "It’s disappointing to lose, though it was a good match. Both teams played well, both are potential medal-winners at the Olympics. Today we gave up three five-metres and in the second half we lost our confidence in the outside shooting, these were decisive."

Sandro Sukno (CRO): "It was a very good match, much better than the weather... The US are a very good team, so it’s great to be in the final. Today everything turned out to be good for me and for my team – but that’s the past, tomorrow is a new game, we have to be ready for that."

Jeff Powers (USA): "It was a good game against a very good team. It was a good training for us since we came here looking for improvement game by game. The ultimate goal is the Olympic gold medal, though we didn’t win but it’s not the end of the world."

Almaty, Kazakhstan - June 16 - The USA Men's National Team fell to Croatia 11-10 in the semifinals of the FINA World League Super Final. Team USA will now meet Italy in the Bronze Medal match on Sunday. Jeff Powers (San Luis Obispo, CA/UC-Irvine/Newport WPF) and Adam Wright (Seal Beach, CA/UCLA/NYAC) each netted two scores in the loss. Croatia rallied from a goal deficit at the half to claim the win, making great use of USA exclusions and penalties going 4/7 on power plays and 3/3 on penalty shots.

Team USA got off to the good start taking a 2-0 lead, only to see Croatia rally with scores of their own, three in all, in the first period. The United States kept up with the offensive pace and led 4-3 after the first period. In the second period each team scored three goals apiece and the United States stayed in front at halftime, up 7-6.

In the third Croatia came back with two power play scores sandwiched around a goal from Wright, leaving the match tied at 8-8 after three. In the fourth Croatia put on an offensive show, specifically from Sandro Sukno who scored three goals in the period. Team USA answered with two goals of their own but it wouldn't be enough. Croatia came away with the win 11-10.

Team USA was excellent on the power play, going 6/8 and they attempted no penalty shots. The United States takes on Italy for the Bronze medal, a rematch of pool play where Italy was victorious 7-5. The Bronze Medal match will be streamed live via FINA TV at 1:50pm (12:50am pst) and can be accessed by clicking here.


(4-3, 3-3, 1-2, 2-3)

Referees: Daniel Flahive (AUS), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

USA: Merrill Moses – Peter Varellas, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers 2, Adam Wright 2, Shea Buckner 1, Layne Beaubien 1, Tony Azevedo, Ryan Bailey 1, Tim Hutten 1, Jesse Smith 1, JW Krumpholz 1, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

CROATIA: Josip Pavic – Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic 2, Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic 3, Andelo Setka, Petar Muslim 1, Andro Buslje, Sandro Sukno 4, Samir Barac 1, Igor Hinic, Ivan Buljubasic, Frano Vican (GK). Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

Extramen:
USA: 6 for 8
Croatia: 4 for 7

Penalties:
USA: none
Croatia: 3 for 3

Greg Mescall
Associate Director of Communications
USA Water Polo

#20 ITA 7 vs. ESP 9 (penalty shoot out)

(2-1, 1-0, 1-3, 1-1; penalties: 4-2)

Referees: Mark Koganov (AZE), Irfan Sadekov (RUS)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

SPAIN: Daniel Lopez – Mario Garcia (1), Blai Mallarach, Balazs Sziranyi, Guillermo Molina (1), Marc Minguell 2, David Martin, Albert Espanol (1), Xavi Valles 1, Felipe

Perrone 2, Ivan Perez, Javier Garcia (1). Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.
ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo, Pietro Figlioli 1 (1), Alex Giorgetti, Maurizio Felugo 1, Tamas Marcz, Valentino Gallo 1 (1), Christian Presciutti 2, Deni Fiorentini, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

Extramen:
Spain: 1 for 8
Italy: 3 for 5

Penalties:
none

As usual, the Mediterraneans staged a grand defensive battle, with great goal tending on both sides, and naturally, tensions ran high, especially in the fourth but no one managed to score the winners, so the penalties decided the outcome.

Spain surprised the World Champions a bit: at first, Xavi Valles and Felipe Perrone scored from counter attacks, second, Ivan Perez did a great job not only in the center-forward position, but also as a 2m guard. It was a surprising tactical move from Spanish head coach Rafa Aguilar but it worked, Perez was great in denying the Italian hole men. Italy pulled one back towards the end of the first, but Felipe Perrone’s nice lob caught Stefano Tempesti by surprise, so Spain was 3-1 up at half-time.

The Italians started to climb back in the third, Christian Presciutti’s lob from eight metres somehow found its way to the net, and Pietro Figlioli added one from an extra. The Spanish replied, also from a 6 on 5, it was a great set-up, moving the ball with the utmost patience, and finally Marc Minguell pushed the ball in from the wall, after a magnificent assist of Felipe Perrone. But Presciutti came again and scored for 4-4, with just 0.02 on the clock.

Just as in the other semi final, the fourth period also started from a tie. But in this game the decision didn’t come in the regular time: Minguell’s backhanded shot gave back the lead for the Spanish (it was a bit controversial, he seemed to take the ball underwater for a while), but Maurizio Felugo earned an exclusion during a counter, remained one on one with the goalie and that was a chess-mate situation (5-5). 2:45 minutes remained, but the defences and the goalies worked well, so a shootout was needed. The first two pairs made no mistake, but Valerio Rizzo’s shot was well saved by Dani Lopez, and after Javier Garcia’s successful attempt Maurizio Felugo hit the post. Guillermo Molina – who plays in Italy – gave no chance to his club team-mate in Pro Recco, Stefano Tempesti, he netted the penalty and sent the Spaniards into the final.

Rafael Aguilar (head coach, ESP): "It was a fantastic game for us, we had an excellent defense against Italy, but of course, this is the way to beat them. Our goalkeeper did a great job, but all the team played great today. The penalties are about luck but perhaps we deserved to have have luck on our side."

Alessandro Campagna (head coach, ITA): "It was an excellent game, except for the first period when we played a bit softer. But at least we were strong enough mentally to stay in the game, and after half-time we organised our game much better, we managed to tie the score twice. In the penalty shootout their mind and body were fresher."

Daniel Lopez (ESP): "We have still to work on our attack, we all know this, so we put special emphasis on our defending, and this was fantastic today. I’m happy that I could help the team, but you know, it’s really about the team: if the players gave their best, it’s easy for the goalie to perform well."

Maurizio Felugo (ITA): "We are happy that we had a good match, though we didn’t play so well at the beginning. But we managed to withstand the pressure, and came back to tie the game. In the penalties anything can happen, this time the Spanish won – congratulation for them!"

DAY 6 – 17 June 2012

KAZAKHSTAN, Almaty (June 17) – Water polo at its prime: Croatia won a thrilling final against Spain in a penalty shootout; eleven rounds were needed to decide the title which finally went to Croatia, for the first time in World League history. Italy came third after a narrow win over USA, the hosts celebrated Kazakhstan‘s best ever placement in any FINA competition as they clinched the fifth position ahead of China, and the Australians found some consolation in their victory against Brazil.

The final day’s action was attended by FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione and Dariga Nazarbayeva, Chairperson of the Social and Development Committee of the Kazakh Parliament, daughter of the country’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev. The FINA President and Mrs Nazarbayeva presented the gold medals to the victorious Croatian players at the end of the event which was very well organised, thanks to the tremendous efforts by the Kazakh Swimming Federation.

#21 AUS 13 vs. BRA 2 (Winner 7th, Loser 8th)

(2-0, 3-0, 6-1, 2-1)

Referees: Ni Shiwei (CHN), Joaquin Fernandez Escola (ESP)

FINA Delegate: Evgeny Sharonov

Teams:

AUSTRALIA: Joel Dennerley – Richard Campbell 1, Timothy Cleland 1, John Cotterill 3, Robert Maitland, Anthony Martin 2, Aidan Roach, Samuel McGregor, Thomas Whalan 2, Gavin Woods 1, Jamie Beadsworth, William Miller 2, Aaron Younger 1. Head coach: John Fox.

BRAZIL: Thye Bezerra – Caio Lima, Henrique Miranda, Gustavo Coutinho, Cesar Queiroz Junior, Bernardo Gomes, Jonas Crivella, Felipe Silva 1, Bernardo Rocha 1, Ruda Franco, Gustavo Guimaraes, Danilo Correa, Vinicius Antonelli (GK). Head coach: Carlos Carvalho.

Extramen:
Australia: 3 for 4
Brazil: 1 for 6

Penalties:
None

The Aussies wanted to save some pride after two narrow defeats in the knock-out phase. They can recall their quarter final against the U.S. team when they had a goal disallowed in the dying minutes which would have put them on level terms, and that was followed by their last second loss to Kazakhstan on the following day. Had things gone in a different way they might have been in the medal round, instead, they had to settle for a game for the 7th place on the last day.

But they showed they have strong mentality, played with maximum concentration and at full speed – and the result mirrored this approach. Brazil was never let enter the game, their first goal came in the middle of the third period, while the Aussies netted a wide range of goals, a couple of them from 3 on 2 or 2 on 1 counter-attacks, right-handed Thomas Whalan even scored one with his left. So they finished the tournament on a high note – but some crucial moments (and painful for some players) were still waiting for them afterwards as Head coach John Fox announced whom he picked for and who was left out from the Olympic team.

John Fox (Head coach, AUS): "It was a good game, we kept it under control, it was pleasing to finish in a positive manner. We start to build from here, so today was the first day of our final London preparations after yesterday’s low."

Carlos Carvalho (Head coach, BRA): "We knew this last game was going to be hard against Australia as they prepare for the Olympic Games, also we had five games already so we would be a bit tired. Still, the outcome wasn’t as good as we expected. We knew we will have hard games against the teams preparing for the Games, but we are down to earth so we are not disappointed with our results. We are at the beginning our preparation for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, we have to work hard and I’m sure we will have better games in the future."

Aaron Younger (AUS): "It’s not our best tournament so far, obviously. We’ve got five weeks now to have our game going like we wanted to and to prove that we are a much better team. Yesterday we were very sad (after losing to Kazakhstan), we wanted to finish this tournament on a high note se we all came out a lot harder to play a game like this we had finally."

Henrique Miranda (BRA): "This is the first time Brazil takes part in the Super Final, so it’s a great learning opportunity to play with teams like Italy, Spain or Croatia. We expect to play harder games in future competitions. Now we wanted more close games, scoring more goals, but we are at the beginning of our preparation for Rio so for the future you can be sure that these guys will have more trouble playing against Brazil!"

#22 CHN 5 vs. KAZ 7 (Winner 5th, Loser 6th)

(4-1, 1-1, 2-1, 0-2)

Referees: Nenad Peris (CRO), Mark Koganov (AZE)

FINA Delegate: Boukezouha Badreddine

Teams:

KAZAKHSTAN: Nikolay Maximov – Sergey Gubarev 1, Nikita Kokorin, Murat Shakenov, Alexey Panfili, Alexey Shmider, Vladimir Ushakov 1, Rustam Ukumanov, Evgeniy Zhilyayev 2, Mikhail Ruday, Ravil Manafov 1, Sergey Gorovoy 2. Head coach: Sergey Drozdov.

CHINA: Ge Weiqing – Tan Feihu 2, Liang Zhongsing, Yu Lijun, Guo Jungliang 2, Zhang Jian, Li Bin 1, Wang Yang, Xie Junmin, Dong Tianyi, Zhang Chufeng, Liang Nianxiang, Gu Liang. Head coach: Rick Azevedo.

Extramen:
Kazakhstan: 5 for 7
China: 2 for 11

Penalties:
Kazakhstan: none
China: 1 for 2

Kazakhstan, enjoying all advantages of the home field, took a flying start and built a three-goal cushion in the first period which determined the rest of the game. Nikolay Maximov was again in top shape, denying a penalty in the fifth minute and adding a handful of fine saves afterwards. It was him who really made the difference between this game and the one they played in the group. The Kazakhs did a great job in managing their energies: they gave up some attacks but immediately recognised when they had the chance to earn an exclusion or going for a counter. This is clearly shown in their percentage in man-up (5 for 7) – a rather good achievement in modern-day water polo. The Chinese shooters weren’t as sharp as they had been previously, Maximov’s magics made them overtargeting their shots, so they hit the posts several times. The Kazakhs led 7-2 with 3:00 minutes remaining from the third period so it was clear who won this game. However, the Chinese fought on and got some consolation at the end, scoring two in the last minute.

Sergey Drozdov (Head coach, KAZ): "It’s great to finish on the fifth place. We spoke to the team before the tournament and we told the players we had the chance to do this. If we can maintain this level of play we can achieve good results also at the Olympics. For today we changed some elements in our tactics (compared to our previous game with China) which worked well, and Nikolay Maximov did another great job in the goal."

Rick Azevedo (Head coach, CHN): "My team played really well defensively, I was happy with the way they did this part of the game. Some peculiar things happened in the first three-four minutes which rattled the team, they were like 'What’s going on, what’s going on?!', and the next thing they knew that the score was 3-0. After that the team showed a lot of composure, came back. We didn’t show a good shooting day in the 6 on 5s, we actually had some pretty nice shots which hit the bar, but I think part of that was being a little bit rattled and the new situation that China played for the fifth place of a major tournament for the first time."

Vladimir Ushakov (KAZ): "In the group it was a different game as we played with Italy on the day before and it took too much energy. We watched the tape of that game, we made some changes in our game-plan, and the new tactics worked well, though physically it was tough to play the sixth game in six day. I think we can still improve, as this was the first time in six months, that the whole team came together, three players arrived from the Russian league just one day before the start."

#23 6 USA vs. ITA 7 (Winner 3rd, Loser 4th

(1-1, 2-3, 1-2, 2-1)

Referees: German Moller (ARG), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ)

FINA Delegate: Gyorgy Martin

Teams:

USA: Merryl Moses – Peter Valleras 3, Peter Hudnut, Jeff Powers, Adam Wright, Shea Buckner, Layne Beaubien, Tony Azevedo 1, Ryan Bailey, Tim Hutten, Jesse Smith 2, JW Krumpholz, John Mann. Head coach: Terry Schroeder.

ITALY: Stefano Tempesti – Amaurys Perez, Valerio Rizzo 1, Pietro Figlioli 2, Alex Giorgetti 2, Maurizio Felugo 1, Niccolo Figari, Valentino Gallo, Christian Presciutti 1, Tamas Marcz, Daniel Premus, Arnaldo Deserti. Head coach: Alessandro Campagna.

Extramen:
USA: 3 for 10
Italy: 4 for 6

Penalties:
USA: 1 for 1
Italy: 1 for 1

Just as in the group, Italy won again, but this time it was a much even game, with the U.S. team always holding a chance to force at least the penalties. The first period didn’t see too many actions, neither teams could harm the other while at full strength. Both sides had three 6 on 5s respectively, but only one was converted at both ends: Alex Giorgetti scored for Italy, the answer came right away by Peter Varellas. Valerio Rizzo put the Italians ahead again, also from an extra, then came the action goals, Peter Varellas hit one despite being guarded closely, Pietro Figlioli also netted a nice distance shot, and Christian Presciutti was on target, too. Italy led 4-2, but Tony Azevedo sent home a penalty (3-4). Jesse Smith’s fantastic blast from 8m opened the third period, but the Americans couldn’t build on this, Alex Giorgetti scored from an extra to regain the lead for Italy. Another missed 6 on 5 at the U.S. side, another converted one for Italy: Maurizio Felugo didn’t make any mistake with 0:10 on the clock, so Italy doubled its lead before the final period (4-6). The Americans killed a man-down and scored from their 6 on 5 at the beginning of the fourth, it was Peter Valleras‘ third goal of the game. But again, the defences worked well when six faced six in front of the goals. Then, one small mistake was enough from the Americans, the Italians earned a penalty, and Pietro Figlioli was merciless (5-7). The U.S. boys didn’t give in, earned an exclusion, missed the extra, but took the rebound, forced another extra and this time Jesse Smith found the net for 6-7. Two minutes were left, the Italians didn’t risk anything, still, after a time-out the Americans got agonizingly close to level the score, but Ryan Bailey’s fine centre shot hit the crossbar, and bounced backwards. Italy earned the bronze medal, another podium finish after last year’s silver, while the USA had to settle for the fourth place this time.

Alessandro Campagna (Head coach, ITA): "It was a tough game, both teams played well in defence, but neither one was fast enough in attack, mainly in mind, so it was quite difficult to find the solutions. But at this moment of the preparation the most important thing is to build the defences, and what we showed here makes me very happy."

Terry Schroeder (Head coach, USA): "It was a tough but a rather good game, we had a chance, we should have put some more 6 on 5s away. I think we were a little tired on our legs, we didn’t attack in 6 on 5 as we should. We had a lot of success at home against Croatia and Hungary before we came over here, now we lost a couple of games, but it’s OK, perhaps it makes our squad work a little bit harder."

Stefano Tempesti (ITA): "We are happy for this medal, and I think we have qualified for the World Championships with this. It was a good game, congratulations for the U.S., they also played well. I’m getting better week by week (after coming back from injury), so I’m gonna be ready to help the team in London."

Jesse Smith (USA): "It was a very exciting game, with a lot of nice plays from both teams, it was close. We really wanted to win today, just as yesterday, as all teams want, today’s field is really competitive, one goal decides most of the games, so it means that the Olympics will be very exciting for the spectators."

#24 19 CRO vs. ESP 17 (Winner 1st, Loser 2nd) (Penalty shoot out)

(2-1, 2-3, 2-2, 2-2, penalties: 10-9)

Referees: Steven Rotstart (USA), Daniel Flahive (AUS)

FINA Delegate: Haluk Toygarli

Teams:

CROATIA: Josip Pavic – Damir Buric, Miho Boskovic 2 (3), Niksa Dobud, Maro Jokovic 1 (1), Andelo Setka (2), Petar Muslim (2), Andro Buslje 1, Sandro Sukno 3 (2), Samir Barac, Igor Hinic 1, Ivan Buljubasic. Head coach: Ratko Rudic.

SPAIN: Daniel Lopez – Mario Garcia (2), Blai Mallarach 1, Balazs Sziranyi, Guillermo Molina (1), Marc Minguell 1, David Martin 1, Albert Espanol 3 (2), Xavi Valles 1, Felipe Perrone (2), Ivan Perez 1, Javier Garcia (2). Head coach: Rafael Aguilar.

Extramen:
Croatia: 5 for 9
Spain: 5 for 7

Penalties:
Croatia: 2 for 2
Spain: none

Both teams were seeking their first World League title: Spain played in the final in 2002 and 2006, the Croatians reached this stage in 2009, but both sides lost their respective games. Marc Minguell opened the scoring, but Sandro Sukno just continued his streak of shooting huge goals from the distance (he hit four a day before), and 50 seconds later the Croats were already ahead, courtesy of Maro Jokovic’s fine left-handed shot from a 6 on 5. The other leftie, Blai Mallarach, equalised from an extra at the beginning of the second quarter, but next came the Croats, Miho Boskovic‘s 8m blast and Andro Buslje’s nice push from the wall in a man-up gave them a 4-2 lead. But the Spanish men battled hard, and were really effective in attacking. They couldn’t create too many chances against the stronger Croatian defenders, but whenever they were able to set up a chance, they always took it. And Albert Espanol, enjoying a remarkable shooting form in the whole week, first scored from an extra, then managed to hit the back of the net from the distance, so it was tied at 4-4 at half time. Sandro Sukno took the stage in the third, as usual, though this time he had an easier job putting away two penalties. Between the two it was him who couldn’t mark Ivan Perez, Spain’s giant man got the better of a turmoil after a rebounding shot and scored from the centre. And who else than Albert Espanol was the one who levelled again, shortly before the buzzer (6-6). The fourth period brought sheer excitement: the Spaniards blocked the Croatians in a powerplay and converted theirs after a time-out, it was a breathtaking play with Xavi Valles' fine finishing touch from the wall. For the first time, Spain was in front and could have gone further after Daniel Lopez denied the next Croatian shot from a 6 on 5: only one second remained from the extra, but after the corner-throw the centre defenders had a complete blackout, both were caught by surprise as Igor Hinic took the quick pass and netted the equaliser. It was a costly mistake, as in a minute the Croats went ahead again, thanks to Miho Boskovic’s blistering shot (8-7). After tremendous efforts from both sides, Spain earned a very last chance – and David Martin found the way among the arms to level once more, with 24 seconds to go. The Croats called a time-out, set up an attack with two centre forwards, but the incoming pass was stolen by the defenders. Croatian head-coach Ratko Rudic protested and received a red card so he watched the penalty shootout from the stands.

And that was a real thriller. The first miss came on the Croatian side: Daniel Lopez denied Maro Jokovic in the second round. In the fourth, Josip Pavic did the same with Guillermo Molina, so after the first five shots it stood 4-4. The next ten shots all were buried as tensions run extremely high. The goalies couldn’t guess the right side, each shooter performed his respective shot quite coolly. The third round just began, Miho Boskovic sent home his third penalty, then came Mario Garcia, but this time Pavic guessed right, and stopped the shot with his right hand, sending his teammates into the seventh heaven as Croatia won the shootout 10-9, and the World League title.

Ratko Rudic (Head coach, CRO): "The tournament was a great manifestation of water polo, I’m satisfied to win this title, it’s a good boost for the Olympics."

Rafael Aguilar (Head coach, ESP): "For me, the most important thing was that my team came to the final as tough as possible, with good mentality. We played a great game with Croatia, and it’s good to have such an even match with them when they have much more extras. The penalties are always about luck: yesterday luck was on our side, today not, life is just like this."

Miho Boskovic (CRO): "It was a good game, a very nice one though these teams are not in their top form as all prepare for the Olympic Games. At the end we had a little advantage and we managed to win this title for the first time, which makes a good effort to the spirit of the team."

Albert Espanol (ESP): "We were very near to the victory, but finally we lost and it’s a shame because we played well today, just as in the whole tournament. Playing six games in six days is very hard, but we had a good level, we were hard, we were brave so I’m satisfied with the result."

Top scorer: Maro Jokovic (CRO)
Most valuable player: Felipe Perrone (ESP)
Best goalkeeper: Stefano Tempesti (ITA)