Bishops goes one step further to lift Saints Invitational Water Polo title
When Bishops Diocesan College fell short in last year’s final of the St Stithians College Water Polo Invitational Tournament in Johannesburg, head coach Jabulani Sibiya vowed they would return stronger.
In that clash, the Cape Town side lost 14-17 to Kearsney College after leading up until the third chukka.
Sibiya and his charges had to stomach that loss, but they returned 12 months later seeking redemption and they attained it, defeating their southern suburb rivals, South African College High School (SACS), 10-7 on Sunday to lift the title.
It wasn’t an entirely smooth run for Bishops, who finished second in Pool A behind their arch-rivals, Rondebosch Boys’ High.
From there, though, Bishops went on an incredible run, cruising to a 10-1 win over Jeppe High School for Boys in a cross-pool playoff before downing a dangerous St David’s Marist Inanda team 7-3 in the quarterfinals. They, then, repeated that result in a win over St Stithians in the semi-finals.
SACS, meanwhile, cruised into the last eight after topping Pool B. They won comfortably enough against Reddam House Constantia in the quarterfinals, triumphing 8-3, but they were pushed to their limits by Rondebosch in the semi-finals. A late goal from Ben Bigara sealed a 9-8 victory and a place in the title game.
The All-Cape showdown delivered bucketloads of action and entertainment.
Ben Bigara opened the scoring for SACS, but goal-scoring machine, Matt Fenn, soon levelled and Timothy Young gave Bishops the lead.
Soon, though, Connor Mortlock replied for SACS, only for Ryan Dales to strike from the right and snatch the lead back for Bishops, who ended the first chukka 3-2 to the good.
A Fenn double in the second chukka gave the sharpshooter his hat-trick, while Dominic Zulch also got in on the scoring action. Bigara responded for SACS, but Bishops held a handy 6-3 lead at the break.
After a halftime team talk from coach Devon Card and his assistant, Liam Dawson, SACS came out firing in the third quarter. Despite conceding early to Harry Ford, the Newlands-based school clawed their way back into the fixture with four goals.
Bigara struck first, netting his third, and he soon joined by Aidan Turrell, who scored twice before Zulch and Mortlock completed their braces.
Heading into the final chukka, Bishops led 9-7, but the contest was far from over.
In the fourth chukka, though, the Bishops’ defenders and goalkeeper Michael Mafunda shut down the SACS’ attack and Bishops added a tenth goal, scored by Ford, to ensure victory.
After Bishops edged out SACS 7-6 in the third-place playoff at the SACS Water Polo Tournament a fortnight ago, the title win will be a welcome boost to coach Sibiya, his assistant, Lwazi Madi, manager, Angus Firth, and their charges.
Playoff matches
In an always fiercely contested clash between arch-rivals, Michaelhouse stunned their provincial counterparts, Hilton College, 5-4 to finish in ninth place.
Kearsney ended fifth after a 6-5 win over St John’s College, while St David’s placed seventh following a 9-5 defeat of Reddam House Constantia.
The hosts, Saints, were on fire in their bronze medal match against Rondebosch and clinched a nail-biting 12-11 win.
Woodridge, in their maiden appearance, ended 19th after beating Pearson High 8-4, while Pretoria Boys High, Grey High, St Andrew’s College and Affies all ended their campaigns with victories.
RESULTS
Sunday, 19 October
Woodridge 8-4 Pearson (19/20)
Pretoria Boys High 10-4 DHS (17/18)
Grey High 13-3 St Benedict’s College (15/16)
St Andrew’s College 14-4 KES (13/14)
Jeppe 5-6 Affies (11/12)
Hilton 4-5 Michaelhouse (9/10)
St David’s 9-5 Reddam House (7/8)
St John’s 5-6 Kearsney (5/6)
St Stithians 12-11 Rondebosch (3/4)
Bishops 10-7 SACS (Final)
Click HERE to see Day 1 results
Click HERE to see Day 2 results
Click HERE to see Day 3 results
