Cape final delivers a spectacle as Bishops edge SACS to win Ian Melliar-tournament
A gutsy, well calculated, and assertive display from the Bishops Diocesan College u15 Water Polo team saw them nail SACS (6-5) in the final of the Ian Melliar Water Polo Tournament hosted at Wynberg Boys High School in Cape Town on Monday.
The tournament, which returned for its 16th edition this year, saw 24 teams battle it out over four days in two separate venues before the champions were crowned.
Last year’s winners, Selborne College from East London, suffered this time around, losing three of their group matches to SACS, St Stithians and Paul Roos respectively.
Their poor run of form resulted in the side finishing 17th, just above Maritzburg College and Grey College.
Several teams put up their hands in this year’s event and improved on their overall finishes from the 2022 campaign.
One of the teams that impressed with the type of water polo they played was the hosts, Wynberg Boys High.
In last year’s tournament, they were blown away and finished in 16th position. However, a year later, Wynberg put together a strong showing in front of their home crowd to seal the bronze medal, beating Paul Roos (8-5) in the third/fourth play-off match.
The Cape sides will also leave the tournament in high spirits. Besides the final being between Cape Town sides, the top five finishers were all from the Mother City.
Paul Roos joined Rondebosch alongside the two finalists, and Wynberg to form up the five teams.
The final of the tournament was a hard-fought encounter between two in-form sides, with both seeking to rectify some of the mistakes they made in last year’s campaign.
In 2022, SACS finished in eighth place, while Bishops entered the final having experienced the heartbreak of losing out to Selborne for the title last year.
The boys from Bishops were assertive from the start, scoring the opening goal in the first chukka to take a one-goal lead.
SACS quickly responded to level things up, but Diocesan College responded with a further two goals to take a 3-1 lead after the first chukka.
Bishops were not letting up and scored early in the second chukka to lead by three goals before SACS pulled one back to cut the deficit to two points. The third chukka didn’t produce much, with both sides going hard at each other without reward on the scoreboard.
In the fourth and final chukka, the teams produced their best play. Bishops were sharp but so, too, were SACS. Bishops increased their tally to six goals, but SACS remained in the fight, and pulled to within one goal, but couldn’t find one more goal to level matters, leaving Bishops the champions after a 6-5 victory.
Results
Friday, 22 September:
Day 1
Glenwood House 2, Bishops 13; Rondebosch 12, Westerford 3; Grey College 5, Wahoo 9; St Stithians 6, Woodridge 3; Clifton 6, Affies 4; Kearsney 10, Hellenic 1; Jeppe 5, St Andrew’s 4; Paul Roos 8, Maritzburg College 1; Grey High 3, Wynberg 7; Selborne 13, St Alban’s 4; Kearsney 5, Woodridge 5; SACS 6, St David’s 6; Rondebosch 4, St Stithians 2; St John’s 7, Glenwood House 2; Westerford 6, Hellenic 4; Grey College 3, Hilton College 11; Paul Roos 10, St Alban’s 1; Wahoo 3, Bishops 4; SACS 7, Selborne 2; Clifton 5, St Andrew’s 4; St David’s 8, Maritzburg College 5; Grey High 8, Jeppe 6; Hilton College 4, St John’s 2 Wynberg 7, Affies 3.
Saturday 23 September:
Day 2
Rondebosch 8, Kearsney 1; Glenwood House 5, Grey College 5; Hellenic 2, Woodridge 4; Bishops 7, St John’s 2; Westerford 1, St Stithians 7; Wahoo 4, Hilton College 8; Clifton 4, Grey High 6; Paul Roos 3, SACS 6; Maritzburg College 8, St Alban’s 3; Affies 1, St Andrew’s 2; St David’s 5, Selborne College 8; Wynberg Boys High 4, Jeppe 4; St John’s 5, Grey College 2; Woodridge 1, Rondebosch 14; Hilton College 4, Bishops 5; St Stithians 11, Hellenic 1; Wahoo 2, Glenwood House 2; Kearsney 4, Westerford 3; Grey High 6, St Andrew’s 5; SACS 14, St Alban’s 1; Jeppe 5, Affies 3; Selborne 9, Maritzburg College 3; Wynberg 4, Clifton 2; Paul Roos 7, St David’s 6; Bishops 4, Grey College 1; Rondebosch 14, Hellenic 0; Wahoo 5, St John’s 2; Woodridge 3, Westerford 3; Hilton College 10, Glenwood House 3; St Stithians 5, Kearsney 5; Grey High 6, Affies 4; SACS 9, Maritzburg College 3; Wynberg 6, St Andrew’s 4; St David’s 15, St Alban’s 3; Clifton 6, Jeppe 2; Paul Roos 5, Selborne College 2.
Sunday 24 September
Day 3:
St Stithians 8, Selborne 6; Maritzburg College 4, Woodridge 3; Paul Roos 10, Kearsney 9; St David’s 13, Westerford 2; Hilton 6, Clifton 0; St Andrew’s 5, St Johns 3; Wahoo 4, Grey High 2; Glenwood House 10, Jeppe 11; Paul Roos 7, Rondebosch 6; Woodridge 5, Hellenic 0; Westerford 10, St Alban’s 2; SACS 4, St Stithians 2; St John’s 4, Grey College 3; Bishops 9, Wahoo 4; Glenwood House 9, Affies 8; Wynberg 7, Hilton 4; Maritzburg College 8, St Andrew’s 2; Clifton 6, Selborne 5; St David’s 8, Jeppe 0; Grey College 5, Hellenic 4; Grey High 6, Kearsney 0; Affies 8, St Alban’s 1; Rondebosch 3, Wahoo 2; St John’s 6, Woodridge 0; Hilton 6, St Stithians 8; Westerford 4, Glenwood House 3; Bishops 8, Paul Roos 3; SACS 5, Wynberg 4.
Monday 25 September:
Day 4:
Hellenic 5, St Alban’s 4; Maritzburg College 6, St David’s 11; Grey College 4, Affies 5; Selborne 4, Kearsney 2; Woodridge 2, Glenwood House 7; Clifton 1, Grey High 5; St John’s 4, Westerford 3; Wahoo 4, Hilton 5; St Andrew’s 4, Jeppe 2; Rondebosch 4, St Stithians 3; Paul Roos 5, Wynberg 8; Bishops 6, SACS 5.
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