Quarterfinal places on the line at SACS Water Polo Tournament
Rondebosch Boys’ High was the only team that maintained an unbeaten record on day two of the SACS Water Polo Tournament in Cape Town.
As a result, the side led by coach Jared-Wingate Pearse finished Sunday atop Pool A, with seven victories in eight matches and 15 points to their name.
In a similar vein to the opening day, the tournament, being played at the SACS Aquatic Centre, delivered some entertaining water polo, which included some of the top players redeeming themselves after a lacklustre start.
The action concludes on Monday with the final scheduled for 14:00, while teams meet in playoff matches in the lead-up to the title game.
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The breakdown
Pool A
By reaching the final day with an unbeaten record, Rondebosch is guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals. Following them in the Pool A standings after Sunday’s matches were St Stithians College, St John’s College, and St Andrew’s College.
The Gauteng duo of Saints and St John’s made some positive strides on day two after underwhelming performances on Saturday.
St John’s lost 2-5 against Hilton College early in the day but bounced back to beat St Benedict’s College 7-1, Northwood 6-4, and Wynberg Boys’ High 3-2.
Saints, meanwhile, were narrowly beaten by ‘Bosch, going down 2-3. They quickly shrugged off that defeat, however, and downed St Andrew’s 2-1 before edging out Grey High 4-3 and thumping Bennies 9-1.
St Andrew’s College completes the top four, but Hilton is hot on their heels with eight points after their eight matches.
The boys from Makhanda will need to beat Jeppe High School for Boys to secure their quarterfinals’ spot. Only three points separate them from Wynberg, who are in eighth position, so anything could happen on Monday.
Grey High and Bennies are out of the running and will be playing for pride when they take on Northwood and Hilton, respectively.
Pool B
The defending champions, Bishops, along with SACS and Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), have dominated proceedings in Pool B.
The three Western Cape sides had a blast on Saturday and continued to shine on Sunday.
After SACS suffered their first defeat, a 1-2 loss to Selborne College, they bounced back to beat Clifton College 4-2, St David’s Marist Inanda 4-3, and PRG 8-4.
Bishops picked up four wins. Their biggest was 15-0 over Parktown Boys’ High.
While PRG tasted defeat for the first time against the hosts, they rallied to score wins over Grey College, St Alban’s, and Selborne.
St David’s completes the top four, but Selborne is right behind them, trailing by just three points.
The East London side will need to beat Grey College by a large margin, while PRG faces a daunting challenge from St David’s. They’ll need to beat the Johannesburg side to sneak into the quarterfinals.
Monday’s games kick off with the Pool B clash between Selborne and Grey College.
RESULTS
Day 2
Pool A
Hilton 5-2 St John’s College
St Stithians 2-3 Rondebosch
St Benedict’s 0-5 Northwood
St Andrew’s College 0-5 Wynberg
Jeppe 2-5 Grey High
Hilton 5-6 Rondebosch
St Andrew’s College 1-2 St Stithians
Jeppe 5-6 Northwood
St John’s 7-1 St Benedict’s
Wynberg 4-5 Grey High
Hilton 2-3 St Andrew’s
St John’s 6-4 Northwood
Rondebosch 6-3 St Benedict’s
Jeppe 7-4 Wynberg
St Andrew’s 4-1 Grey High
Hilton 4-4 Northwood
St Stithians 9-1 St Benedict’s
Rondebosch 6-2 Jeppe
St Johns 3-2 Wynberg
St Stithians 4-3 Grey High
Pool B
St Alban’s 3-5 Paul Roos
SACS 1-2 Selborne College
St David’s Marist 6-2 Pretoria Boys High
Grey College 5-0 Parktown
Bishops 6-5 Clifton
St David’s 12-0 Parktown
Selborne College 2-2 St Alban’s
Grey College 1-6 Paul Roos
SACS 4-2 Clifton
St David’s 3-6 Bishops
Pretoria Boys High 10-0 Parktown
Selborne 1-2 Paul Roos
SACS 4-3 St David’s
Clifton 5-5 St Alban’s
Pretoria Boys High 7-2 Grey College
Bishops 15-0 Parktown
SACS 8-4 Paul Roos
Clifton 7-2 Grey College
Selborne 5-2 Pretoria Boys High
Bishops 8-1 St Alban’s
FIXTURES
Day 3 – Monday, 6 October
06:50 – Hilton vs St Benedict’s
07:10 – Grey High vs Northwood
07:30 – Selborne College vs Grey College
07:50 – Pretoria Boys vs St Alban’s
08:10 – St Andrew’s College vs Jeppe
08:30 – St Stithians vs St John’s College
08:50 – St David’s Marist vs Paul Roos
09:10 – Clifton vs Parktown
09:30 – Rondebosch vs Wynberg
09:50 – SACS vs Bishops
10:40 – 3rd Pool A vs 2nd Pool B (Quarterfinal 1)
11:00 – 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B (Quarterfinal 2)
11:20 – 1st Pool A vs 4th Pool B (Quarterfinal 3)
11:40 – 4th Pool A vs 1st Pool B (Quarterfinal 4)
12:30 – Semifinal 1
13:00 – Semifinal 2
14:00 – Bronze medal playoff
14:00 – Final
