Royhil Seals win U-14 title at water polo tourney in Curacao

Trinidad and Tobago club Royhil Seals emerged as the winners of the under-14 co-ed division of the Curacao Aquatics Association Summer Water Polo Tournament when they got an exciting 3-2 penalty shootout win in the final against the Mantas team from Bahamas at the Benny Leito Aquatic Centre in Curacao on July 27.

Seals were originally scheduled to play Peru's Aquatica in the final of the four-team section, but the latter team was punished for the use of overaged players in their semifinal win over the Mantas. The Seals booked their own passage through to the final with a comfortable 10-5 win over home team Orcas in their semi. The Seals got a comprehensive 13-5 win over the Mantas earlier in the tourney, and they may have been expected to steamroll their Bahamian counterparts in the final as well.

The Mantas gave the Seals all they could handle, though, and they even had a 5-2 first-half lead in the grand finale at one stage. Led by a six-goal showing from Zachary Low, the Seals stormed back into the contest and their fightback started before the halftime interval as the teams went into the break deadlocked at 5-5.

The Seals surged ahead by an 8-7 margin by the end of the third quarter, but the Bahamians rallied late in the fourth quarter to see the teams ending regulation time dramatically tied at 11 apiece. Luke Gibson, who topped all scorers in the tourney with a whopping 31 goals, netted three times in the finale to play his role in the wild encounter.

Seals goalie Giovani Felician-Moses then had a big hand in the 3-2 shootout win, as he converted a goal and also made a crucial save to clinch the victory for his squad.

The Seals were scheduled to return home on July 30.