T&T Under-17 Boys’ water polo team was brought back down from their high of a 14-13 nail-biting win over Peru on Sunday, after losing 21-7 to Colombia in the 2019 Pan American Youth Water Polo Championships hosted by the Swimming Union of the Americans (UANA) at the National Aquatic Centre, in Balmain, Couva on Monday.
The defeat was the third in four matches for the Jeff Passwater-coached T&T boys who will look to pick up a second win today, when they face Brazil, who have won three of four matches, to date.
Yesterday, the Brazilians got a confidence booster as they defeated the previously unbeaten Canada (3-0), 13-6 while the USA improved to 4-0 and maximum eight points and the outright table lead after mauling Peru 24-1, and in the late match, Argentina (3-1) kept the Bahamas winless courtesy a 26-6 beating.
Tomorrow (August 21), T&T will meet the USA from 1 pm before ending round-robin play versus Carifta rivals, the Bahamas on Thursday, August 22, from 1 pm as well.
At the end of boys' round-robin series, the top two teams will contest the gold medal match, while the third and fourth-placed teams compete for bronze.
The fifth and sixth-place teams will face off for fifth while seventh and eighth clash to avoid the cellar-spot.
The hunt for a first win for the T&T girls' team will continue today against Argentina from 9 am in their final preliminary round match.
This after Peru overcame T&T 10-5 in a clash on winless teams to pick up their first win in four matches, while the latter dropped to 0-4.
The USA steamrolled Argentina 27-8 to stay perfect at 4-0, level on points with Canada who got the better of Brazil 10-8, ahead of their top-of-the-table meeting today from 11.40 am.
At the end of today's girls' matches, the top two teams will qualify directly to the semifinals on Thursday, August 22 while the teams that finish third to sixth will meet in two quarterfinals tomorrow (Wednesday, August 21) determine the other semifinalists
The ten-day competition is a qualifier for the Americas region to next year's FINA Worlds Youth Championships.