Both teams of Canada won the gold medals at the Pan American Water Polo Championships held in Bauru (Brazil).
The men’s team of Canada finished first in an exciting and balanced men’s tournament ahead of Brazil and Argentina.
Canada’s ladies beat Brazil 16:11 in the final of the women’s tournament.
The top two teams from each tournament qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. Therefore, Canada and Brazil will have both male and female teams at the upcoming WCH in Japan. Besides these two nations, the Americas will be represented in Japan by two the USA teams, which qualified for the Worlds earlier.
Both Canadian and Brazilian teams got the right to play at the tournament of the World Cup Division 2 in Berlin in early May.
Packed stands in Bauru
Pan American U17 Championships were held in Bauru at the same time as the senior championships. The Americans dominated there. The USA won gold medals in the girls’ and boys’ tournaments. The top five teams from each U17 tournament qualified for the 2024 World U18 Championships.
2023 Pan American Water Polo Championships, Bauru
Men’s tournament
Each of the three teams in the men’s tournament recorded two wins. But, Canada won the gold because it won two games in regular time and suffered a loss after a penalty shootout to Argentina and won a point in that match. After six exciting encounters, Canada won seven, Brazil six and Argentina five points.
Round 4
Brazil – Canada 10:12 (4:4, 0:2, 3:3, 3:3)
Brazil: R.Vergara 3, Coutinho 2, P.Vergara 2, Guimaraes 2, Cabral 1.
Canada: Patterson 3, Halajian 2, Gardijan 2, Solemanipak 2, Blanchard 1, Diacenco 1, Cote 1
Round 5
Canada – Argentina 13:14 (1:4, 4:3, 4:2,1:1, PSO 3:4)
Canada: Halajian 2, Djerkovic 2, Cote 2, Gardijan 1, Blanchard 1,Constantin-Bicari 1, Patterson 1,
Argentina: Camnasio 4, Corsi 3, Soler 1, Tilatti 1, Bonomo 1.
Round 6
Brazil – Argentina 14:12 (4:2, 4:3, 4:4, 2:3)
Brazil: Guimaraes 6, P.Vergara 2, R. Vergara 1, Rocha 1, Sojo 1, Franco 1, Freitas 1, Miazza 1, R.Vergara 1.
Argentina: Camnasio 5, Corsi 4, Galimberti 3.
Results of the first three rounds: Canada – Brazil 13:12, Canada – Argentina 12:13, Brazil – Argentina 12:9.
Canada’s defense All photos by Luiza Moraes / CBDA / PanAm
An encounter between Brazil and Canada opened the second half of the tournament. The match was a very close contest. A big turn that the Canadians made in the first half was crucial. Brazil had a solid 4:2 lead three minutes before the first quarter’s end. Still, the hosts couldn’t add another goal until the middle break, while Canada produced a 4:0 run and entered the second half leading 6:4. Canada maintained an advantage until the end of the third quarter (9:7). At the beginning of the fourth period, Jeemie Blanchard gave Canada a 10:7 lead and it seemed that the contest was over. However, Brazil was able to come back. The hosts scored three goals in a row and leveled at 10:10 in the 28th minute. But, the finish belonged to the Canadians. Aria Soleimanipak and Aleksa Gardijan closed the match with goals for a 12:10 victory.
Carlos Camnasio (Argentina)
Argentina started excellently against Canada in the 5th round and took a 4:1 lead. But, the Canadians were able to come back. They leveled at 9:9 before the final quarter. Patterson put Canada in front – 10:9 in the 30th minute. Still, Argentina’s Tomas Tilatti equalized at 10:10 with 17 seconds left on the clock and prolonged the match to a shootout. Argentina recorded a 14:13 victory in a shootout and won two points. But, one point that belonged to Canada after a penalty shootout loss was enough for the North Americans to secure 1st place and win the gold medal.
The last match of the tournament, the South American derby, Brazil – Argentina, was the battle for the silver medal and the latest available ticket to Fukuoka at the same time.
Gustavo Guimaraes (Brazil)
Brazil, led by Gustavo Guimaraes “Grummy, dictated the pace throughout the match, but Argentina was coming from time to time. Early in the fourth quarter, Argentina cut the deficit to one (3:4). Brazil replied with two goals quickly and built a 3-goal lead for the first time (6:3). At halftime, it stood 8:5. Brazil opened the third quarter with two goals and stretched the margin to five (10:5). After that, there was no way back for Argentina, which wasn’t close to an equalizer. It just reduced the gap to two with a last-gasp goal (12:14) and left without the ticket to Fukuoka.
Argentina’s Carlos Camnasio was the best scorer of the tournament with 16 goals. Guilherme Barella (Brazil) was voted the best goalkeeper, while the MVP award went to Jeremie Cote (Canada)
Canada
1.Canada 7
2.Brazil 6
3.Argentina 5
All champions (until 2019, the name of the competition was the UANA Cup)
2006: USA, 2011: Canada, 2013: Canada, 2014: USA, 2015: Canada, 2017: Brazil, 2018: Colombia, 2019: Brazil, 2023: Canada
Women’s tournament
In the group stage, Canada finished 1st, Brazil 2nd, Argentina 3rd and Peru 4th. The final standings were the same.
Semifinals
Brazil – Argentina 19:11 (5:2, 3:1, 4:4, 7:4)
Brazil:Leao 5, Chiappini 5, Rezende 2, Mantellato 2, Belorio 1, Cavalcante 1, Dias 1, Cardoso 1,Bonetti 1.
Argentina:Auliel 4, Agnesina 2, Canda 2, Leonard 2, Ianni 1.
Canada – Peru 25:2 (8:0, 5:1, 6:1, 6:0)
Canada: Bakoc 6, Wright 4, Lemay-Lavoie 3, McKelvey 3, Mimides 2, McDowell 2, Crevier 2, Lizotte 1, Van Dyke 1 Ferguson 1.
Peru: Nieto 1, R.Rodriguez 1.
There was no excitement in the semifinals. Brazil scored eight and conceded three goals in the first half of the game against Argentina. The hosts made it 9:3 in the first attack in the second half, and after that, their win wasn’t in danger. Canada was too strong for Peru.
Bronze-medal match
Peru – Argentina 10:14 (2:3, 1:3, 4:5, 3:3)
Peru: A. Lopez 5, E.Lopez 2, R.Rodriguez 2, Sirio 1.
Argentina: Leonard 4, Ribo 2, Ianni 2, Romano 1, Auliel 1, Riley 1, Agnesina 1, Bacigalupo 1, Canda, Videberrigain 1.
Argentina controlled the bronze-medal match, but Peru was in the game until the middle of the fourth quarter. Four minutes before the end, Argentina built a 5-goal lead (13:8) and secured the win.
Final
Canada – Brazil 16:11 (2:2, 3:1, 6:4, 5:4)
Canada: Wright 5, Bakoc 3, Lemay-Lavoie 2, Paul 2 Mimides 1, Crevier 1, McDowell 1, McKelvey 1.
Brazil: Chiappini 5, Leao 3, Mantellato 2, Rezende 1.
Emma Wright (Canada)
Brazil started well in the final, scoring the opening two goals. Still, Canada replied with a 4:0 run and went to 4:2. Early in the third period, the Canadians built a 4-goal lead (7:3). Still, they still hadn’t broken the hosts. Brazil came very close (7:8) in the 22nd minute. But Canada, with unstoppable Ema Wright, netted three goals in the last two minutes of the third period and added two in the first two minutes of the fourth. After that 5:0 series and the North Americans’ 13:7 lead, the contest was over.
Ema Wright (Canada) was the MVP of the tournament, Isabela Mendes de Souza (Brazil) was the best goalkeeper, and her teammate Kemily Ferreira Leao the top scorer
Canada women All photos by Luiza Moraes / CBDA / PanAm
1.Canada
2.Brazil
3.Argentina
4.Peru
All champions (until 2019, the name of the competition was the UANA Cup)
2011: Cuba, 2013: Canada, 2013: USA, 2015: Cnada, 2019: Canada, 2023: Canada.
Men’s U17 Tournament
Team USA won the gold medal at the men’s U17 tournament with a series of convincing wins.
The Americans faced Brazil in the final. These two rivals met in the group stage a few days before. Team USA recorded a 15:9 victory in the group. The Americans were even more convincing in the final. They had a ten-goal lead (12:2) at halftime and maintained the difference until the end (19:9).
The bronze medal went to Argentina, which defeated Canada 15:5 in the 3rd-place match.
Besides the semifinalists, the national team of Colombia qualified for the 2024 World U18 Championships. Unlike the medal games, the fifth-place match Colombia – Chile was a real thriller. After 32 minutes, the score was 7:7. Colombia celebated a 11:10 victory in a penalty shootout.
Individual awards – MVP: Ryder Dodd (USA), best scorer: David Martins (Brazil) with 14 goals, and the best goalkeeper Haakon Lacy (USA)
Quarterfinals
Argentina – Chile 25:3
Colombia – Brazil 8:19
Canada – Venezuela 16:3
Mexico – USA 2:14
Semifinals
Argentina – USA 7:17
Canada – Brazil 10:17
5th-8th place semifinals
Chile – Mexico 10:5
Colombia – Venezuela 17:6
7th-place match: Mexico – Venezuela 9:11
5th-place match: Chile – Colombia 10:11 – PSO (7:7)
Third-place match: Canada – Argentina 5:15 (0:5, 0:2, 2:6, 3:2)
FINAL: Brazil – USA 9:19 (1:5, 1:7, 4:5, 3:2)
1.USA
2.Brazil
3.Argentina
4.Canada
5.Colombia
6.Chile
7.Venezuela
8.Mexico
Women’s U17 Tournament
Like in the men’s U17 tournament, the women’s youth team of the USA finished the Championships with a perfect record and won the gold.
In the last three days of the tournament, the group stage was finished, and the semifinals and the medal matches were played.
The USA recorded six wins in the group. The Americans were too strong for Brazil (14:2) in the decisive match for first place.
The same two teams played in the final, and the result was the same – the USA celebrated a 14:2 victory.
The U17 team of the USA All photos by Luiza Moraes / CBDA / PanAm
Canada defeated Argentina 18:7 in the bronze-medal match.
The 5th-place match was very thrilling, as well as the game for fifth place in the men’s U17 tournament. Mexico won 5th place and qualified for the next World U18 Championships, beating Colombia after a penalty shootout – 12:11 (9:9).
Amber Nowaczek (USA) was the MVP of the tournament. Brazil’s Maya Hansen Terra dos Santos the best goalkeeper, and Isabella Mastronardi Belpoliti (Argentina) is the top scorer with 26 goals.
Last two rounds of the Group stage (results of the first five rounds – HERE)
Round 6: Argentina – Colombia 13:9,Chile – Brazil 3:24, Mexico – Canada 4:10.
Round 7: Argentina – Chile 9:4, Brazil – USA 2:14, Colombia – Mexico 9:14
Standings: 1. USA 18 points, 2. Brazil 15, 3. Canada 12, 4. Argentina 9, 5. Mexico 6, 6. Colombia 3, 7. Chile 0.
Ranking matches
5th-place playoffs, semifinals: Colombia – Chile 8:7
5th-place match: Mexico – Colombia 12:11 – PSO (9:9)
Semifinals
USA – Argentina 26:4
Brazil – Canada 11:10
Bronze-medal match: Argentina – Canada 7:18 (4:3, 3:6, 0:5, 0:4)
Final: USA – Brazil 14:2 (4:1, 5:0, 0:1, 5:0)
Standings
1.USA
2.Brazil
3.Canada
4.Argentina
5.Mexico
6.Colombia
7.Chile
