Cerritos wins Division VI water polo championship

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

A year after winning its first Southern Section title in a game that resembled a track meet, Cerritos made it two in a row Saturday with something a little more subdued, a 4-2 victory over unseeded El Segundo in the Southern Section Division VI final at Heritage Park in Irvine.

Cerritos (23-12), the top-seeded team in the division, got goals from PJ Gabayeron and Alwin Firmansyah to take a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Pete Sirihanyakom extended the lead to 3-1 in the third quarter and Chat-thai Duangjai made it 4-2 heading into the fourth quarter. The Dons, who beat El Segundo in overtime in last year’s final, 13-12, got 11 saves fom Max Hong.

Danny Rajaniemi scored both goals and goalie Matt Kubeck made 15 saves for El Segundo (19-11).

-- Martin Henderson