WATER POLO : Spain Gets Gold With 11-10 Win

Daniel Ballart’s goal on a penalty shot gave Spain an 11-10 victory over Cuba and the gold medal in the Junior World Water Polo Championship Sunday at Corona del Mar High School Sunday. The score was tied, 10-10, when Javier Aznar lobbed a pass from the right wing toward two-meter man Ignacio Pubill. The play was designed to have Pubill redirect the pass into the goal, but Pubill was held by Cuba’s Antonio Perez Sanchez and a four-meter penalty shot was awarded to Spain.

Ballart, one of three members on Spain’s “A” team along with Ramon Valls and Ricardo Sanchez, was selected to take the shot. Ballart skipped it off the water into the lower right corner with 2 minutes 16 seconds left.

Cuba had an excellent opportunity to tie the score one minute later when Pubill was ejected, but Spain’s five-on-six defense did not give Cuba a shot that reached the goalie and Spain got the ball back on a missed shot.

Spain tried to run out the clock but Cuba got the ball back with 30 seconds left. Cuba set up another play designed for Ivan Perez, but Pedro Carrasco intercepted Joel Cuesta Boluman’s pass with three seconds left.

It was a close game throughout as neither Cuba nor Spain ever led by more than on goal.

The difference proved to be Spain’s balanced scoring and Cuba’s reliance on Perez.

Not that relying on Perez is a bad thing--Perez was named the tournament’s most valuable player, scored four goals against Spain and set up two others.

Still, if Perez picked up a major violation, Cuba would not have been able to keep pace with Spain.

Sanchez, who is the Spanish captain and scored twice from six meters to help spread Cuba’s defense, drew a major violation in the second quarter.

“That (ejection) did not really change our offense,” Spanish Coach Joaquim Colet said. “Our strength is that we play very well as a team: any player can score at any time, whereas Cuba’s focus is Perez.”

Colet planned a special defensive strategy to deal with Perez.

“First we wanted to press him to get him tired and then later on in the game we wanted to drop players down on him (to double- and triple-team),” Colet said. “I think a little of both worked.”

Water Polo Notes

Hungary defeated Yugoslavia, 9-6, for the bronze medal. The United States finished fifth, Bulgaria sixth, Czechoslovakia seventh, Japan eighth, Italy ninth, Brazil 10th, Australia 11th, China 12th, Mexico 13th, New Zealand 14th, Puerto Rico 15th and Canada 16th. Thorpe Logemann of the U.S. was named defensive player of the tournament. Angel Andreo of Spain was named best goalie of the tournament and had five saves in the gold medal game. Bulgaria’s Petar Petrov was the tournament’s leading scorer with 35 goals in six games. The U.S. senior national team lost an exhibition to Hungary, 10-8.