Mixed bag for Border going into water polo play-offs in East London

It has been a mixed Schools’ Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) Inter-Provincial Tournament for the Border teams so far after the third day of play on Saturday.

Most of the teams will be heading into the knock out stages from Sunday onwards, with the finals set for Monday.

Two of Borders top performing teams so far have been the boys and girls U15 sides, who have enjoyed a solid showing in the tournament.

The Border U15 girls won four games, only losing against table-toppers, Western Province A and should have enough to beat Western Province B in their play-off, which would put them into the semis against Central Gauteng A.

The Border U15 boys finished third in their pool after a draw with Central Gauteng B, while losing just one game against three wins.

They will face Western Province B for a place in the semifinals where, if they win, they would come up against Western Province A.

In the U19 division the Border girls made it into the play-offs while the boys unfortunately drop out of contention.

The girls finished third in their group after two wins and two losses and face a tough KZN team for a chance to make the semis.

For the boys they finished fourth in their group after just one win from four games and dropped into the lower place play-offs.

The U16 division sees the Border boys still with one last pool game to try make the play-offs, while the girls are into the quarterfinals.

The boys find themselves in a three way tie in pool B, along with Western Province B and Eastern Gauteng, after picking up three wins and two losses so far and play Boland in their final pool match to try and make it into the play-offs.

The Border girls will take on Zimbabwe in the quarterfinals after finishing third in their pool, picking up one win against two close losses.

In the U14 division the Border boys finished third in pool B after winning three games and losing two.

They now face a tough play-off against Central Gauteng A to make it into the semifinals, where they would come up against Western Province A who beat them 13-2 during the group stages.

The girls A team currently sit tied third in their pool with Zimbabwe and face them in their last pool game on Sunday to see which one of them continues to the play-offs.

In the U13 boys and girls divisions, the first round of play-offs took place on Friday afternoon and evening.

For the Border boys, their A team finished second in their pool and took on Eastern Gauteng, soundly beating them 10-5.

They will now take on Western Province A in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

The girls also took second place in their pool, coming up against Nelson Mandela Bay B for a spot in the quarters and comfortably beat them 12-3.

They will also take on Western Province A after being drawn against them.

A thrilling day of play is now in store on Sunday where the Border teams will be hoping to make it into the finals to be played on Monday.