Water Polo Canada – (Montreal, QC, January 9, 2019) – Water Polo Canada has announced the 14 players that will travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the upcoming UANA Cup January 21st to 27th, 2019. The UANA Water Polo Cup serves as qualification for the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. The top two teams from the men’s and women’s category will earn their spot for the 2019 World Championships.
This competition marks the return with the national team of two prominent Canadian players, Justin Boyd and Devon Diggle. The 2008 Olympians will join Canada’s ranks for the first time since 2016 and 2013 respectively. The two West Islanders combine many years of international experience, and along with the other veteran players, they will bring valuable leadership to this promising Canadian squad. The men’s national team will start its preparation for the UANA Cup with a four-day training camp with the US National Team in California from January 15th to 19th, 2019.
“The guys have been training very hard in Montreal, and I’m satisfied with their current level of play. The athletes playing in Europe had the opportunity to play a lot of games, and their experience will certainly help us reach our goal. There will be an adjustment period during the pre-competition training camp in Los Angeles where we will assess the level of the team before the tournament. We will focus on getting the athletes mentally and physically ready for the competition. The UANA Cup will be a competitive tournament, with most teams having a chance at qualification for the 2019 World Championships in South Korea.” indicated Head Coach Giuseppe Porzio.
Canada will start its tournament against Brazil, January 22nd at 6:30 pm (local time). Here is the selection for the 2019 UANA Cup:
Men’s National Team
|
Name |
Hometown |
|
Dusan Aleksic |
Gatineau, QC |
|
Justin Boyd |
Beaconsfield, QC |
|
Nicolas Constantin-Bicari |
Montreal, QC |
|
Jérémie Côté |
Montreal, QC |
|
Reuel D’Souza |
Port Coquitlam, BC |
|
Devon Diggle |
Pierrefonds, QC |
|
Bogdan Djerkovic |
Ottawa, ON |
|
Aleksa Gardijan |
Gatineau, QC |
|
David Lapins |
Gatineau, QC |
|
Gaelan Patterson |
North Vancouver, BC |
|
Milan Radenovic |
Toronto, ON |
|
Sean Spooner |
Port Coquitlam, BC |
|
Devon Thumwood |
Calgary, AB |
|
George Torakis |
Montreal, QC |
Men’s National Team – Staff
- Head Coach: Giuseppe “Pino” Porzio
- Assistant Coach: Brian Parillo
- Assistant Coach/Video Analyst: Francesco Rizzo
- High Performance Director/Team Leader: Justin Oliveira
- Physiotherapist: Felix Croteau
- Referee: Doriel Terpenka
Schedule
January 22: Brazil vs Canada – 6:30 PM Local / 3:30 PM EST
January 23: Canada vs Argentina – 5:15 PM Local / 2:15 PM EST
January 24: Canada vs USA – 5:15 PM Local / 2:15 PM EST
January 25: Semi-finals – (M7) 2nd vs 3rd 5:15 PM Local / (M8) 1st vs 4th 6:30 PM Local
January 26: Final 2:30 PM Local / 11:30 AM EST
–30 –
MEDIA
Mylène Turcotte-Fitzgerald,
Water Polo Canada Communications
(613) 748-5682 x 325/ (819) 639-6414