Water Polo Canada – (Trieste, ITA, April 7, 2016, Sportcom) – Canada’s men’s water polo team finished the round robin undefeated and accessed the quarterfinals of the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Trieste, Italy. On Thursday, the Canadian players made quick work of the French squad, which they defeated 13-5.

Canada took a 1-0 lead early in the game then brought the score to 4-2 at the half and widened the gap significantly in the fourth quarter, recording six goals.

“We are happy with our victory today [Thursday] even if the French did not play their best game. It is time to put aside our results of the last days and remember that it is the game tomorrow [Friday] that matters. We’ll be ready for that one,” indicated David Lapins, 21, from Gatineau, QC, who scored 4 goals in the game.

With an undefeated record since the start of the week, Canada will play its most important game of the tournament Friday in the quarterfinals against Spain. Four passes to the Rio Games will be awarded to the winners of this round.

Canada’s Head Coach, Giuseppe Porzio said: “We represent a serious country and we honor our commitments, we did our duty and until now we played an awesome tournament. Playing against Spain we’ll meet a big team. We’ll play our chances”.

Canadians finished second in the standings of Group A with a record of three wins and two draws. They ended up right behind the Hungarians, who in turn registered four wins and a draw.

If the Canadian representatives reach the semifinals on Saturday, they will join the eight other countries that have already secured their place in Rio 2016: Australia, Brazil, Croatia, the USA, Greece, Japan, Montenegro and Serbia.

Wednesday, Canada had faced Romania where the game ended with a lockdown, 10-10.

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For information or interview requests, please contact:

Pascale Beaudoin, Water Polo Canada Communications, (514) 758-7472 or pbeaudoin@waterpolo.ca

About Water Polo Canada (www.waterpolo.ca)

Water Polo Canada (WPC) is the National Sport Organization for Water Polo in Canada. It is a not-for-profit, charitable organization operating under a Board of Directors elected by provincial/territorial members. Its purpose is to nationally lead the growth and the pursuit of excellence for the sport of water polo while respecting the following set of values: Accountability, Commitment, Equity, Innovation, Integrity and Teamwork. Water Polo Canada acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada and of other partners such as Own the Podium, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Sport Institutes network and the Coaching Association of Canada.