The Waterpolo Summer League has kicked off with a flurry of goals, intense pool action, and standout individual performances across both Division One and the Premier Division. From comfortable landslide victories to tightly contested battles, the latest fixtures have set a thrilling tone for the rest of the season.

Premier Division: Sliema Kick Off Campaign with Convincing Win

Sliema 18-13 Valletta

Sliema commenced their Premier Summer League campaign in style, securing a convincing 18-13 victory over rivals Valletta.

Sliema’s front line put on an exceptional display of collective scoring power, heavily punishing the Valletta defense. The offense was spearheaded by Alberto Barosso, who netted a brilliant 6 goals. He was excellently supported by a trio of players who each walked away with a hat-trick: Elijah Schembri (3 goals), Benji Cachia (3 goals), and Dino Zammit (3 goals). Daniel Rizzo, Jake Cachia, and Sam Engerer each chipped in with a goal apiece to complete the dominant display.

Valletta refused to go down easily, largely kept alive by a spectacular individual masterclass from Lazar Vickovic, who found the back of the net a stunning 9 times. Unfortunately for the Citizens, his monumental effort lacked the widespread supporting fire needed to match Sliema’s deep rotation. The remainder of Valletta’s goals came from Ken Erdogan (2 goals), Daniel Tully (1 goal), and Jacob Sciberras (1 goal).

Division One: M’Scala Cruise as Ta’Xbiex Edge Tense Encounter

M’Scala 21-5 B’Cudas

Marsaskala (M’Scala) secured an emphatic victory in the Waterpolo Division One Summer League, recording a massive 21-5 win over Barracudas (B’Cudas). The landslide performance stands as the highest winning margin in the Summer Division One League so far.

M’Scala’s attack was firing on all cylinders, led by a spectacular individual performance from Demitrios Dimou, who netted an impressive 7 goals to anchor his team’s offense. He was ably supported by Jamie Pace Mizzi, who hammered in 5 goals. The rest of the goals were widely shared across the squad, with Thomas Fenech and Nick Rizzo scoring 2 goals each, while Thomas Camilleri, Philip Tabone, Matthew Soler, Cjay Saliba, and Hayden Brincat all found the back of the net once.

The Barracudas struggled heavily to match M’Scala’s high-intensity transition play, with their offense largely restricted to a hard-fought hat-trick from Liamn Purshouse (3 goals) and a brace from Marton Doczi (2 goals).

Ta’Xbiex 15-13 Otters

In a much tighter Division One affair, Ta’Xbiex secured their very first victory of the summer campaign, overcoming a resilient Otters side with a narrow 15-13 scoreline.

The driving force behind Ta’Xbiex’s hard-earned breakthrough was an extraordinary individual performance by Roko Pelikiari, who single-handedly dismantled the opposition’s defense by netting a remarkable 9 goals. Crucial supporting contributions came from Shailon Cutajar Casha, Julian Farrugia, and Jack Zammit, who each scored twice to keep Ta’Xbiex ahead.

The Otters pushed Ta’Xbiex right until the final whistle, spearheaded by Giorgio La Rosa, who scored a highly impressive 6 goals. Isaac Azzopardi claimed a hat-trick (3 goals), Steve Dimech scored twice, while David Dimech and Karl Scicluna added one goal each. Despite their highly productive offensive showing, defensive lapses against Pelikiari proved costly for the Otters, giving Ta’Xbiex a vital boost of confidence moving forward.