Pan American Games – Men’s Water Polo
- August 4-10, 2019
- Lima, Peru
- Tournament Central
- Results
- Time: UTC-5 (1 hour behind ET)
The United States denied Canada its first ever Pan American Games men’s water polo gold, extending its win streak to seven straight titles with a 18-6 victory.
The USA men have won each of the last seven Pan Am Games men’s water polo titles, dating to 1995, and 13 overall since the competition began in 1951. The Americans have finished on the podium in all 18 editions, winning 13 gold medals, four silvers and a bronze.
Canada has won bronze six times (1979, 1983, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015) and also claimed silver in 2011.
Brazil bested Argentina for the bronze, bumping its total to 13 medals, one gold (1963), six silver (1951, 1967, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2015) and six bronze (1955, 1959, 1987, 1991, 2011, 2019).
Cuba topped Puerto Rico for fifth place, while Mexico beat Peru for seventh place.
Saturday Results
| Aug. 10 | Matchup | Result |
| 7th Place | Mexico s. Peru | Mexico 16-5 |
| 5th Place | Puerto Rico vs. Cuba | Cuba 8-7 |
| Bronze Medal | Brazil vs. Argentina | Brazil 9-6 |
| Gold Medal | Canada vs. USA | USA 18-6 |
Final Standings
- USA
- Canada
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Cuba
- Puerto Rico
- Mexico
- Peru
Saturday Recaps
Mexico def. Peru 16-5
Mexico scored the first nine goals of the game in the first 17 minutes and secured the victory by outscoring Peru 7-5 from there.
Peru finally broke onto the scoreboard with 6:30 to play in the third quarter on an action shot by Rodrigo Pacheco Naranjo. German Rodriguez Carranza added a second goal less than a minute later to make it 9-2. Mexico ended the stanza on a 4-1 run, leading 13-3 with eight minutes to play.
The teams split four goals in the fourth quarter, before Diego Mercado Loza wrapped up the scoring at 16-5 with a final center shot with 1:04 left in the game.
Mexico made 51.6 percent of its shots (16 of 31), including 3 of 7 extra-man tries and all five of its penalty attempts. Captain Oliver Alvarez Basillo put in a match-high eight goals, including five penalties, while Daniel Velazques Robles, Luis Angel Lopez Arce and Mercado Loza added two scores apiece. Goalkeeper Orlando Ortega Guardarrama stopped 15 of the 20 shots he faced (75 percent).
Peru scored on 5 of its 34 shots (14.7 percent), and missed all three of its extra-man tries. Five different players found the back of the net: Rodriquez Carranza, Pacheco Naranjo, Julio Alzamora Garcia, Sebastian Morales Gamboa and Diego Villar Osterling.
Cuba def. Puerto Rico 8-7
Cuba built a 6-4 first half lead and held off the Puerto Rican attack down the stretch for an 8-7 win and fifth place.
Giraldo Carales Manzano put in four goals in the first half to help Cuba to the halftime advantage. Puerto Rico knotted the score at 7 as Fernando Zayas Sanchez put in a penalty with 4:04 to play and Jose Loubriel Cuyar tacked on an extra-man goal with 3:12 left. Pedro Ponsa Perez put in the game winner for Cuba, netting an extra-man goal with 1:45 left. Puerto Rico did not get another shot in.
Cuba made 8 of its 17 shots (47.1 percent), including 3 of 4 extra-man opportunities and its lone penalty. Carales Manzano led the way with five scores, while Ponsa Perez added two.
Puerto Rico converted 30.4 percent of its shots (7 of 23), including 3 of 9 extra-man tries and its lone penalty. Loubriel Cuyar and Zayas Sanchez each notched a hat trick, while Gabriel Robles Cruz rounded out the scoring.
Brazil def. Argentina 9-6
Brazil seized a 4-1 lead at the half, giving them the cushion to secure the 9-6 win over Argentina for the bronze medal as the teams split the five 10 goals.
Four different players put in first half goals for Brazil. The Brazilians ended the half on a 3-0 run and went up 5-1 as Roberto Freitas netted an extra-man shot with 5:48 to play in the third.
Argentina cut the margin to two at 7-5 with four minutes to play in the game on an extra-man shot by Tomas Rodrigo Echenique. Rafael Real and Pedro Real answered with an extra-man goal and an action shot to put Brazil back up four at 9-5 with 2:11 left. Eduardo Andrews Bonomo got one goal back for Argentina with 45 seconds remaining, but a comeback was not in the cards.
Brazil scored on 9 of its 28 shots (32.1 percent), including 5 of 12 extra-man tries. Pedro Real and Rafael Real each put in two goals to lead the victors.
Argentina put in just 6 of its 26 shots, including 5 of 9 extra-man tries and its lone penalty. Echenique scored twice to lead the way.
USA def. Canada 18-6
The Americans scored the first three goals of the game and outscored the Canadians 6-1 in the second quarter to lead 10-2 at the half en route to an 18-6 victory.
Ben Hallock and Johnny Hooper each put in two goals as the USA vaulted ahead 10-2 at the half. Hooper added three more scores in the fourth quarter as the Americans closed out the win with a final 6-3 push.
The United States made 51.4 percent of its shots (18 of 35), including 12 of 19 extra-man tries and 1 of 2 penalties. Hooper, Hallock and Alex Bowen each netted five goals, while Marko Vavic, Maxwell Irving and Luca Cupido rounded out the scoring. Goalkeeper Alex Wolf saved 68.4 percent of the shots he faced (13 of 19).
Canada converted just 19.4 percent of its shots (6 of 31), including 3 of 13 extra-man tries. Aleksa Gardijan scored twice, while Gaelan Geddes Patterson, Jeremie Blanchard, Nicolas Constantin-Bicari and Reuel Mark D’Souza each added a single goal.
All smiles after winning 🥇 and punching their ticket to #Tokyo2020 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/gfk8i8mj7A
— USA Water Polo (@USAWP) August 11, 2019
