Diamond Vale bring the fire, Dunross show steel in Rep Bank Primary Mini Polo

Mujahid Joseph overcame the flu to notch seven goals and power Diamond Vale Government Primary School to a 13-10 victory over St Monica’s Preparatory School in the Senior Male Final of the Republic Bank National Primary Schools Mini Polo League last Saturday at the Diego Martin Community Pool.

Joseph has been the mainstay of the Diamond Vale effort during the 2025 season and, despite his illness, netted four times in a pivotal third quarter to earn victory for the Diego Martin school.

“He actually wasn’t feeling well [on Saturday], so he was not in his top form,” said coach Leon Daniel, a former Diamond Vale player, “So I held him back from going on attack and told him to focus on locking down the defence.”

In the Junior Male final, Taylan Diaz and Bradley Alexander combined to deadly effect for Dunross Preparatory School as they overwhelmed St Monica’s Preparatory School 12-7.

Dunross struggled defensively in the preliminary stage of the tournament, with forwards Diaz and Alexander playing well without forming a convincing partnership up front.

However, the duo created a lethal combination on Saturday, while also providing their team with defensive depth in a satisfying win for Dunross coach Kester Scanterbury.

“I could not have been more excited. Every time we’ve come up against St Monica’s in the prelims and the semis, we’ve always lost against them, one way or another,” said Scanterbury.

“To come and pull off this unexpected win, I think the kids did an awesome job, and I could not be more proud of them.”

St Monica’s cast aside their losses in the Senior Male and Junior Male finals to take a convincing 6-3 win over Dunross in the Senior Female final.

Danielle Popplewell scored a first-quarter double to give St Monica’s a 2-0 lead before Bella-Marie Hill scored three goals in the next two quarters to put Dunross 3-2 ahead going into the final quarter.

However, St Monica’s came alive in the final quarter with four goals to take the title 6-3.

Popplewell grabbed another goal, Sahara Ali put her name on the scoresheet, while Isabella Sanoir chalked up two more goals in a satisfying comeback win for St Monica’s.

St Monica’s had come into finals day at the Diego Martin Community Pool as the only team to qualify for all three finals of the 2025 Republic Bank National Primary School Mini Polo League.

However, their hopes of a hat-trick were quickly dashed as they lost to Dunross Preparatory School in the Junior Male final.

Lamar Rogers poured in five goals for St Monica’s, while Levi Dolsingh got a double.

However, Diaz scored seven goals for Dunross, with goals in all four quarters, while Alexander netted five times in the win.

St Monica’s had a monster second quarter, scoring five times to knot the scores at 6-6 at the half.

However, Dunross produced a defensive masterclass in the second half to take the title, restricting their opponents to a solitary goal in the half.

This was in stark contrast to the preliminary round of the competition, where they conceded many goals to counterattacks.

Rogers scored the only goal for St Monica’s while both Alexander and Diaz had three strikes apiece in the second half.

“One of the really big problems with the boys was their defence. They were always excited to go up and score, but we also had a problem coming back,” said coach Scanterbury.

Scanterbury’s David and Goliath striking pair, Alexander and Diaz, also failed to link up convincingly in front of goal.

The hulking Diaz, a national swimmer and a talented athlete, and the diminutive Alexander, who found it difficult to power the ball past goalkeepers, were seldom on the same page during the season.

“The main problem I was having was that they were not working together. They just pulled it together (in the final) and I saw how excited they were when they did work together and pull off a goal,” Scanterbury said.

“I can’t stress how important it was to have [Diaz’s] talent. He is a national swimmer. He also has a lot of height for his size, and he had a major impact on us,” he added.

“[Alexander] was struggling in the past to get the ball past those big goalies because he is very small. This game, I think he did a really good job against the goalie.”

The Dunross coach said their victory is a message to their competition for 2026 and beyond.

“What this means for us, Dunross and for everybody else is that it is a message to let them know that Dunross is here to stay. We are consistent and we do not go down easy without a fight,” Scanterbury said.

Diamond Vale Government Primary also put an indifferent start to the season behind them to beat St Monica’s 13-10 in the Senior Male final.

The Diego Martin school led 3-2, and 8-6 after the first two quarters, but forward Joseph put aside a brief illness that had been troubling him during the week to give Diamond Vale a decisive lead.

Summoned from defence by coach Daniel, Joseph netted four times in the third quarter to put Diamond Vale ahead 12-8 going into the final period.

Immanuel Phillip also scored three goals for Diamond Vale, while Johan Azizan Saw turned the tide with three goals in the second quarter.

“Johan has been with us since Standard Two, the only player from that team, and has surpassed all the rest of them. He really didn’t shock me,” said Daniel.

“I know that he was going to pull off something. He is a prospect for the future. He is going to do great things in the sport.”

For Daniel, the win was especially gratifying as he took charge of the team in 2024 after winning water polo titles as a Diamond Vale Primary School player a few decades ago.

“I attended Diamond Vale, and I played water polo for them when we were reigning champions. I went back into them,” he said.

“My pitch to the players was to be the best and to bring Diamond Vale back to the top, and that is what this win means. Last year, we came second, and this year we came with fire.”

2025 Republic Bank National Primary School Mini Polo League

Results

Senior Male Final

Diamond Vale Government Primary 13 (Mujahid Joseph 7, Immanuel Phillip 3, Johan Azizan Saw 3), St Monica’s Preparatory School 10 (Lamar Rogers 5, Levi Dolsingh 3, Ethan See Wai 2) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Senior Female Final

Dunross Preparatory School 3 (Bella-Marie Hill 3), St Monica’s Preparatory School 6 (Danielle Popplewell 3, Isabella Sanoir 2, Sahara Ali), at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Junior Male Final

St Monica’s Preparatory School 7 (Lamar Rogers 5, Levi Dolsingh 2), Dunross Preparatory School 12 (Taylan Diaz 7, Bradley Alexander 5) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

(Teams)

Senior Male Final

Diamond Vale Government Primary: 1.Benjamin Bompart, 2.Shamar King Baksh, 3.Jevonte Gills, 4.Keith Monsegues, 5.Matthew Innis, 6.Immanuel Phillip, 7.Johan Azizan Saw, 8.Jantte Butler, 9.Azim Agge, 10.Jahaan Belfon, 11.Caleb George, 12.Israel Pierre, 13.Mujahid Joseph.

Coach: Leon Daniel.

St Monica’s Preparatory School: 1.Irvin Samuel, 2.Ethan King, 3.Josh Weekes, 4.Marcellus Myer, 5.Kael Williams, 6.Andrez Robinson, 7.Prince Williams, 8.Lamar Rogers, 9.Levi Dolsingh, 10. Ethan See Wai, 11.Suri Dev Bhan, 12.Zayne Dallaway, 13.Kona Williams.

Coach: Daniel West.

Referees: Zephaniah Taylor-Saldena, Hendel Callender.

Senior Female Final

Dunross Preparatory School: 1.Mia Medina-Singh, 2.Amilya Marshall 3.Ariya Bolai De Matas, 4.Sarah Johnson, 5.Maria-Fernanda Morrin, 6.Victoria Beharry, 7.Elyse-Marie Huggins, 8.Alina Miller, 9.Lyla Roach, 10.Keilani Beckles, 12.Jaimie Lee, 13.Bella-Marie Hill.

Coach: Kester Scanterbury.

St Monica’s Preparatory School: 1.Jazaliah Paul, 2.Sahara Ali, 4.Zariah Gormandy, 5.Dana Marie Simon, 7.Danielle Popplewell, 8.Allana Williams, 10.Gabrielle Ramharack, 11.Sephra Chandler, 12.Alexa. Hillaire, 13.Isabella Sanoir.

Coach: Daniel West.

Referees:  Henley Callender, Zephaniah Taylor-Saldena.

Junior Male Final

St Monica’s Preparatory School: 1.Irvin Samuel, 2.Ethan King, 3.Josh Weekes, 4.Marcellus Myer, 5.Kael Williams, 6.Andrez Robinson, 8.Lamar Rogers, 9.Levi Dolsingh, 10.Ethan See Wai, 12.Zayne Dallaway, 13.Kona Williams.

Coach: Daniel West.

Dunross Preparatory School: 1.Lucas De Verteuil, 2.Bradley Alexander, 3.Taylan Diaz, 4.Sebastian Lee Chow, 5.Ethan Doldron, 6.Jake De Gannes, 7.Kayden Chin, 8.Xavier Nagee, 9.Jude Mouttet, 10.James De Freitas, 13.Etan Esimaje.

Coach: Kester Scanterbury.

Referees: Zephaniah Taylor-Saldena, Hendel Callender.