Hassani’s Saints and Mercedez’s SJC fall just short, as Combined take Form 1 Water Polo titles

Goal difference separated the top three boys’ teams in the Form One Division of the 2025 Republic Bank ASATT National Secondary Schools Water Polo League last Sunday, as the final match day ended in a blitz of goals at the Diego Martin Community Pool.

Hassani Wells scored four times to inspire St Mary’s College (CIC) to a 6-4 win over Combined Team One, while Fatima College’s Liam Rogers got a whopping 12 items in a 24-3 mauling of the Fatima ‘B’ team.

However, St Mary’s and Fatima had to settle for second and third place, respectively, as Combined Team Two, led by 11 goals from Israel Wickham, trounced Queen’s Royal College (QRC) 17-2 to claim the title.

All three teams ended the final day on 17 points, with Combined Two having a superior +7-goal difference compared to CIC (-8) and Fatima (+1).

St Mary’s finished second as they won their head-to-head match with Fatima 10-7.

In the girls’ division, Combined Team Three already had first place sewn up and so didn’t need to play on the weekend. The only positions left to contest were the second and third spots.

Combined Team One led by six goals apiece from Makeda Escayg and Kadie Soo Ping Chow and cruised to second with a 23-1 blitz of Bishop Anstey High School B.

And St Joseph’s Convent (Port of Spain) overpowered Bishop Anstey A 17-1 to take third, with Mercedez Andrews finishing with seven goals.

The Combined male and female teams are composed of students from a mix of Diego Martin North Secondary, Diego Martin Central Secondary, St James Secondary, Providence Girls’ Catholic School, Holy Name Convent, and Corpus Christi College.

Combined Two opened the day’s play with a comprehensive win over QRC, which put one hand on the Form One Trophy.

However, Fatima College, who defeated Combined Two 15-11 in the earlier rounds, were still in with a shout. And the match-up between St Mary’s and a tough Combined One team looked to be the game of the round.

CIC and Combined One feature two of the best goalkeepers in the league, and Dominic Voisin (CIC) and Darian Jones (Combined One) were in top form.

In a thrilling first quarter, both boys pulled off four fine saves apiece to keep the match deadlocked at 0-0, despite Combined One hitting the Saints’ crossbar twice.

Wells, St Mary’s star player, had a quiet first quarter. But in the second period, he came alive, forcing a save from Jones to set the tone for a pivotal six minutes.

St Mary’s were stunned shortly after, though. Kimani Reece stole the ball from Ephrayim Yisrael and dribbled clear to fire the ball past Voisin.

The Combined team pressed for a second goal and forced three more saves from the St Mary’s custodian before Joshua Chee Low sent a shot zipping just over the CIC crossbar.

As their effort subsided, Wells took charge, provoking a stunning stop from Jones before reacting quickly to slot in the rebound for a 2-1 CIC lead.

Jones denied Adonijah Howell and Wells in quick succession before Voisin was tested four times in three minutes by the combination of Kibwe Abd-Al-Adil, Akeem Charles, and Reece.

As the turbulent quarter rumbled on, St Mary’s were awarded a penalty throw against the run of play, after Chee Loy slapped Howell’s shooting hand as the St Mary’s attacker prepared to fire goalward.

Wells, who also plays as a striker for Cooper’s Coaching Academy in the Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL), swam in to dispatch the penalty with the aid of a couple of pump fakes that sent Jones the wrong way.

Undeterred, Combined One equalised within seconds through Reece, who capitalised on a defensive error to send his team into the half-time break at 2-2.

Coach Marvin Gillard-Bruce’s team talk must have envenomed his players, as St Mary’s College emerged from the break to notch three quick goals.

Howell powered a penalty shot past Jones and then later flicked in another after cleverly loading the ball to his right hand.

Wells then gave CIC a three-goal cushion, as he used his powerful frame to hold off three man-to-man markers and batter his way beyond the defensive line to score.

At the whistle to mark the end of the third quarter, Combined One were looking down the barrel of a humbling defeat.

However, coach Joshua Joseph’s team brought out their best for the final quarter and quickly pulled two goals back to add some respectability to the score line.

Reece took a pass from Charles before turning away from the defender to score his hat-trick. Shortly after, he netted his fourth from a rebound, after Voisin batted down his initial shot.

St Mary’s would, however, have the last laugh, with Wells inevitably involved.

He exploded out of the water to grab a high pass and then fired goalward to net his fourth and close out a 6-4 win.

Still, it was not enough for CIC to take the top spot.

Fatima College were also denied the title, despite drubbing their ‘B’ team 24-3.

“The boys played well. They honestly surprised me with the level of skill that they displayed, and I must say I am proud of my team today,” Gillard-Bruce said of his CIC team.

He praised the work of goalkeeper Voisin, who he said had his best game, and Wells, who Gillard-Bruce sees as critical to his team.

“I would say he is a key instrument in our team. The boys really look up to him, and we have a really nice team cohesion.”

Voisin made 17 saves, including stopping a whopping 10 shots from the luckless Abd-Al-Adil. His opposite number, Jones, was also brilliant, pulling off 13 saves in the loss.

St Mary’s College also finished second in 2024, when they were beaten 5-4 by QRC in the deciding match.

Combined One’s teenage coach, Joseph, a Lower Six student at Fatima College, said his team fought all the way.

“I am really proud of them; they put up a good fight,” he said. “They had a few hiccups on the way, but we got through that, and the outcome was deserved.”

Joseph, who is aiming to qualify for Trinidad and Tobago’s water polo team for the 2025 Carifta tournament in November, faces CAPE exams in three months.

In the final round of the Female category, with Combined Three already crowned champions, St Joseph’s Convent faced a Bishop Anstey team knowing that victory could give them second place.

They trailed Combined One by three points and had to win while hoping their rivals slipped up to Bishop Anstey B.

St Joseph’s Convent, coached by the school’s senior team star Mekelle Cedeno, made their intentions clear with five goals in the first quarter.

An early goal by Romaya Pierre sent them on their way before Reanna Forte knotted up the scores at 1-1.

However, St Joseph’s Convent responded ruthlessly, taking control of the contest against their Port of Spain rivals. Pierre tacked on two more strikes to go with goals by Andrews and Drew Thomas to build a 5-1 lead at the end of the quarter.

BAHS, who spurned some promising chances in the opening quarter, fell farther behind in the second period.

Thomas netted two goals to complete her hat-trick, while Pierre struck two more times to bring her tally to five for the match.

Former national water polo goalkeeper Summer Gibson, the Bishop Anstey coach and ex-St Joseph’s Convent coach, urged her current team from the sidelines only to see them concede five more goals during the third quarter.

Andrews dominated the third quarter with four goals, with Thomas adding a fourth. And Thomas got two more goals during the fourth and final quarter, as St Joseph’s Convent ran out 17-1 winners.

Gibson, who has over 20 years of experience playing in goal for the national team, was left to rue early changes gone a-begging.

“If we could have converted the possession that we had, we probably could have had a totally different result,” she said.

Unlike previous years, BAHS competed with a team of newbies—none of their girls played mini water polo at the primary school level.

“We did not have that experience to back ourselves up like the other teams have,” said Gibson. “The other teams are also very well-coached. Now that we have that experience, next year we are looking for something a little bit more potent.”

Cedeno, the St Joseph’s Convent coach, was proud of her team’s performance but saw avenues for development in future campaigns.

“My girls never fail to impress me, and I’m so fortunate to coach girls that care so much about this sport and never fail to put their whole heart into every match,” St Joseph’s Convent’s current water polo captain said.

“They still have a lot to learn in regard to the more emotional side of water polo, which I believe will come naturally with the more experience they get. But I am really proud of how they handled the pressures of their first secondary school’s league.”

Cedeno is also in the frame for a place in the national water polo team at Carifta 2025.

In the final game of the day, Combined One walloped Bishop Anstey B 23-1.

Soo Ping Chow and Escayg each scored six goals, with Lijanna Felicien and Eeiriannys Guerra notching five and four goals, respectively.

The Form One division of the 2025 Republic Bank ASATT National Secondary Schools Water Polo League is conducted in the mini polo format, a simplified version of water polo for young swimmers aged 6-13.

The matches are played in a shallow pool, allowing players to stand up and make and receive passes.

The finals of the U14, U16, and Open divisions are this weekend at the National Aquatics Centre in Balmain, Couva.

The first game commences at 3:00 pm.

2025 Republic Bank ASATT National Secondary School Water Polo League

Form 1 Male results

(Sunday 9 March)

St Mary’s College 6 (Hassani Wells [4], Adonijah Howell [2]), Combined Team One 4 (Kimani Reece [4]) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Queen’s Royal College 3 (Kevin Julien [2], Micah Campbell), Combined Team Two 17 (Israel Wickham [11], Khareef Clarke [6]) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Fatima College A 24 (Liam Rogers [12], Shea Dickinson [5], Jacob DeFreitas [3], Andrew Hamel-Smith [2], Dylan Bissessar, Ryan Aqing), Fatima College B 3 (Ezekiel Watts [2], Adam Laing) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Form 1 Female results

(Sunday 9 March)

St Joseph’s Convent 17 (Mercedez Andrews [7], Romaya Pierre [5], Drew Thomas [4], Rhenice Gonzales), Bishop Anstey High School 1 (Reanna Forte) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

Bishop Anstey High School B 1 (Sarah Harragin), Combined Team One 23 (Makeda Escayg [6], Kadie Soo Ping Chow [6], Lijanna Felician [5], Eeiriannys Guerra [4], Janae Worrell [2]) at Diego Martin Community Pool;

(Teams)

St Joseph’s Convent POS: 1.Enya Lewis, 2.Mercedez Andrews, 3.Rania Shanklin, 4.Le’shel Monroe, 5.Drew Thomas, 6.Romaya Pierre, 9.Rhenice Gonzales, 10.Kayleigh Richmond, 13.Reya Jagroop.

Coach: Mekelle Cedeno.

Bishop Anstey High School: 1.Zia Leith, 2.Reanna Forte, 3.Savanna Alexander, 4.Alyssa Salandy, 5.Jenesis Arthur, 6.Zsuzsira Anderson, 7.Azaria Cyrus, 8.Sarayah Williams, 9.Madison David, 10.Zo-Mari Griffith, 11.Dahlia McCarthy, 12.Techiya Bramble, 13.Myiah Samuel.

Coach: Summer Gibson.

Referees: Zephaniah Taylor-Saldenah, Diana Alvarez-Peralta.

Combined Team One: 1.Tyrell Toussaint, 3.Chad Stewart, 4.Kimani Reece, 5.Akeem Charles, 6.Juriel Brown, 7.Kedel Aceituna, 8.Joshua Chee Loy, 9.Jayden Ramnath, 10.Kibwe Abd-Al-Adil, 12.Jordon Durity, 13.Darian Jones.

Coach: Joshua Joseph.

St Mary’s College: 1.Dominic Voisin, 2.Romario Duff, 3.Nathan Roopchan, 4.Jacob St Hillaire, 5.Adonijah Howell, 6.Ken Martin, 8.Zaid Holder, 9.Hassani Wells, 10.Zayn Als-Hunte, 13.Ephrayim Yisrael.

Coach: Marvin Gillard-Bruce.

Referees: Ethan Elliot, Summer Gibson.

Points Table – Male (Final)

1. Combined 2                –         17
2. CIC                             –         17
3. Fatima A                     –         17
4. Combined One           –         12
5. QRC                           –         10
6. Fatima B                     –         5

Points Table – Female (Final)

1. Combined 3                –         16
2. Combined 1                –         13
3. St Joseph’s Convent    –        10
4. Bishop Anstey A         –         7
5. Bishop Anstey B         –         4