Uzbekistan Tops FINA Men’s Water Polo Developmental Tournament

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait, May 13. EGYPT and Uzbekistan, which were the top seeds at the end of preliminary play, faced each other in the championship match of the FINA Men's Water Polo Development Trophy.

In the gold-medal game, Uzbekistan scored three times in the second half of the first period for a 3-1 lead going into the second quarter. Egypt was able to score two goals in the period, but Uzbekistan was able to increase its advantage to 5-2 at the half. Egypt cut the deficit to two by the end of the third period (6-4). Uzbekistan earned the gold medal with an 8-5 victory, thanks to Egypt's inability to take advantage of extra-man situations, particularly in the fourth quarter.

Saudi Arabia and Puerto Rico met to determine the bronze medal winner. Puerto Rico led 2-1 after the first period. They went on to score three goals in the second quarter, but Saudi Arabia came back with just five seconds left to bring its deficit to three goals (5-2). Saudi Arabia scored five goals in the third period to take a 7-6 advantage over Puerto Rico. With missed shots and Saudi Arabia's defense, the game ended in a final score of 10-8; Saudi Arabia claimed bronze.

The host Kuwaiti team faced Uruguay for fifth place. The score was tied 2-2 after the first period. Kuwait moved ahead during the second period to take a 4-3 lead into halftime. Uruguay scored the first goal of the second half to tie the game, but Kuwait scored four goals for an 8-5 third-period lead. Kuwait held Uruguay scoreless in the last quarter and added three goals for their 11-5 triumph.

Two African squads–Tunisia and South Africa–battled for seventh place. South Africa grabbed a quick 3-1 lead after the first period; Tunisia cut the deficit to 4-3 by the end of the first half. Neither team scored in the third period. South Africa was able to hold Tunisia scoreless in the fourth quarter as well, and ended the game with a final score of 5-3.

Guatemala was held scoreless by Singapore in their ninth-place game, while the Singapore squad scored four goals. They built on that lead to 11-2 and 17-4 in the second and third periods, respectively, before finishing up with a 20-5 final score and ninth place.

Peru, which finished sixth in Group A competition, was declared the 11th-place team and sat out the competition round.

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