San Ġiljan beat Sliema to secure Winter League title

San Ġiljan were back to winning ways in Maltese waterpolo after they defeated rivals Sliema in a penalty shoot-out to retain the BOV Winter League.

After missing out on national championship and the knock-out competition last summer, the Saints have regrouped and held off Sliema, winners of the Enemed Cup earlier this year, to win the BOV Winter League with a six-point advantage over the Blues.

With just three points separating the two sides going into the last game of the season, San Ġiljan needed at least a draw to secure the title.

Following a balanced opening two sessions, where San Giljan went into the break with a 6-5 advantage, the Saints turned up the intensity in the third quarter to go 10-6 up.

Sliema tried to fight back and level the match at 11-all with only three minutes to go.

San Ġiljan lost captain Matthew Zammit but still did enough to avoid defeat in regular time as the match ended in a 12-12 draw, to mathematically seal the title before the penalty shoot-out is played to declare a winner of the match.

In the shoot-out San Ġiljan again came out on top 16-14 to secure the title and the needed morale booster going into the Summer championship.

Ernest Agius, Chief Operations Officer at Bank of Valletta, accompanied by Karl Izzo, president of the Aquatic Sports Association, presented the BOV Water Polo Winter League Trophy to San Ġiljan in front of the sizable crowd of loyal fans at the National Pool in Tal-Qroqq.

In a statement, BOV said: “Waterpolo combines the Maltese people’s love for water and competitive sports, and Bank of Valletta is proud to support one of Malta’s favourite sporting disciplines through its long-term collaboration with the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta.”