'Big four' league gets underway tomorrow

After the euphoria of Malta's unprecedented bronze medal in the European B championships in Stockholm last week, the focus of local waterpolo enthusiasts shifts to the bread and butter of the Division One championship this weekend.

Now that the top four teams have been segregated from the remaining six after a preliminary round of matches punctuated by high-scoring victories for the big guns, expectations of intriguing clashes between the elite four are running high.

The final few games of the preliminary round will certainly have appeased local fans yearning for some competitive matches as the paths of the top teams finally crossed, resulting in some hard-fought encounters.

But the Division One championship, featuring Go Mobile Sirens, Neptunes Vodafone, Sliema Burger King and Marsascala, officially starts tomorrow. The big four will certainly be hoping that their international heroes, who did Malta proud in Stockholm by placing third, will extend their rich vein of form to the domestic competitions.

Sirens and Neptunes, two teams regarded among the strongest candidates for the championship, renew acquaintances tomorrow evening. The two sides clashed in their last preliminary round encounter before the pause for Malta's international commitments, and on that occasion, Neptunes, under the guidance of Tony Camilleri, defeated their opponents 11-10 in arguably the most exciting duel witnessed this season.

That victory enabled Neptunes to move into first place of the standings at the end of the preliminary round. They have a one-point lead on Sirens who will certainly be eyeing revenge tomorrow evening.

The key role played by Sirens players Jonathan Valletta and Paul Privitera in Malta's successful participation in the Euro B championships will have enhanced coach Bruno Cufino's optimism ahead of tomorrow's encounter.

Sliema and Marsascala are also scheduled to meet again tomorrow, only a few weeks after they were involved in a tight match in the preliminary round, played on Wednesday August 7.

Pierre Borg's Marsascala are on a high after stunning their more-quoted opponents with a 7-5 victory, largely thanks to their tactical discipline and a healthy man-up conversion rate.

That win propelled Marsascala to third place in the standings on 14 points from nine matches, one point ahead of Sliema who will certainly look to make amends for some lacklustre performances of late.