WATER POLO / JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS : U.S. Gets Small Consolation; Medal Round Semifinals Today

The United States junior national water polo team defeated Japan, 13-4, Friday night at Newport Harbor High in Newport Beach in the consolation round of the Junior World Championships.

Chris Oeding and Zach Holder, both from Santa Ana, scored three goals each for the United States, which was eliminated from the medal round Thursday night.

“It was hard to get up for tonight’s match because we felt we were good enough to earn a medal,” U.S. Coach Ricardo Azevedo said.

Azevedo said the United States defeated Cuba, Spain and Hungary within the past three months at invitational tournaments in Cuba and Germany. In this tournament, Cuba, Spain and Hungary advanced to the medal round, along with Yugoslavia.

After Team USA defeated Bulgaria in an early game Thursday night, 14-8, it needed Hungary to beat Spain in a later game to advance. But Spain, which tied the United States, 10-10, Wednesday night, handed Hungary its first loss of the tournament, 6-4, ending the United States’ medal hopes.

In Friday’s other games, Bulgaria beat Czechoslovakia, 7-6; New Zealand beat Puerto Rico, 12-11; Mexico tied Canada, 9-9; Italy beat Australia, 8-6, and Brazil tied China, 8-8.

In the consolation round at Newport Harbor today, the United States plays Czechoslovakia for fifth place at 11:30 a.m.

In today’s medal round semifinals at Corona del Mar, Cuba meets Hungary at 4 p.m. and Spain takes on Yugoslavia at 5:30.

Spain is led by Ramon Valls, who has 16 goals in the tournament, and senior national team member Daniel Ballart, who has 15 goals. The Yugoslavs, who are won the last Junior World Championships in 1989, are led by Zeljko Vicevic (11 goals) and Zarko Petrovic (10).

The Cubans are led by Ivan Perez, a 6-foot-8 senior national team member who has scored 18 goals. The Cubans hope to bounce back from a 10th-place finish at the ’89 Junior World Championships, their poorest finish ever. Tibor Benedek has scored 18 goals for Hungary, and 17-year-old goalie Koheny Balazs is the key to a defense that has allowed a tournament-low 23 goals.