Canadian men’s water polo team finalizes roster for Olympic qualifier

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The Canadian men’s water polo team finalized its roster Saturday for the upcoming Olympic qualification tournament at the Zwemcentrum Rotterdam.

Head Coach Giuseppe Porzio will guide the 13-player team at the Feb. 14-21 competition. Canada is one of 12 teams that will battle for the three remaining spots at the Tokyo Games.

The Canadian roster includes Toronto’s Milan Radenovic, Gaelan Patterson of North Vancouver, B.C., Ottawa’s Bogdan Djerkovic, Nicolas Constantin-Bicari of Repentigny, Que., Mark Spooner of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Montreal’s George Torakis, Jeremie Cote of Pointe-Claire, Que., Sean Spooner of Port Coquitlam, B.C., Aleksa Gardijan of Gatineau, Que., Calgary’s Aria Soleimanipak, Max Schapowal of Beaconsfield, Que., Reuel D’Souza of Port Coquitlam, B.C., and Samuel Reiher of Longueuil, Que.

Alternates include Toronto’s Bor Tanasijevic and Montreal’s Stefan Dabic.

Canada, ranked 13th in the world, opens against No. 11 Brazil on Sunday. Montenegro, Georgia, Turkey and Greece are also in Group A. 

Group B includes Croatia, Russia, Germany, Romania, France and the Netherlands. 

Serbia, Italy, Spain, the U.S., Australia, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Hungary and host Japan already have Olympic berths.

The Canadian men have made four Olympic appearances, most recently in 2008 in Beijing where they finished 11th. 

The Canadian women’s water polo team has already qualified for Tokyo. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2021. 

The Canadian Press