The Malta waterpolo national team ended their commitments in the European Championship qualifiers with a flourish after overwhelming Latvia 36-1 in Utrecht yesterday.

After back-to-back defeats to France (21-4) and the Netherlands (19-11) in the first two outings, Karl Izzo’s team were determined to bag their first points against the Latvians.

Despite being without Matthew Zammit, Niki Lanzon, Mark Meli and Alan Borg Cole, who were given a rest by coach Izzo, the Maltese were still a cut above their opponents to record one of their biggest victories in an international competition and finish third in the group.

Steve Camilleri bagged 13 goals while Jordan Camilleri found the Latvian net 8 times. Michele Stellini put his name on the scoresheet five times while Dino Zammit bagged four.

The othe scorers for Malta yesterday were Daniel Paolella (3), Peter Borg (2) and Michael Rizzo.

The Netherlands topped the group with nine points after they beat France 12-9 yesterday.

The European qualifiers will continue with a second tournament in October with all participating teams carrying on the points gained during this month’s tournament.

Standings: Netherlands 9; France 6; Malta 3; Latvia 0.

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