After two decades in the wilderness, San Ġiljan are back at the summit of local waterpolo when winning the BOV Premier Division and KO double in what could be another pivotal moment in their history.

Recently San Ġiljan had been on the heels of Neptunes but could not quite make the quantum leap and dethrone their neighbours.

Not this time. Under the expert charge of coach Marko Orlovic, the Saints were resolved not to let their superiority fade. They had a balanced outfit with a mixture of youth and experience.

The St Julian’s Bay team’s performances this season may have defied precedents, but not logic. Their loyal fans savoured the players’ triumphs in style.

Led by the indomitable Spaniard, Guillermo Molina, whose magic left its mark during the season, and left-hander Boris Vapenski, the Saints also drew oxygen from the power of captain Matthew Zammit.

The squad was long, with Aurelien Cousin adding more ‘foreign’ flavour to the side, and Paul Fava, Dino Zammit and Peter Borg playing useful roles, supplemented by the alert Joseph Sammut in goal.

Moreover, Orlovic could constantly put youngsters Andreas Galea, Keith Galea and Ben Plumpton into the mix without affecting the team’s stability. Tailenders, Darren Zammit and goalkeeper Daniel Spiteri, completed the squad.

The Saints brought plenty of baggage in the pool, coping admirably with pressure borne by expectation that this could be their season.

Not so second-placed and knock-out finalists Neptunes who could only draw blanks.

The club’s arguably mistaken policy in the last years of not retaining a few of their home-grown players rendered their squad thin.

Furthermore, some of their top units failed to make a lasting impact, notwithstanding the excellent performances of their flag-bearer and top-scorer, Steve Camilleri, and captain Niki Lanzon.

The club will certainly do its best not to allow the extension of a seismic change which would stop the dominance of Neptunes and Sliema in the last two decades.

Third-placed Sliema were a disappointment. They promised much but finally had little to show.

After winning the President’s Cup, they faded, with foreigners Nikola Dedovic and Michael Bodegas, apart from a couple of established players, often stumbling. However, the emergence of Nicholas Bugelli was a shining light.

On the upside, the team ended positively when beating Neptunes in their last match to end the outgoing champions’s hopes of having a final fling at their sixth consecutive title.

Sirens could consider themselves unlucky not to have made the top pool after some fine displays. Under the guidance of Bogdan Rath their young team, boosted by the excellent goalkeeper Nicholas Grixti, looks promising and could well derive satisfaction in future.

Valletta and Exiles were also-rans, with the City team being unable to fulfil their early promise.

Exiles, with the free-scoring Marco Cuk their main weapon, ended the league season with two victories over Sirens and Valletta. However, they could not avoid the relegation/promotion play-offs against First Division champions Marsascala, tame matches which confirmed their top division status.

The First Division trek was closely fought this summer.

Title decider

The honours went to Marsascala, with Marsaxlokk losing in a decider after which the team led by Pierre Borg won the KO to clinch the double. Ta’ Xbiex promised a lot but then ran out of fuel, while Otters, who opted for youth players, remained pointless.

Generally, it was a satisfactory season from the refereering point of view, despite the occasional outbursts from the losing teams.

As for the ASA, it was another busy summer but with too much work falling on the shoulders of a few who could not cope with keeping the website updated in terms of results and standings in the junior competitions as well as notifications on disciplinary decisions.

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