Gareth Jones helped Canada’s under-17 men’s water polo team to a second consecutive bronze medal at the Pan American Games.
The Burnaby resident scored two goals in the consolation third-place final to pace the national youth team to a 14-10 victory over Puerto Rico at the Pan Am Games in Jamaica on Sept. 3.
The medal qualified the Canadian team for the under-18 world championships in Montenegro next year.
At the Games, Jones finished fourth in national team scoring, tallying 16 goals in tournament play, including a hat trick in both of Canada’s championship quarter- and semifinal matches.
Former Burnaby Barracuda’s water polo club member Reuel D’Souza led Canada with 18 goals at the Pan Am Games.
The St. George’s School senior tallied a team-high three times in Canada’s 16-10 win over 2011 bronze medallist Colombia in the quarter-final.
The 16-year-old Jones also had a team-best three goals against the eventual silver medallists from the United States, following a 19-12 defeat in the semifinal.
“I was really happy with my game versus the United States,” said Jones after returning home on Sunday. “But our team was a little reserved about placing third.”
Brazil nipped the U.S. 11-10 in the gold-medal final.
Canada finished second in pool play behind the eventual champion, following a 16-11 loss to Brazil.
Jones accounted for half of his 16 total goals in the championship round.
“I thought I had a pretty good Games. Normally, I’d like to think I perform well under pressure,” Jones said.
At the Canadian club championships earlier this season, Jones was named a first team all-star for his Pacific Storm club that won the gold medal in the final.
Jones got his start with Burnaby water polo at the age of seven.
This is Jones’ third year with the national youth program.
His first season was an eye opener for Jones, who travelled to a hotbed for international water polo in Serbia for a series of exhibition test matches.
“That was a big shock. I’d never played internationally before. It made me realize how much I needed to improve. It was a good experience,” Jones said. “I thought it was really fun. I loved it.”
Jones plays hole check, a largely defensive position right in front of the team’s goal with the aim of stopping the opposition’s top shooter.
This season, Jones will play with Pacific Storm in the u-18 Ironman League in California – arguably the top water polo competition in the States.
This summer, the Storm placed 10th overall at the Ironman.
Canada’s youth women’s team placed second behind the U.S. for a second straight Games after winning gold over the Americans in 2011.
Three Burnaby water polo players traveled to California with the Canadian national program for a four-game test against the u-15 U.S. national team.
Luka Maletic, Toni Maric and Sandro Miletic shared in a 2-2 outcome against the Americans.
In July, Maletic, Maric, Miletic, along with Louis Anderson and Nemanja Ivezic, joined Team B.C. to win the Youth Cup in Calgary.
