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ROME, Italy, July 24. THE final day of preliminary competition took place today in water polo at the FINA World Championships. Beginning tomorrow, teams will be competing for placement.
In the first match of the day, Spain downed Kazakhstan, 11-5. Spain had a balanced attack with Guillermo Molina, Xavier Valles and Xavier Garcia leading the way with two goals each. Spain converted 11 of 30 shots. Vladislav Andreyev notched two goals for Kazakhstan, which went 5-for-24.
Australia and Serbia battled to an 8-8 tie in the second match. Filip Filipovic tallied three goals for Serbia, which went 8-for-25, while John Cotterill and Thomas Whalan each posted three goals for Australia. The Aussies went 8-for-26.
The U.S. edged Romania, 7-5. Layne Beaubien posted a hat trick for the U.S., which connected on 7 of 24 shots. Alexandru Matie Guiman tallied two goals for Romania, which went 5-for-25.
Hungary bested South Africa, 15-5. Denes Varga totaled four goals, while Zsolt Vargar posted three for Hungary. Hungary went 15-for-32 from the field. Five separate players scored for South Africa, which converted 5 of 24 shots.
Canada clipped Germany, 5-4. Kevin Graham and Aaron Feltham notched two goals each for Canada, which went 5-for-19. Moritz Oeler scored half of Germany's goals, as the team connected on 4 of 25 shots.
Montenegro smashed Brazil, 19-5. Mladjan Janovic and Nikola Janovic each tallied four goals for Montenegro, which converted 19 of 34 shots for a 55.9 percent success rate. Ruda Franco hit the back of the net twice for Brazil, which went 5-for-20.
Croatia followed with a 15-5 triumph over China. Miho Boskovic tallied five goals for Croatia, which converted 15 of 29 shots for a 51.7 percent success rate. Five different players scored for China, which went 5-for-24.
Italy downed Macedonia, 12-5, to complete the day. Valentino Gallo and Goran Fiorentini each posted a hat trick for Italy, which went 12-for-33. Nebojsa Milic accounted for three of Macedonia's goals, as the team connected on 5 of 25 shots.