SEVEN water polo players from Basingstoke Bluefins helped Hampshire to win the under-16 Inter Counties South East and London region championship for the first time.
The Basingstoke players were Josh Cornwell, Gina Lay, Cara Malone, James Masson, Oli Waldram, Jack Taylor and Daniel James.
Hampshire, pictured left, started strongly as they beat last year’s runners-up, Sussex, 4-2 as Southampton’s Charlie Roberts scored a hat-trick and Jackson Mullins got a single.
In their next game against Kent, Hampshire raced into 4-1 lead as Roberts (2), Mullins and Waldram all scored.
After the break, their opponents levelled before Taylor grabbed the winner in a 5-4 victory.
The third game of the tournament saw Hampshire come back from 2-0 down to eventually draw 4-4 as Mullins netted a hat-trick and Roberts got the other.
The last game of the evening was against reigning champions Surrey and having fallen 3-1 behind, Hampshire hit back to win 5-4 as Roberts scored four times and Mullins once.
While the goal scorers got all the headlines this was a real team effort and was a great victory for the county.
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