Ilija & GB were up against some very strong competition over the weekend as professional teams from across Europe and the world come together to compete in what is one of the most heigh-level tournaments for the U19 category.

Players born 2008+ would be featuring from elite powerhouse clubs such as Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta, CC Ortigia 1928, the hosts CN Sabadell, HAVK Mladost, VK Beograd & South African WP Academy Elevate Water Polo to name just a few.

GB would face Elevate WP, NC Monza, CC Ortigia 1928 & US side Brunswick School.

The team opened up on Friday lunchtime against Elevate and by HT had a slender lead at 5-4 however the second half didn't go GB's way and the team slipped to a 7-11 defeat.

Friday afternoon and GB were back in the pool against NC Monza from Italy and it would see GB get their first win on the board as they won the match 11-8.

The game saw Ilija get on the scoresheet with a well taken penalty in the third quarter.

Saturday morning and the team faced Italian side CC Ortigia an Italian professional club, in this game Ilija played very well scoring another penalty & an open field goal as they lost 7-10.

Saturday afternoon and the team faced USA side Brunswick School for a place in the quarter-finals by GB were outclassed as they slipped to a 6-12 defeat.

Sunday morning and GB were back in the pool for a final positional match against Elevate WP.

At HT in the match GB were 3-0 down and then 5-2 down at the end of the 3rd period however a final period saw GB run in three goals as they won the quarter 3-2 but narrowly lost the game 7-5.

Overall it was a great experience for the GB team as they won their first match in the NextGen Cup after several years of trying and in a competition were the water polo is at a very high level.