El Toro water polo player Joey Fuentes had plenty of motivation this season.

The high-scoring attacker dedicated his 2011 season to his father, Tom, was is on hospice care while battling cancer.

“Doctors said he’d be gone three months ago but he’s a fighter,” Fuentes said last week during the CIF Division 1 playoffs. “He’s still my dad, still fighting along.”

Tom Fuentes was spotted on the pool deck this fall watching his son and El Toro play. Joey, a senior lefty,  helped lead the Chargers to Saturday’s CIF Division 1 final, where they fell to undefeated Mater Dei, 8-5.

“He stays high in spirits,” Fuentes said of his father. “I’ve got some great friends on the team like Logan Chappell who help me through the tough times.

“I’ve just got great family and great people around me to lean on. … I’ve been playing with these guys since I was 12-year-old. They’re my best friends.”

Tom Fuentes was the longtime chairman of the Republican Party in Orange County.

“My dad is not much of a sports guy but he’s a love guy and he loves me and supports me,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes followed his older brother and former El Toro player, T.J., into water polo. Fuentes credits his brother for helping to teach him the sport.

Fuentes finished the season with 125 goals, tied for fifth in Orange County. As a sophomore, he scored a game-winning lob shot with 2 seconds left to beat Loyola of Los Angeles in the CIF Division 1 semifinals.

Last week in the semifinals, the scored the eventual winning goal against Newport Harbor on an underwater play.

Photo by Andy Templeton, For the Register

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