Dec 17, 2024
La Natividad (Facundo Pieres, Pablo Mac Donough, Camilo "Jeta" Castagnola Jr., Bartolomé "Barto" Castagnola) won the 131st Argentine Open Polo Championship. They defeated La Dolfina Saudi (Juan Martin Nero, David “Pelon” Stirling, Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfo Cambiaso) 13–11 to defend the title they had previously won in 2021 and 2023. The victory marks La Natividad's third title at Palermo in four final appearances.
“It was a weird game. In the first half, they dominated us in every way. We were only two goals down, but they could have been leading by more.” – Camilo “Jeta” Castagnola Jr.
Both teams scored seven field goals. La Natividad scored six penalties, while La Dolfina Saudi scored four. The critical difference, however, was in the number of goal attempts. La Natividad had 15, while La Dolfina Saudi had… 26! Out of 26 attempts at goal, La Dolfina Saudi only managed to score seven. Some shots barely missed, others were very close and some farther away. But on 19 occasions, they could not find the goal.
La Dolfina Saudi led 6-4 at the break. In the first four chukkers, La Dolfina Saudi missed no fewer than a dozen scoring opportunities. In the second half, La Natividad mounted their comeback with steady, composed play. They tightened up their defense and started attacking with more precision. Seemingly out of nowhere, La Natividad pulled off a 4-0 run in the fifth chukker and a 3-0 run in the sixth. This turned a 4-6 deficit into an 11-6 lead—or, put another way, La Dolfina Saudi went from leading 6-4 to trailing 6-11.
Two names sum up what transpired during those crucial 14 minutes: Castagnola Jr. and Facundo Pieres. Castagnola Jr. was exceptional with the ball and as a leader on the field, while Pieres’ determination fueled the team during critical moments. In those two decisive chukkers, La Natividad managed to defeat La Dolfina Saudi, which looked lackluster and disorganized in the second half- uncharacteristic for a Cambiaso-led team.
La Natividad claimed their third title thanks to a brilliant performance from Castagnola Jr. and by sticking to their key formula for success: they stayed afloat in the lows and hit hard in the highs. This marked La Natividad's fourth consecutive final, all against the La Dolfina organization.
All photos courtesy of ©Matías Callejo.
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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