NEWS

Story courtesy of the International Polo Club Palm Beach

Group play concluded on Sunday, February 28, and the C.V. Whitney Cup® Semifinals were set, leaving four teams to compete for the first leg of the GAUNTLET OF POLO®. La Indiana (Nico Escobar*, Jeff Hall, Polito Pieres, Michael Bickford) secured the first spot, ranking first after two rounds and Scone (David Paradice, Joao Paulo Souza Aranha, Peke Gonzalez*, Poroto Cambiaso, Adolfo Cambiaso) captured the second spot after defeating Aspen/Dutta Corp (Timmy Dutta*, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Gringo Colombres, Stewart Armstrong) 12-9. In the feature game of the week, Pilot (Curtis Pilot, Kristos ‘Keko’ Magrini*, Gonzalito Pieres, Facundo Pieres, Nico Pieres) and Tonkawa (Jeff Hildebrand, Lucas Escobar*, Sapo Caset, Francisco Elizalde) met in a rematch on the U.S. Polo Assn Field 1, where Tonkawa emerged victorious for a second time. Defeating Pilot 10-9 in overtime, with to the shootout with Coca-Cola and Park Place for placement.

The first match was a clean game, but Scone held the upper hand over Aspen/Dutta Corp, shooting a perfect five for five from the penalty line to overcome 21% shooting from the field. Returning from an injury in his first game of the season, Alberdi rejoined Aspen/Dutta Corp's roster but they came up just short of the victory, despite the five-goal effort from Timmy Dutta. Scone moved to a 3-0 record with the help of Adolfo Cambiaso and Gonzalez, who each finished with four goals in the 12-9 triumph.

With a third win securing their spot in the semifinal, Scone’s Adolfo Cambiaso quickly jumped into action. Involved on all three Scone goals in the first chukker, Adolfo Cambiaso gave his team the 3-1 lead, while Aspen/Dutta Corp was held off the scoreboard with their only goal coming on handicap. An impressive second chukker from Dutta saw him score three goals of his own to tie the score 4-all, as Aspen/Dutta Corp deployed a strong passing attack. Reorganizing in the third, Scone kept possession away from Aspen/Dutta Corp to end the half, holding them scoreless in the third chukker to take a 7-4 lead entering the second half.

Although few fouls were committed in the game, each one proved costly for Aspen/Dutta Corp as Scone was able to maintain their lead on a penalty conversion from Gonzalez. Colombres and Dutta proved to be a strong duo, but it was not enough to reduce the deficit as the teams continued to trade goals throughout the fifth chukker. Facing a three-goal deficit, Aspen/Dutta Corp tried mightily to pull within reach with a goal from Alberdi, but Scone stood tall defensively and claimed the 12-9 victory to secure the second spot in the semifinals.

The second game saw Pilot look to avenge their loss to Tonkawa just four days earlier, controlling play and maintaining at least a three-goal advantage through the fourth chukker. After an injury to Facundo Pieres forced him from the game, Tonkawa took advantage and charged back to force overtime and score the eventual golden goal. Facundo Pieres exited the game with three goals and two assists, leaving Pilot to compensate for the loss of the 10-goaler, unable to slow Tonkawa in the final stages of the game. Despite conceding more opportunities at goal, Tonkawa shot a more efficient 53% from the field to force the game into overtime and claim the victory on Elizalde’s winning goal, sending Tonkawa into a shootout for a spot in the semifinals.

Entering the rematch against Pilot averaging 12.5 goals per game, Tonkawa’s offense was stifled in the first two chukkers, held without a goal as Pilot dominated possession to keep the ball in the attacking half. Gonzalito Pieres was a standout player for Pilot as they continued to build on their lead, converting a Penalty 3 in the first chukker, while adding a goal to finish the second chukker to give Pilot the 4-0 lead. Caset ended the drought for Tonkawa on the first play of the third chukker, kickstarting a Tonkawa offense that began to fight their way back into the game. Producing a three-goal chukker, all scored by Caset and assisted by Elizalde, Tonkawa faced a 6-3 deficit at halftime.

The two elite duos for Pilot and Tonkawa continued to battle in the fourth chukker as Pilot maintained their three-goal advantage, trading goals with Tonkawa. With time ticking down in the fourth chukker, play was stopped as Facundo Pieres left the game and was replaced by brother Nico Pieres for the remaining two chukkers. Stepping onto a new team, Nico Pieres was thrust into a difficult task of containing Caset, who added two goals to his total, but Pilot remainded ahead by two goals after Magrini’s first goal of the game. Trailing by two, Tonkawa applied relentless pressure in the sixth chukker, coming within one with a minute and 30 seconds remaining. On the following play, Tonkawa pushed towards Pilot’s goal and Escobar left the ball in front of goal to be finished off by Caset, sending the game into overtime.

In the seventh chukker, Pilot received the first opportunity with Magrini and Gonzalito Pieres running to goal but a bouncing ball allowed Tonkawa to turn around the play. Withstanding the first Tonkawa run, a backhand from Caset set up Elizalde and he was able to hit the neckshot just inside the post to send Tonkawa into Monday’s shootout with Coca-Cola and Park Place to determine the last two semifinalists in the C.V. Whitney Cup®.

In the shootout, Coca-Cola and Park Place captured the final two spots, drawing each other in the semifinal matchup. On Wednesday, March 3, Coca-Cola will play Park Place at 10:00am ET followed by La Indiana and Scone in the second semifinal at 3:00pm ET. All games of the GAUNTLET OF POLO® will be livestreamed on Global Polo TV.

*Nico Escobar, Peke Gonzalez, Lucas Escobar, Timmy Dutta and Keko Magrini are Active Team USPA Members. Team USPA is a USPA program designed to enhance and grow the sport of polo in the United States by identifying young, talented American players and providing mentored training and playing opportunities leading to a pool of higher rated amateur and pro players and the resultant giveback to the sport of polo.