By Alejandra Ocampo
Tortugas beat La Mancha 10-9 to win the Campeonato Argentino Abierto Juvenil, for players 21 and under, at Palermo. This is the third consecutive year that Tortugas claim the title (2014, 2015 and 2016).
While Tortugas started with a 2-0 advantage, La Mancha recovered quickly, scoring seven consecutive goals in three chukkas.
With Juan Zubiaurre leading the attack, La Mancha widened their advantage to five goals in the fourth. But Tortugas continued fighting; they scored four unanswered goals – three from Jerónimo del Carril and one from Segundo Bocchino – to close the gap to down to one. It was Del Carril who tied the game at 9-all, and with only seconds to go, Juan Martin Zubia sealed the win for Tortugas. A fantastic comeback from the reigning champions!
Jerónimo del Carril received the Machi Trotz MVP Award.
Teams:
Tortugas EN: Juan M. Zubía 5 (2 goals), Isidro Strada 5 (1), Segundo Bocchino 6 (1), Jerónimo del Carril 5 (6, four penalties). Total: 21.
La Mancha: Juan Zubiaurre 5 (4), Lucas Díaz Alberdi 5 (2), Tomás Fernández Llorente (h) 6, Bautista Bayugar 6 (3 penalties). Total: 22.
Score Tortugas EN: 2-2, 2-5, 3-7, 4-9, 7-9 y 10-9.
Umpires: Martín Pascual & Alejandro Roldán.
Third man: Daniel Boudou.