After Lechuza claimed the Copa de Oro in the 22-goal category on Saturday, the 12-goal finals took place on Sunday.
Costasur and Casa de Campo played on Casa de Campo’s field #1 for the Subsidiary Finals. The locals kicked off the match in a very solid form and they quickly took the lead thanks to Francisco Bensadón and Jesús Arredondo. It was a disputed but open match, Costasur was the great protagonist of the second chukka, closing the period by 3-1. During the third period, Casa de Campo widened the difference to a point where it was impossible to catch up for their rivals. Juan Villamil and Jesus Arredondo took their team to lead by 6-3 at halftime. On the second half of the match, goals were exchanged between both teams but Costasur was not able to recover, and Casa de Campo won by 8-5.
Progression Casa de Campo: 2-0, 3-3, 6-3, 6-3, 7-3, 8-5.
Goals Casa de Campo: Jesús Arredondo (4), Francisco Bensadon (2), Juan Villamil (2).
Goals Costasur: Julio López (2), Ramiro Garros (2), Josh Cork (1).
Casa de Campo: Jesús Arredondo, Rafa García, Francisco Bensadon, Juan Villamil.
Costasur: Julio López, Josh Cork, Ramiro Garros, Alex Schad.
Later on, on Field 3, the Finals of the Copa de Oro were to be defined by Pitirri El Palenque and La Potranca, who had already kept the Silver and Bronze cups, respectively. In front of a crowded audience and with Martín Aguerre and Gastón Dorignac as referees, the first two chukkas were very even, rowdy but the game was flowing. During the third chukka, La Potranca showed off their great skills, reaching half time leading by 6-4.
The second half of the game kept La Potranca’s performance up, but little by little, everything began to change. Pitirri-El Palenque showed great teamwork, confirming this team’s reputation as one of the best ones on its category. Tolito Fernandez Ocampo was relentless from the penalties to the plays. During the sixth chukka, the team stepped up and scored four goals in a row, to secure a new title on the Polo Challenge 2017, as they have done some weeks ago, at the Silver Cup. Final score was 12-10.
Progression Pitirri El Palenque: 1-1, 2-2, 4-6, 5-8, 8-10, 12-10..
Goals Pitirri El Palenque: Tolito Fernández Ocampo (10), Bete Donovan (2).
Goals La Potranca: Esteban Panelo (4), Rafa García (3), Milo Fernández Araujo (2), Rulo Arata (1).
Pitirri El Palenque: Enrique Bonetti, Tolito Fernández Ocampo, Bete Donovan, Rafa Pérez Diez.
La Potranca: Rafa García, Esteban Panelo, Milo Fernández Araujo, Rulo Arata.
The Polo Challenge RD continues next weekend with the kick-off of the Caribbean Open that will see teams of up to 26 goals fighting for the title.