LAHORE-BN Polo and Master Paints booked berths in the main final of the Aquafina Allama Iqbal Polo Cup 2021 after winning their respective matches played here at the JP&CC ground on Friday.
The first semifinal of the day played between BN Polo and Diamond Paints was won by the former with a score of 10-6. Tito Ruiz Guinazu was the star of winning side with fantastic five goals while Eulogio Celestino hit a hat-trick, Raja Mikael Sami a brace and Baber Naseem one. From Diamond Paints, Romero Zaveletta hammered a hat-trick and Saqib Khan Khakwani hit one as they had two goals handicap advantage.
BN Polo were off to flying start as they thrashed in three back-to-back goals to have 3-0 lead, which was further enhanced with a contribution of three more goals in the second chukker, where Diamond Paints also made their presence felt by converting a brace to reduce the score to 6-2 but BN hit one more to make it 7-2. The third chukker saw BN Polo added three more goals in their tally to take a healthy 10-2 lead while Diamond Paints hit one to reduce the margin to 10-3. In the fourth chukker, Diamond Paints struck one more while they had two goals handicap, so BN Polo won the match 10-6.
The second semifinal of the day proved to be a thriller, where Master Paints beat Master Paints Black by 13½-12. From Master Paints, which had a half goal handicap advantage, Marcos Panelo malleted excellent eight goals while Juan Cruz Losada fired in five. Matias Vial Parez though played well for Master Paints Black by thrashing 10 goals while Mariano Raigal and Sufi M Haroon struck one each, yet their efforts were futile.
Master Paints started well as they hammered a hat-trick to gain 3-0 lead but Master Paints Black bounced back well by scoring a brace to make it 3-2.
They added five more goals in their tally to gain a healthy 7-3 lead while Master Paints struck two to reduce it to 7-5. In the third chukker, Master Paints fired in five more against three by Master Paints Black to level the score at 10-all. In the fourth and decisive chukker, Master Paints converted three goals against two by MP Black to win the match by 13½-12.
The third encounter of the day saw FG Polo outpacing Barry’s by 10½-6 to make way to the subsidiary final. From FG Polo, Mian Abbas Mukhtar fired in five goals, Francisco Bensadon four and Jamie Le Hardy one. From Barry’s, Ernesto Trotz and Hamza Mawaz Khan hammered a hat-trick each.