Reports
80th Tortugas Open Final
The Subsidiary Final for The Sarmiento Cup saw La Ensenada La Aguada beat La Natividad Monjitas 15½-12, with Elovero Fisura (Beautiful Bob x Soy La Figurita), played by Polito Pieres selected as the Best Playing Pony Polo Argentino. Photography by Matias Callejo/ Prensa AAP
Ellerstina, winners of The 80th Tortugas Open Final
Undefeated Ellerstina Retain Title
La Ensenada La Aguada, winners of The Subsidiary Final for The Sarmiento Cup
Final of firsts for Laprida & Cambiaso Jnr
T
wo of the great Argentine organisations, Ellerstina and La Dolfina Saudi, took to the Alfredo Lalor Grounds of the Argentine Association of Polo, in Pilar for The Tortugas Open Final the first phase of The Argentine Triple Crown. However, this Final was unusual as the La Dolfina Saudi line-up varied from its usual quartet of 10 goalers Adolfo Cambiaso, Juan Martín Nero, Pablo MacDonough and Pelón Stirling,
The Sarmiento Cup Final Teams: La Ensenada-La Aguada (32): Segundo Bocchino (6), Alfredo Bigatti (8), Matías Torres Zavaleta (8) & Jerónimo Del Carril (7) La Natividad-Las Monjitas (36): Camilo ‘Jeta’ Castagnola (8), Pablo Pieres (10), Bartolomé Castagnola (9) & Nachi Du Plessis (9)
with Nero, MacDonough and Stirling all sidelined with injury, their places filled instead by 14-year-old Adolfo ‘Poroto’ Cambiaso who made history as the youngest ever player to compete in The Argentine Triple Crown, alongside Brazilian Rodrigo Andrade and Iñaki Laprida. Meanwhile, defending champions Ellerstina were confident and strong, with Hilario Ulloa slotting in perfectly alongside the Pieres trio, dominating the play from the outset and by
half-time enjoyed a 10-4 lead, with Facundo Pieres responsible for seven of his team’s goals in the first four chukka. After half-time, Ellerstina continued their offensive and maintained their advantage, with both impressive attack and defence. By the last chukka, Ellerstina led 16-5, a last-minute penalty conversion from Laprida saw another goal notched up for La Dolfina Saudi, but it still left a huge gap in the scores with a final score of 16-6. The win meant Ellerstina achieved their twelfth Tortugas Open title, with Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres enjoying their ninth title, with the brothers’ only two Tortugas titles behind the historic top winners of the tournament Pablo Mac Donough and Alberto P. Heguy with 11 wins apiece.
The 80th Tortugas Open Final Teams
14 22 NO
V
FINA
Ellerstina (39) Facundo Pieres (10) Hilario Ulloa (10) Gonzalito Pieres (9) Nicolás Pieres (10)
La Dolfina Saudi (32) Adolfo Cambiaso (10) Poroto Cambiaso (6) Rodrigo Andrade (8) Iñaki Laprida (8)
Chukka scores: 4-0, 5-2, 8-3, 10-4, 12-5, 15-5, 16-6 to Ellerstina
20
Polo Times, December 2020 / January 2021
NOV
BPP
Where: Alfredo Lalor AAP, Pilar
L Guillermo Villanueva & Gastón Lucero with third man Martín Pascual BPP Polo Argentino: Mega Chistosa (Sportivo x Ellerstina Simpatía), played by Facundo Pieres
26 goals
Tournament Top Goal Scorer: Facundo Pieres with 26 goals www.polotimes.co.uk
