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RUS Hurlingham Open
Eleventh Hurlingham Win for Ellerstina
The undefeatable Pieres/Ulloa combination continues
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Following on from their Tortugas Open win less than two weeks earlier, Ellerstina found themselves in their second Argentine Triple Crown Final of the season, putting them under pressure to maintain their undefeated record and with it their chance of capturing the 2020 Triple Crown, an accolade the team has not held since 2010.
Both Ellerstina and RS Murus Sanctus had met previously in the Semi Finals of The Tortugas Open, which saw Ellerstina secure a narrow 15-13 win with a nail-biting display of high goal polo; therefore everyone was expecting another close match. Despite their line-up featuring Alfredo Cappella Barabucci and Francisco Elizalde who had not played in a Triple Crown Final before, RS Murus Sanctus did not let the pressure affect their performance and got off to a promising start, scoring within the opening seconds. However, Ellerstina fought back and built upon solid teamwork to hold back RS Murus Sanctus, who struggled to elude Ellerstina and by half-time the scores rested 10-6 in favour of Ellerstina.
In the fifth and sixth, Ellerstina outscored RS Murus Sanctus five goals to one, Facundo Pieres scored 10 goals overall in the Final, but in the seventh chukka RS Murus Sanctus fought back with three unanswered goals to bring them within striking distance of Ellerstina. However, RS Murus Sanctus’ hopes were short lived as Ellerstina seized control of the last chukka, with impressive goals by both Ulloa and Facundo Pieres securing Ellerstina a 16-11 win and with it the 127th Hurlingham Open title. For Ellerstina this was the team’s eleventh Hurlingham Open win, with previous success in 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2018; while for Hilario Ulloa it was his first Hurlingham title.
The Subsidiary Final for The Drysdale Cup was won by Tortugas Open Subsidiary Final victors La Ensenada La Aguada, who defeated La Irenita 12½-10. La Ensenada La Aguada began with a half goal advantage and maintained this throughout to take the Subsidiary Final win.
La Ensenada La Aguada (29):
Segundo Bocchino (6), Alfredo Bigatti (8), Matías Torres Zavaleta (8) & Jerónimo Del Carril (7) La Irenita (30): Min Podestá (7), Juan Martín Zavaleta (8), Facundo Fernández Llorente (7) & Juan Martín Zubía (8)
Photography by Matias Callejo/ Prensa AAP La Ensenada La Aguada, winners of The Drysdale Cup
14 NOV 22 NOV FINAL
Martín Pascual & Guillermo Villanueva with third man Gastón Lucero
The 127th RUS Hurlingham Open Final Teams
Where: Alfredo Lalor AAP, Pilar
BPP
BPP Polo Argentino: Open Biznieta (Ellerstina Pícaro x Open Nieta), played by Nicolás Pieres
Ellerstina (39)
Facundo Pieres (10) Hilario Ulloa (10) Gonzalito Pieres (9) Nicolás Pieres (10)
Les RS Murus Sanctus (35)
Facundo Sola (9) Francisco Elizalde (8) Sapo Caset (10) Alfredo Cappella Barabucci (8)
Chukka scores: 4-2, 7-3, 9-4, 10-6, 11-7, 14-8, 14-11, 16-11 to Ellerstina
30 goals
Tournament Top Goal Scorer: Facundo Pieres with 30 goals