Adolfo Cambiaso lerads Dubai to a title in Spain (Photo courtesy of Gonzalo Etcheverry)
If you’re looking for the next showdown between Facundo Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso you’re going to have to be patient. Following Dubai’s 12-9 win over Scapa (today in the finals of the Santa Maria Polo Club’s 22-goal Bronze Cup at the Santa Maria Polo Club at Sotogrande, Spain, the field of eight will swell to 10 teams as UAE (HH Sheikha Maitha Al Maktoum, Sebastian Merlos, Lucas Monteverde and Santiago Stirling) and Ellerston join the mix with Jamie Packer taking the field with 10-goalers Facundo and Gonzalito Pieres on the Ellerston team.
Facundo’s first major triumph over Adolfo Cambiaso this year occurred in the finals of the United States Open Championship in April when he led Lyndon Lea’s Zacara team to an 11-8 win.
Fast forward to June and July in England and Facundo leads Zacara to wins in the Queens Cup and the Gold Cup for the British Open—with the final of the British Open coming in a face to face encounter between Facundo Pieres and Adolfo Cambiaso. Facundo’s win in the Queens Cup gave him the Number 1 ranking on the World Polo Tour with the British Open win just padding the lead over former Number 1, Cambiaso.
It was first thought that Cambiaso would be playing at the Santa Maria Polo Club with HH Sheikha Maitha Al Maktoum, but Rashid Albwardy decided on entering the field, keeping Cambiaso with him. That setting up another potential head-on-head meeting with Facundo Pieres.
A Silver Cup schedule eliminates any possibility of the two meeting in the opening rounds of play, but when playoff positions come into view, all bets are off.