Cubi Toccalino and Carlos Silva (ph: Matías Callejo) Photo credit: Matías Callejo
Lechuza reign supreme while other teams switch strategies
Last Wednesday at Casa de Campo spectators witnessed a new stage of the Polo Challenge: The Silver Cup. Sponsored by Banco del Progreso American Express, the Silver Cup will host simultaneous Cups as a way of celebrating the players in competition. The Nespresso Cup (13/2 – 14/2), the Hola! Cup (14/2 – 17/2), the United Capital Cup (18/2 – 20/2), Maserati Cup (20/2 – 21/2), and the Gentleman’s Cup (21/2) will take place before the semifinals and the grand Copa Banco del Progreso American Express final, to be hosted by Casa de Campo on February 27.
The opening day of the Silver Cup Polo Challenge 2016 at Casa de Campo saw disappointment yet again for Los Establos as they faced an undefeated Lechuza team. It was a tremendous match, with “Cubi” Toccalino and Ale Muzzio giving impressive performances under pressure. The final result was a staggering 14-5 win for Lechuza, with Victor Vargas coming out as the top scorer with 6 goals.
Thursday’s action saw Agualinda take on Los Samanes at Los Establos. Los Samanes made it tough for Agualinda, but the latter managed a 9-8 win. The MVP award went to Los Samanes’ Juan Ambroggio.
The first match of Day 3 at Casa de Campo got off to a slow start for Pitirri, and it seemed like they had lost their shine after their spectacular finish in the previous tournament. A newly invigorated La Carbuccia were unforgiving and defeated their opponents 15 goals to 9. With a new line-up La Carbuccia are looking to make their name as a match for the Venezuelan teams. The second game was played on ground two and saw the debut of new team Test Drive, with Alessandro Bazzoni, previously of Power Infrastructure, leading the team. Opponents Casa de Campo got off to a good start, but were unable to maintain their lead and keep Novillo Astrada at bay. Test Drive won the game 10-8.
The match between Lechuza and Agualinda on day four was a beauty to behold. With flowing, open polo, the two 10 goalers battled it out to settle the score. Lechuza claimed the 10-7 victory and Juanma Nero was named MVP. In the second game, Los Establos played Los Samanes in a game that pitted the two Toccalino brothers against each other at Capcana. Bonetti opened the score with two successive goals in the first and second, and together with Cubi’s goal in the second, it looked like Los Establos were going to finally get a result. But first impressions can be deceiving, and by the end of the third chukka Los Samanes had levelled up the score. The final result was a 7 – 4 win to Los Samanes. Marcelo Frayssinet was named MVP.
The final day of the first stage qualifiers was held on Sunday at Casa de Campo. Spectators enjoyed two thrilling games between four very even sides. The first game on Casa de Campo’s ground three was between La Carbuccia and Test Drive. La Carbuccia, fresh from an easy win against Pitirri on Friday, were caught off guard by Test Drive and the match ended with 11-8 in favour of the latter. On ground two, a chastened Pitirri had more luck against Casa de Campo, despite losing Zubiaurre, their main player, who had to return to Argentina for a tournament. Benjamin Araya delighted all by making an appearance for Casa de Campo and contributing to the final 9-8 score.