It is make it or break time tomorrow at Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club, as four teams will compete for a berth in the finals of the prestigious Bombardier Pacific Coast Open.
The first semifinal at 10am will be a battle between Scott Wood’s ERG and Ben Soleimani’s Mansour. Both of these teams have battled adversity to get here. Mansour struggled in the early tournaments and did not win a game until the PCO started, but led by the experience of 2009 US Open MVP Adam Snow they resurrected themselves in the PCO and won their bracket.
Scott Wood returned to Santa Barbara this year after a winter off due a bad injury he suffered last year. But Wood is not one to let a little thing like six months of rehab get in the way of his polo, and returned to Santa Barbara this year with a revamped lineup. On this team, the high scoring abilities of Gonzalo del Tour and Paco deNarvaez draw the eyes of the crowd, but Jeff Blake very quietly and effectively shuts the back door for ERG and strikes fear into the hearts of opposing number 3s.
The other semifinal at noon showcases SBPRC newcomer Patagones against longtime Santa Barbara stalwart Grants Farm. Patagones has got a lot of attention this year with their classical hit and run style of polo. Patron Gonzalo Avendano has been playing so well that sometimes he gets confused for his 8 goal teammate Carlos Gracida. Gracida has been a force to be reckoned with this summer, as time after time he makes the clutch play and scores the game changing goal to take his team to the winner’s circle.
Grants Farm is led by one of the highest rated sponsors is polo, Andy Busch. They also like to hit and run, and lost to Patagones in the final of the Skene earlier this season so they will be looking for revenge this time around. With Jeff Hall hitting the ball and Sugar Erskine making lightning quick steals, this team will give Patagones some fierce competition.
Later in the day, Valiente and Lucchese and then Audi and Zacara will face off in the Western Badge and Trophy (subsidiary) semifinals. These should also be some good games, as these team suffered some bad luck in the main tournament and will be looking for redemption with a win in the subsidiary.