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Hublot and Star Design in the final

Gstaad Polo Gold Cup

The biggest polo event of the Swiss Alps

Based on an impeccable team effort and lead by an irresistible Franckie Menendez (ARG, HCP 7) Hublot reached the final of the Gstaad Polo Gold Cup 2012, beating Gstaad Palace in the first semi final with 9 : 4,5. On Sunday Hublot will face Star Design which fought back hard to beat Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza in the second semi final by 7 : 4.
 
A blue, cloudless sky, temperatures of 30 C and the wonderful mountain scenery of the Bernese Alps: The setting for the two semi final matches of this year’s Gstaad Polo Gold Cup could not have been better. The same was true for the performance of title holder Gualtiero Giori’s (HCP 1) team Hublot when it faced Gstaad Palace in the first semi final match.
 
As in Thursday’s preliminary round the Italian captain played a major role in the strong performance of his team: Giori, again, scored 2 goals and helped to secure the 9 : 4,5 victory of his team over Gstaad Palace, lead by the two Swiss Captains Piero Dillier (HCP 0) and Thomas Wolfensberger (HCP 1).
 
Another 2 goals for Hublot were scored by Tete Storni (HCP 4) but it was his Argentinean compatriot Franckie Menendez (HCP 7) who put his mark on the game, by securing the defense, hitting some incredible passes and adding another 5 goals to the 7 he already scored on Thursday. With this Menendez also made "Just World International" happy: The nonprofit organization which supports children projects in the Third World receives 200 Swiss Francs, sponsored by the organizing committee and by watch maker Hublot, for each goal that is scored during this year’s tournament.
 
Re-match of first day
In Sunday’s final Hubot will face Star Design which it already played in the preliminary round on Thursday, when after a tight match, Hublot with a score of 10 : 7 kept the better end for itself.
 
But this is nothing the defending champion can bank on for the final. In today’s match against Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza the team of Star Design showed true fighting qualities: Trailing by 1 : 3 and then by 2 : 4, Captain Albrecht Bach (HCP 0), Pablo Jauretche (HCP 7), Manuel Cereceda (HCP 3) and Juan Gonzales (HCP 4) came back strong in the third chucker and turned the match around to win by 7 : 4: Cereceda scored 4 goals, Gonzales 2 and Jauretche 1 for Star Design, while Captain Sebastian Schneberger (HCP 1) scored 3 goals and Ignacio Tillous (HCP 6) scored 1 goal for Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza, which was completed by German national player Eva Bruhl (HCP 2) and Valentin Novillo Astrada (HCP 5). 
 
On Sunday Baring Brothers Sturdza will face Gstaad Palace in the game for 3rd and 4th place, while Star Design will play Hublot in the championship game. The first match will be played at 13:30 h Swiss time (GMT +1).