The 86th. Tortugas Open, second leg of the Triple Crown in Argentina, continued on a frozen Friday October 16, with double League A matchdate, played at the Argentine Association of Polo Headquarters, in Pilar, that saw Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and La Natividad La Dolfina victorious over La Ensenada and La Zeta Kazak, respectively.

Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu and La Ensenada played the day’s opening contest, in the battle of the unbeaten, since both teams earned wins in their debut games. With regards to the match, it featured to very different parts. The first, was completely dominated by La Ensenada, who gained a 7-5 advantage by the end of the second. A reloaded La Ensenada displayed a remarkable team play, overwhelming their contenders, by outscoring them 4-0 in the third chukka, which meant that the scoreboard read a 11-5 lead for La Ensenada, led by their flagship man, Jero del Carril. Although Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were approaching slowly, La Ensenada were on top form, and by half time they reached a 12-7 lead.

However, things started to change after half time – a determined Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu bounced back and left La Ensenada scoreless for two chukkas, marking a 5-0 through the fifth and sixth. That means that Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu trailed from a 7-12 by half time to a 12-12 tie at the end of the sixth. And there was more – at the start of the seventh chukka, a fantastic goal by Gonzalito Pieres secured Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu their first lead of the game (13-12). However, La Ensenada were not about to quit that easily – Juan Martín Zubía produced two unanswered goals, after 20 minutes scoreless, that allowed La Ensenada to re-take the lead (14-13). But it didn’t last that long, because Cruz Heguy found the flags to tie again (14-14). By this time, La Ensenada’s fierce dominance was left well behind, and the battle was anyone’s game, so it was expected a thrilling last chukka, that commenced with a remarkable midfield goal by Jero del Carril to put La Ensenada 15-14 up. But Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu never gave up – with two minutes in regulation time, Cruz Heguy tied at 15-all; and the deal was said and done when Facundo Pieres successfully converted a 30-yards penalty in the last minute to mark the 16-15, which would be the final result of a crazy, incredible match. La Ensenada dominated the first part, but at the end of the day, Ellerstina Indios Chapaleufu were wise enough to mend their fences and make the impossibe, possible.

The second game marked the debut La Natividad La Dolfina’s debut in the Tortugas Open against La Zeta Kazak. As expected, La Natividad La Dolfina had a stronger start, closing the first chukka 4-0 up. Thoroghout the first half, they widened their advantage, and half time found them leading by an impressive 10-5. No surprises at all, until now.

The unexpected came in the second part, when La Zeta Kazak had some surprises in store. They presented battle, through several attempts aimed at their contenders’ goalposts, but with not enough luck – either went wide or were stopped by the Canuelas boys. But there were goals by Sapo Caset and Nicolás Pieres, as well as Lorenzo Chavanne’s magnificient accuracy to convert penalties, which helped a great deal to close the gap. Halfway the seventh chukka, and thanks to Lorenzo’s precise shots, La Zeta Kazak were only two goals behind (11-13). La Zeta Kazak demonstrated clearly that they were not intimidated by the current Triple Crown defending champions; by the time to play the last chukka, La Natividad La Dolfina were leading by a narrow 14-12. Anything could happen…

It was Jeta Castagnola who produced La Natividad La Dolfina’s last goal to make it at 15-12; but La Zeta Kazak were not about to give up. A field goal by Sapo Caset and another 60 yards penalty conversion by Lorenzo Chavanne, in the last second, sealed the final result – a surprising narrow 15-14 win for La Natividad La Dolfina over La Zeta Kazak, the lineup who earned their spot to play the Tortugas Open in the Qualification Tournament.

WEATHER PERMITTING, THE 86th. TORTUGAS OPEN WILL CONTINUE ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 18, MONDAY OCTOBER 19 AND WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21. FIELDS WILL BE CHECKED ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 17 TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE COMPETITION WILL REMAIN AT PILAR OR WOULD EVENTUALLY BE BACK AT THE TORTUGAS COUNTRY CLUB.