Another action packed day at the 127th Argentine Polo Open Championship, with two games played on Friday December 4. While La Ensenada La Aguada claimed their second consecutive victory in the competition, Ellerstina made an extraordinary debut against Los Machitos.

In the day’s opening contest, La Ensenada La Aguada (1-0) took on Cria GT (0-1). Two young, powerful teams, who played enjoyable debut matches.  Cria GT Tomás García del Río filling in for the injured Joaquín Pittaluga once again. Cria GT got off to a stronger start, holding La Ensenada La Aguada scoreless in the first chukka. The blues made a quick comeback in the first minutes of the second period; following a great play by Alfredo Bigatti, Segundo Bocchino put the ball through the goalposts while Jero del Carril converted a 30-yard penalty to tie at 2-all. A very tight match had been expected, but the two following chukkas belonged to La Ensenada La Aguada. Not only did Jero del Carril shine as their highest scorer once again, but their four members meshed perfectly and displayed solid team play against a powerful contender. By half time, they outscored Cria GT 5-1, with the scoreboard reading 8-3 in favour of La Ensenada La Aguada.

La Ensenada La Aguada’s dominance continued throughout the second half, while Cria GT’s efforts to close the gap were quickly neutralised by their opponents, and they only managed to score thanks to Iñaki Laprida’s penalty conversions. But Cria GT made a comeback in the last chukka. Iñaki Laprida, Lerin Zubiaurre and Magoo Laprida keep their team’s hopes alive by scoring three consecutive goals to close the gap to a narrow 12-13. But luck was not on their side; La Ensenada La Aguada played very well, they controlled the match and the scoreboard, and earned a much deserved second win at Palermo.

It was a family affair next on Palermo’s number one ground, as Ellerstina – the only team eligible to win the Triple Crown – took on Los Machitos (0-1). The three Pieres brothers made their debut against their brother-in-law, the legendary Mariano Aguerre. Ellerstina’s debut in the Open panned out as expected. The Pieres-Ulloa squad played swiftly and accurately, displaying some excellent horse power. Ellerstina seized the reins in the first minute, as  Facundo Pieres overwhelmed Los Machitos. Furthermore, Gonzalo Pieres gave an outstanding performance in what was one of his best games of the year. It is more than clear that Ellerstina are a team who know exactly what they have to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Hiring Hilario Ulloa gave them the extra power they needed. Their overwhelming dominance led them to take a commanding 14-4 lead by half time.

In addition, it was a special day for Facundo Pieres because he not only became the top scorer (16 goals) of the match, but he scored his 500th goal at Palermo – a corner scored in the fifth chukka to take Ellerstina’s 17-5 up. There’s not much one can say about Ellerstina, only that they remained very focused, and in this match they managed to take an impressive 25-10 victory. Ellerstina are still unbeaten, and they yearn to claim the title that has been evading them since 2012. This 2020, they have found a system, they have found their positions on the field (with Nico established as the back they needed), they have demonstrated what they are able to do, and they are fully committed to win what they want more than anything in the world: the Argentine Open.

LA ENSENADA LA AGUADA 13-12 CRIA GT

La Ensenada-La Aguada: Segundo Bocchino 6 (2 goals), Alfredo Bigatti 8, Matías Torres Zavaleta 8 (4), Jerónimo Del Carril 7 (7, six penalties). Total: 29.

Cría Geté: Valerio Zubiaurre 8 (2 goals), Magoo Laprida 8 (2), Tomás García del Río 7 (1 penalty), Ignacio Laprida 8 (7, six penalties). Total: 31.

Score La Ensenada La Aguada: 0-2, 3-3, 7-4, 8-5, 9-6, 10-8, 13-9, 13-12.

Umpires: Gastón Lucero and Guillermo Villanueva.

Third Man: Esteban Ferrari.

BPP Polo Argentino: Luca Nebulosa (Open Iphone x Neblina), played by Alfredo Bigatti.

Nominees:

Polero Eulogia (Open Naipe x Erminda), played by Segundo Bocchino.

Malapata Adinerada (Luna) (Chapa Guri x Chapa Naomi), played by Matias Torres Zavaleta.

ELLERSTINA 25-10 LOS MACHITOS

Ellerstina: Facundo Pieres 10 (16 goals, five penalties and three corners), Hilario Ulloa 10 (3), Gonzalo Pieres 9 (6), Nicolás Pieres 10. Total: 39.

Los Machitos: Agustín Merlos 8 (1), Ignacio Toccalino 8 (4, two penalties), Mariano Aguerre 7 (3), Santiago Toccalino 8 (2). Total: 31.

Score Ellerstina: 5-0, 8-3, 11-3, 14-4, 17-5, 22-7, 24-8, 25-10.

Umpires: Martín Pascual and Gonzalo López Vargas.

Third Man: Federico Martelli.

BPP Polo Argentino: Gete Opalina (Los Machitos Libano x Gete Opereta), played by Facundo Pieres

Nominees:

Lavinia Carta (Lavinia Naipe x Zorrita), played by Hilario Ulloa.

CP Sonia (Sportivo x Machitos Sabona), played by Facundo Pieres.

The Argentine Open resumes on Sunday, December 6:

12pm: La Dolfina vs. La Irenita II

4pm: La Natividad Las Monjitas vs. Murus Sanctus

IMAGES

La Ensenada La Aguada vs. Cria GT

Ellerstina vs. Los Machitos

127° ARGENTINE POLO OPEN: Fixture & Teams