Resuming play in the C.V. Whitney Cup at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), Wednesday’s matches kicked-off between Scone (Cable Magness, Cody Ellis, Poroto Cambiaso, David ‘Pelon’ Stirling) against newcomer Dazos (David Farache, Dylan Rossiter, Santiago ‘Santi’ Torres, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Pieres), followed by Dutta Corp/Show+ (Joaquin Avendaño, Mariano ‘Nino’ Obregon, Tomas Garcia del Rio, Timmy Dutta) versus reigning C.V. Whitney Cup champions Park Place (Andrey Borodin, Jason Wates, Juan Britos, Hilario Ulloa).
After narrowly falling to Pilot in overtime in the first match of bracket play, Scone was back in action against Dazos making their 22-goal debut. Scoring all but one of their goals from in open play, Scone began their offensive dominance with eight first half goals, including four from 9-goaler Cambiaso from the field. Dazos’ Pieres converted three penalty attempts to keep his team in contention, but Scone ultimately ended the half with an 8-6 advantage. Controlling the tempo in the second half, Scone’s scoring blitz continued with a run of four goals on efforts from Ellis, Cambiaso and Stirling. Entering the final chukker with a five-goal lead, Ellis shone in the sixth with three successful drives, as Scone easily earned their first C.V. Whitney victory 17-7.
Seeking their third consecutive C.V. Whitney Cup title, Park Place began their 2023 debut with a three-goal first chukker. Answering in the second, Garcia del Rio converted two goals from the penalty line, as Ulloa found his second in the field to tie the match 4-all. Finding their offensive rhythm in the field, additions from Dutta and Avendaño earned Dutta Corp/Show+ a narrow 8-6 lead at the break. Regrouping in the tent, 10-goaler Ulloa broke though for Park Place, going on an impressive run of five unanswered goals. Trailing by one to open the sixth, back-to-back efforts from Dutta and Garcia del Rio brought Dutta Corp/Show+ to the verge of forcing overtime, but Park Place managed to hang on for the 12-11 win.
Upcoming Schedule:
Thursday, February 16
La Elina (0-1) vs Aspen (0-0) at 11:00am ET
Two Trees (0-1) vs La Fe (0-0) at 3:00pm ET
Photo Credit: David Lominska