Taking to the historic U.S. Polo Assn. Field One at the National Polo Center – Wellington (NPC), a battle of two heavyweight contenders took center-stage as Valiente (Bob Jornayvaz, Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez, Lucas ‘Luckitas’ Criado Jr., Adolfo Cambiaso) faced Pilot (Curtis Pilot, Lucas Escobar, Matias Torres Zavaleta, Facundo Pieres) for the coveted C.V. Whitney Cup title and $50,000.
Despite Cambiaso securing the opening throw-in, Pilot struck first with captain Pieres leading Pilot’s offensive efforts to give his team an early 3-0 advantage. Answering from the penalty line, three conversions from Criado Jr. boosted Valiente to a 6-4 lead at the half. Trading goals in the fourth, Pilot’s Escobar scored a crucial goal from the field to become just the second Pilot teammate to reach the scoreboard and cut their deficit to one. Driving a Penalty 4 conversion to tie the match 9-all, C.V. Whitney Cup leading scorer Pieres’ once again led the field with eight goals in the final. With the possibility of overtime looming, one last push from Gonzalez to put the ball between the posts was enough separation for Valiente’s defense to hang for the historic 10-9 victory.
Mariano ‘Peke’ Gonzalez was named Most Valuable Player, with Gonzalez’ “Carpacho” also claiming Best Playing Pony honors. Best Playing Argentine Bred Pony was awarded to “Mega Espía,” played and owned by Facundo Pieres.
The Gauntlet of Polo continues with the USPA Gold Cup® beginning on Thursday, March 2 at the National Polo Center –Wellington (NPC) with Shack Attack 2 vs La Fe at 10:00am ET, followed by Aspen vs Dazos at 3:00pm ET.
Photo Credit: David Lominska