The Argentine Triple Crown has begun with a familiar name on the trophy. On Saturday 16 October at Tortugas Country Club, Ellerstina beat La Dolfina Saudi 11-9 to win the Tortugas Open, the first leg of the Triple Crown, for the third year running.
The final
It was the thirteenth Tortugas Open title for Ellerstina and the eleventh consecutive final between these two teams. La Dolfina led 5-3 in the third chukka, but Ellerstina outscored them 6-1 over the next two chukkas, with Facundo Pieres in command. La Dolfina scored three straight goals in the seventh to close to 9-10, but with four minutes left, a play by Matías Torres Zavaleta set up a goal from Gonzalito Pieres to seal the win.
Ellerstina’s team was Facundo Pieres, Matías Torres Zavaleta, Gonzalo Pieres Jr. and Nicolas Pieres. Hilario Ulloa was out injured, and Torres Zavaleta played in his place, a decision that paid off when he was named Most Valuable Player. Facundo Pieres scored six goals, five of them from penalties, and finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 29 goals.
For La Dolfina, Adolfo Cambiaso, Francisco Elizalde, David Stirling and Diego Cavanagh scored nine between them, with Elizalde the top scorer on four. Cambiaso’s Gete Origami took Best Playing Pony.
What comes next
The Triple Crown continues with the Hurlingham Open and then the Argentine Open at Palermo. The same teams will again be favourites, but this was a reminder that La Dolfina cannot take wins for granted. The semi-finals showed how close the field is: La Dolfina had needed to get past RS Murus Sanctus, and Ellerstina beat La Ensenada, so there are real contenders behind the big two.
For those of us following from London, the Argentine season is a chance to see how the players who dominated our summer fare at home. It is a reminder, too, of the depth of the Pieres family, with three of them in the winning side.
Sources: Pololine
