Team La Dolfina Sancor Seguros remains undefeated this year as well. With the victory over Ellerstina Johor, La Dolfina has continued its winning streak at the 126th HSBC Argentine Open and has been at the top of the podium for seven consecutive years.
After 32 undefeated matches, La Dolfina Sancor Seguros have also taken the lead in Saturday’s 126th Argentine Open final with a clear 16-12 against Ellerstina, winning the world’s most important polo tournament for the seventh year running, with ten teams with team handicaps between 28 and 40 goals and the most important players from Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay.
In a highly competitive match, Team La Dolfina, who had already won the Hurlingham Open, defeated Ellerstina Johor (winner of the Tortugas Open).
The outstanding performances of Adolfo Cambiaso, who scored 6 goals, and Pablo MacDonough, who scored another 5, earned La Dolfina the trophy, although her team-mate Juan M. Nero had to leave his place to Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade after a fall in the seventh Chukker.
Ellerstina could do little to withstand the attacks of La Dolfina. Facundo Pieres, scorer of 8 goals in the final, also failed to turn three penalties into goals.
In this way, La Dolfina’s Cañuelas won their 13th title in 19 appearances at the Palermo Open since the team’s inception in 2000. For Ellerstina it was the twelfth final in fifteen years. Since 2005, the team has only missed the final in 2006, 2013 and 2018 and won the Argentine Open three times in total.
Looking at the individual players, the balance is as follows: the four La Dolfina players have won a total of 44 Argentine Open titles to date – 16 Cambiaso, 10 Mac Donough and Nero, 8 Stirling. On Ellerstina’s side, Gonzalo and Facundo Pieres each won 3 titles, while his brother Nicolas won 1. “Polito” Pieres is the only one of the 8 finalists who has not yet made it onto the trophy.
After a speech by Eduardo Novillo Astrada, President of the AAP, the award ceremony began. Carlos Menéndez Behety, Rafael Cúneo Libarona, Federico Virasoro, Juan Lastra, Gonzalo Delger and Guilllermo Mones Ruiz, Global Markets Director at HSBC, as well as Martín Pérez Ibañez and Bob Jornayvaz presented the awards.
After Maxi Funes, Relations Manager of AAP, was awarded for 25 years of AAP work, Pablo Mac Donough received the Gonzalo Heguy Trophy from Jesús Heguy as the best player of the final. The Javier Novillo Astrada Trophy was presented to the tournament’s record scorer, Adolfo Cambiaso, who scored a total of 39 goals at the 126th Palermo Open.
In the final of the 3rd Abierto Argentino de Polo Femenino Team Overo Z7 UAE defeated the opponents of La Dolfina Brava and won the Women’s Open presented by La Roche Posay. Team Overo Z7 UAE with Clara Cassino (7), Millie Hine (4), Hazel Jackson-Gaona (10) and Lía Salvo (9) defeated the defending champions La Dolfina Brava with 10 to 5 and won the coveted title for the first time since the founding of Abierto Femenino in 2017. Led by Lía Salvo, who became the tournament’s best player and scorer for the third year running, El Overo Z7 UAE scored the victory they had hoped for.
Current Ranking of the 126. HSBC Argentine Open
1) La Dolfina 900 (5 PJ) (5 PG) (0 PP)
2) Ellerstina 750 (5 PJ) (4 PG) (1 PP)
3) La Dolfina PR 450 (4 PJ) (3 PG) (1 PP)
4) Las Monjitas 450 (4 PJ) (3 PG) (1 PP)
5) La Natividad 300 (4 PJ) (2 PG) (2 PP)
6) La Albertina 150 (4 PJ) (1 PG) (3 PP)
7) La Aguada 150 (4 PJ) (1 PG) (3 PP)
8) La Ensenada 150 (4 PJ) (1 PG) (3 PP)
9) La Irenita 150 (4 PJ) (1 PG) (3 PP)
10) Cría Yatay 0 (4 PJ) (0 PG) (4PP)
Photos: Nacho Corbalán
Photos: POLO+10 / Thomas Wirth
