HB Polo and King Power Foxes Secure Spots in Quarterfinals
By Darlene Ricker
HB Polo Team and King Power Foxes are headed for the quarterfinals after winning their matches on Day 10 of the 2016 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup for the British Open. HB Polo defeated Zacara 12-10, and King Power Foxes took a 15-8 victory over Clarke & Green.
The first match, between HB Polo and Zacara, showcased team play at its best by both organisations. While shots by 10-goalers David “Pelón” Stirling (HB Polo) and Pablo MacDonough (Zacara) dominated the scoreboard, most of their teammates also contributed goals. Interestingly, both lineups had the exact same handicaps (1, 3, 8, 10), evenly parsed from 1 to 10. If you ask HB Polo patron Sebastien Pailloncy, however, that had nothing to do with the result. “Today was just our day,” he said.
Each team had a strong 8-10 player duo who got support from teammates when and where they needed it. The same was true among lower-rated players. The Pailloncy brothers, rated at 1 and 3 goals, melded together to tie the game at 3 in the second chukka. Sebastien Pailloncy initiated the slick play, delivering a backhand as perfectly calibrated as a Swiss timepiece to his brother, who swerved around MacDonough (never an easy thing to do) and dashed into goal. Next, with an “enojado” MacDonough chasing him down like a bull in the streets of Pamplona, Ludo Pailloncy sent the ball to Stirling, who brought HB Polo one goal ahead. Except for a momentary tie at 5 at the close of the second chukka, HB Polo maintained a two- or three-goal advantage the rest of the way to the final bell.
The fact that HB Polo’s moves were like finely choreographed performance art came as no surprise to Sebastien Pailloncy. The plan was “to play as a team and make sure each of our four players have a job and do it,” he said. Toccalino was designated to receive HB’s knock-ins, with Ludo Pailloncy marking MacDonough and Sebastien Pailloncy taking Tom Brodie. “Lucas [Monteverde] was waiting for Pelón, so Cubi [Toccalino] played against Lyndon [Lea]. This worked every time.”
On Zacara’s knock-in, Sebastien Pailloncy’s mission was to take Brodie and leave Stirling on Monteverde. “There were times that I missed my job,” he said, acknowledging that Zacara took advantage and scored several times on the play. “We knew Zacara would play as they did, with [MacDonough] managing from behind. So we knew we’d just have to be patient and we’d catch him at some point because he can’t control the whole field all day.”
This is HB Polo’s first season with a 10-goaler (Stirling) on the roster. “Pelón anticipates a lot. He knows what we can do for the team and for him,” said Pailloncy. “Now we know what he is expecting from us, so when the play goes right and we have time to think a bit, we can do the job.” The most important advantage of having a top-rated player, he said, is that Stirling “waits for us and gives us time to make the right play. It’s like Valiente—most of the time Adolfo [Cambiaso] waits for Bob [Jornayvaz] to catch a man, and then he runs with the ball.” As it has proven to be for Valiente, HB Polo found it a winning formula Saturday.
Zacara
Tom Brodie 3
Lyndon Lea 1
Lucas Monteverde 8
Pablo MacDonough 10
HB Polo
Ludovic Pailloncy 1
Ignacio Toccalino 8
David Stirling 10
Sebastien Pailloncy 3
Clarke & Green
Nick Clarke 1
Juan Zavaleta 7
John Paul Clarkin 7
Luke Tomlinson 7
King Power Foxes
Tal Srivaddhanaprabha 0
Hugo Lewis 2
Gonzalito Pieres 10
Facundo Pieres 10