SAN ROQUE, Saturday, August 31, 2024 – A final to remember. This is how the
definition of the Turkish Airlines Gold Cup that the teams of
Calatagan and ATL Marine & Energy on field number 3 of Ayala Sede Los Pinos. With the slogan of
winning the culminating title of the 53rd Andalusia International Polo Tournament, everything was prepared
to be experienced as what it ended up being: a polo party. The chronicle will later indicate that the
victory corresponded to Calatagan, but the truth is that the match has left a mark that
it will hardly be forgotten.
The parity between the two teams was constant, despite the fact that both teams had moments
in which they knew how to get certain advantages on the scoreboard that allowed them to feel closer
of victory. But everything ended in the same way: with the opponent reaching the tie and even
turning the result around. To talk about the performances of Facundo Pieres and Bartolomé Castagnola,
The height of both of their 10 handicap goals, is to be repetitive, but they were really
Unforgettable. They both guided and led their teams throughout, and they were also very good
complemented by their peers.
In short, and in a match that seemed to be unfailingly heading for the supplementary chukker,
a good combination of Calatagan, with the decisive contribution of Santiago Laborde and the subsequent
completion by Antonio Heguy, gave the title to the team of the Filipino Martín Romualdez,
which for the first time in its history wins the Turkish Airlines Gold Cup, and which closes a 2024
which also included the conquest of the Sotogrande Bronze Cup.
It was also a day of definitions in the Low Handicap, where Calatagan and 1896 Polo
They met in their third final in this 53rd Andalusia International Polo Tournament: in the Bronze Cup
Sotogrande, the winner had been 1896 Polo; in the Terralpa Silver Cup, the title went to
Calatagan. On this occasion, we had to wait for the supplementary chukker to know the winner, and
it was then that 1896 Polo sentenced history in his favor and won the victory. In addition, and
also within the framework of the Low Handicap, Grupo Mendizábal defeated C. H. Kazuki and won the
Lacoste Cup.
After the finals, it was the turn of the awards ceremony, in which participated, in addition to the
protagonists, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, Mayor of San Roque; José María Arrabal, Secretary General of
Sports of the Junta de Andalucía; Muzzafer Rifaioglu, General Manager of Turkish Airlines in Malaga;
Berk Eratik, Sales Manager of Turkish Airlines in Malaga; Lorenzo Nencini, Representative in Europe
U.S. Polo Assn.; Carmen Morales, founder of Casa Libertas; – Maria Cruz Conde, Representative of
Covetsol; Douglas Messias, CEO of Doma Eyewear; Rita Jordao, Marketing Director at
Sotogrande; Juan Goti, representing the Argentine Polo Association; and Manuel Cereceda,
Sports Director of the 53rd Andalusia International Polo Tournament.