Thermal, CA (February 25, 2008) – The first meeting in the Ohana tournament, at the La Quinta Polo Club, between Sean Keys and David Ragland’s Hidden Creek/Pink Deco and Kelly and Chris Maloney’s Ohana/Tri Tech turned into a shoot-out. The gunslingers of the afternoon were Graham Bray for Keys and Ragland and Dan Juarez with the Maloneys. Bray scored eight times while Juarez replied with six and in the end, Bray was the winner by one at 13 – 12. Defensive polo was not a consideration.
With the same two teams set to meet in the final of the Ohana, it was thought that another high scoring game would be the order of the day. With Juarez carrying a hot hand of 17 goals in his three qualifiying games and Bray not only scoring, but setting up scoring opportunities seemingly at will, the thought made sense. Turned out to be just another thought however, as Bray changed strategy and elected to stop Juarez and rely on his teammates for offensive help. The idea worked as Juarez was held scorless and Hidden Creek/Pink Deco defeated the Maloneys by a score of 7 – 5 and in doing so, won the Ohana tournament.
With Bray playing a strong defensive game, Keys stepped up and scored a season high four goals.Marcos Araya notched a pair and Ragland finished the day off with one of his own.
With Juarez held scoreless, along with Gaston von Wernich, Chris Maloney was able to contribute three goals with sister Kelly adding one. A handicap award of one completed the scoring.