The battle between Cibao La Pampa and the UAE Polo Team has been the standout match of the tournament so far. Everyone’s money would have been on the hugely experienced UAE Polo team, winners of the Cartier Queen’s Cup in 2021, but Juan Pepa’s squad believed differently. They never let UAE pull away and went on to take the lead for the first time 11-10 in the fifth chukka. UAE went ahead once more but it now a battle of wills and a race against the clock. Lucas Monteverde Jnr levelled the scores (14-14) with a minute left of this match only for Cibao La Pampa’s Benjamin Panelo to fire through the winner with just seconds remaining. The stand-out player was Juan Pepa himself, firing through a hat-trick of goals.
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The second match saw a win for Talandracas. Polito Pieres reminded everyone why he was named Cartier’s Most Valuable Player in last year’s final, delivering some fabulous fast-paced runs up The Queen’s Ground. Perhaps he was inspired by the person watching some of this game from the Royal Box as the Club was delighted to welcome its new President, HM The King, to an informal visit yesterday afternoon. White Crane kept themselves in contention, ensuring the scores were level (5-5) at the end of the fourth. However this just encouraged Talandracas to turn up the heat, pulling away from Alexie Calvert-Ansari’s squad to win the match 12-7.Chukka Breakdown:
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