In the first of the semi-finals at Los Pinos, Las Monjitas,were no match for Ayala, who are defending their high-goal championship of last year, and who won by 10 goals to 5 in a match that was too unequal for a semi-final. Íñigo Zobel’s (2) team, with Gastón Urturi (5), David ‘Pelón’ Stirling (8) and Santiago Laborde (5) on board, were far superior. Pelón was the man of the match, scoring most of the goals, defending every rival’s attack and playing passing shots that would seem to deserve another point to his handicap. Las Monjitas, with patron Camilo Bautista (0) at their head and Eduardo Novillo (9), P. Sáinz de Vicuña (3) and A. Díaz Alberdi (8), tried hard to get past the excellent defensive wall put up by Zóbel’s men. It was an impossible task. To read about the second match and photos…
The second match was as exciting as anyone could ask for. Alfio Marchini’s (3) team, Loro Piana, come in with several major tournaments to their credit and no less than Adolfito Cambiasso (10) at 3, plus J. Peel (2) and J. Ambroggio (5), all of whom worked hard to win this match. But they weren’t up to it, mainly because Bahar Jefri’s (2) men were on top of them all the time. Bahar himself played an excellent match, marking consistently and always in the right spot to receive the ball. But it was Pablo Macdonough’s (10) game, with Ignacio Laprida (4) in full support. A couple of incidents to Loro Piana didn’t help either: Alfio came off in the 4th chukker, while Adolfito did something to his wrist at the last minute.
The final, on Saturday 30th, looks like a great match: Ayala vs. Ahmibah.
All material (c) Alberto Bullich 2008
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ALL PHOTOS (c) Alberto Bullrich 2008
