LAHORE - Six-goal Juan Cruz Losada led Master Paints to main final of the International Steels National Open Polo Championship 2019 for Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2019 after edging out spirited Barry’s by 8-7 here at Lahore Polo Club ground on Wednesday.
High-flying Losada was in sublime form and smashed in superb six goals in his team’s triumph while his teammate Hamza Mawaz Khan also fought gallantly and banged in a brace. From Barry’s, Bautista Bayuger scored a quartet while Raja Mikael Sami and Raja Samiullah struck two and one goal respectively.
Master Paints started the match in great style as they hammered three back-to-back goals to take 3-0 lead in the first chukker. Barry’s opened their account in the second chukker by firing in field goal through Raja Sami to reduce the margin to 3-1. Master Paints then got a 30-yard penalty, which they successfully converted through Hamza to take 4-1 edge. Barry’s once again managed to reduce margin to 4-2 when Mikael struck a field goal but Master Paints again had upper hand with 5-2 lead when Losada converted a field goal.
Master Paints beat Barry’s by 8-7
Barry’s then fought courageously in third chukker and slammed in two goals through Bautista to reduce the deficit to 5-4. But Master Paints also managed to score one through Losada to further enhance their lead to 6-4. Barry’s fully dominated the fourth chukker by hammering a hat-trick in it through two by Bautista and one by Mikael to earn 7-6 lead. The fifth and decisive chukker saw Master Paints showing their aggression and pumping in two back-to-back goals through Losada to win the match by 8-7.
In the second match of the day, Diamond Paints/Newage toppled BBJ Pipes by 8-4 to set semifinal clash against Master Paints Black. From Diamond Paints/Newage, Salvador Ulloa struck six goals while Adnan Jalil Azam and Hissam Ali Hyder hit one goal each. From BBJ Pipes, Mumtaz Abbas Niazi scored a brace and Bilal Haye and Nicolas Corti hit one each.
Diamond Paints/Newage scored two goals through Adnan Jalil and Salvador to take 2-0 lead in the first chukker. BBJ Pipes bounced back in the second chukker by pumping in two goals through Mumtaz and Bilal to level the score at 2-2. Salvador then struck one to give his side 3-2 edge. Diamond Paints/Newage made a comeback in the third chukker by hitting two goals through Salvador to have 5-2 lead while Nicolas slammed in one for BBJ Pipes to reduce the margin to 5-3. In the fourth chukker, Diamond Paints/Newage added two more goals to make it 7-3. In the fifth and last chukker, both the sides scored one goal each as Diamond Paints/Newage won the match by 8-4.
