Sports Bulletin Report
LAHORE: BN Polo and Master Paints/Newage Cables from Pool A qualified for the semifinals of the 2nd President of Pakistan Polo Cup 2023 sponsored by Takmeel Square here at the Jinnah Polo Fields on Sunday.
Simon Prado guided Master Paints/Newage Cables to a nail-biting 8-7 victory over Remounts to qualify for the semifinals. Simon Prado was in sublime form as he played outstanding polo and contributed with four fabulous goals while Juan Cruz Greguoli slammed in two goals and Raja Temur Nadeem and Farooq Amin Sufi struck one goal each for Master Paints/Newage Cables. Manuel Sundblad fired in four goals while Ahmed Zubair Butt hammered a hat-trick for Remounts.
Both the teams started the match well and converted two goals each to finish the first chukker at 2-2. Master Paints/Newage dominated the match with two back-to-back goasl to gain a 4-2 lead. They added one more in their tally in the beginning of the third chukker to stretch their lead to 5-2. Remounts then made a strong comeback by smashing in five fantastic goals to take 7-5 lead. Master Paints/Newage also bounced back in style by thrashing in three back-to-back goals in the fourth and last chukker to win the thrilling match by 8-7.
Roberto Iturrioz Arias heroics helped BN Polo defeat HN Polo by 7-6 in the second match of the day. For BN Polo, Roberto Iturrioz Arias played excellent polo and hammered a hat-trick of goals while Hamza Mawaz Khan banged in a brace and Tito Ruiz and Baber Naseem converted one goal apiece. For HN Polo, Mikayial Sami thrashed in three goals and Santi Losa pumped in a brace and Haider Naseem struck one.
BN Polo were off to a flying start as they hammered a hat-trick of goals to have a 3-0 lead in the first chukker. They added two more in their tally in the second chukker to enhance their lead to 5-0 while HN Polo banged in a brace to reduce the margin to 5-2. The third chukker was evenly poised as both the sides scored two goals each with BN Polo still having a 7-4 lead. HN Polo though dominated the fourth and last chukker by smashing in two goals to reduce the deficit to 7-6 yet their efforts couldn’t yield fruit for their side and lost the crucial match by 6-7.
From Pool A, BN Polo team won all the three matches and topped the points table while Master Paints/Newage Cables secured second position. The main matches of Pool B will be played on Tuesday after which the semifinal teams of Pool B will be decided.
