U.S. OPEN POLO CHAMPIONSHIP THE GAUNTLET OF POLO

Tomas Panelo in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. Meshing well with the team, Panelo helped Scone defeat Dutta Corp/Show+ 14-10 to advance to the final.

Conversely, Pilot won their first game of bracket play against Dazos, but then fell to Aspen 12-11 in a surprise upset. The loss forced Pilot to earn their quarterfinal spot in playoff contention against Two Trees by Jefferies, which they accomplished in a 10-5 victory. From there, Pilot defeated C.V. Whitney Cup champions Valiente in the quarterfinals in a 13-12 nailbiter. Park Place attempted to end Pilot’s crusade, but Pilot rose again, defeating them 15-14 in the semifinals to earn a place in the final.

Speaking to Scone’s strategy entering the title match, Ellis commented, “The strategy obviously was high intensity, try to get Facundo when he doesn’t have the ball because when he’s got it, it’s very hard to take it away. And just trust in ourselves. We’ve got a pretty good system that we’ve been working on since the beginning, and I think it showed a little bit today that we can do it. So, for us, just confidence and give it everything.”

Panelo added, “They have a few really fast mares—Facundo has two or three [that are] really fast. Matias is well-mounted. They play well. […] Curtis works a lot. But I think we played more focusing on our game than on them. The idea was always for us to manage the ball a bit, to have a good defense, and try to find some spaces in the field. I think we [did] it quite well, the game worked well for us.”

Characterizing Scone’s style of play, Panelo continued, “The idea of playing is open and fast, and of course Poroto managing the ball, he’s probably the best one doing it. I think it worked really well. Cody played really well, David helped us a lot marking and [on] defense- defending, attacking, everything. So, I think we played well.”

With Panelo still playing in place of Stirling, Scone was awarded one goal on handicap at the onset of play. A slow first chukker, Scone’s Ellis was the sole player able to find the goal, while Pilot suffered a complete shutout, giving Scone an early 2-0 lead. Pieres and Cambiaso traded goals in the second chukker to maintain the gap. Zavaleta and Pieres were both able to capitalize from the field in the third. A single response from Panelo placed Pilot within one, with Scone narrowly leading 4-3 at halftime.

Regrouping at the break, Ellis shared what the Scone collective used the time to focus on. “Trying to breathe! Maintaining the intensity that we came out with, and