Patagones delivered a great final chukker, defeating Altair 10-8 and winning the Aspen Valley Cup 8-Goal, repeating last season’s success.
The final, played at the Patagones Polo Club of Florida last Friday February 2nd, was really close. The teams had already played each other in the first round, and Altair (Ashley Busch, Kristos Magrini, Henry Porter and Brandon Phillips) had defeated Patagones (Santiago Avendaño, Lorenzo Merlotti, Benjamín Avendaño and Robi Bilbao) by a single goal. The match was thrilling, with the lead changing eight times in just the first half alone, until Altair managed to take a 6-4 lead. In the second half, Bilbao's game got better and the Avedaño brothers supported him very well, equalizing at 8 before the last chukka. In the last 7 minutes, two great fouls shot by Bilbao gave Patagones the win.
Bilbao -the top scorer with eight- earned the Best Playing Pony blanket thanks to his mare JM Lisa, who he rode in the second chukker. Benjamin Avedaño was the Most Valuable Player.
