Tang Polo, Thailand’s Kingpower fight back
MANILA, Philippines—Tang Polo of China and Kingpower of Thailand pulled off huge wins over their respective rivals Wednesday to throw the battle for championship berths in the Globalport Philippine Polo Open 2015 wide open in Calatagan, Batangas.
Liu Shilai scored the go-ahead goal before Tang Polo watched Globalport miss successive attempts in the dying seconds of the four-chukker game for an 8-7 victory.
In the other game, Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha scored two goals in the first chukker while Lucas Lujan blasted home two goals in the final frame as Kingpower bested Los Tamaraos, 5-2, for its first win in Zone 2.
Argentinian pro Miguel Diaz struck hardest for Tang Polo with four goals while Benjamin Urquiza added two goals as they stalled Globalport’s bid to secure the finals berth from the three-team Zone 1.
Tang Polo can advance to the one-game final on Sunday if it beats Polo Escape of Thailand, the team beaten by Mikee Romero’s Globalport, 9-4, on opening day.
“It was a good game,” said Liu. “Mikee is a very good friend, like family, and we both love to play with each other.”
In a solid followup to his five-goal showing on opening day, Argentine Mariano Obregon led Globalport with four goals, although he muffed the game-tying goal in the last 40 seconds.
Globalport had one last chance to tie it but Adrian Garcia’s attempt went wide to the dismay of many in the good-sized crowd.
The defeat spoiled Romero’s first goal in the tournament. The owner of PBA’s Globalport team completed a long pass from Obregon to give his side a 5-3 lead at the half.
“It’s good that we won our first game,” said Apichet. “It was very tough. It was a very, very close game but we managed to turn the game around in the final chukker.”
The loss denied Los Tamaraos an outright final berth after beating defending champion San Miguel, 9-5, in its first game.
Tang Polo and Polo Escape, and Kingpower and San Miguel were still playing at presstime. In case of multiple ties, tiebreaks will be used to determine Sunday’s finalists.
