Entering the competition through the qualifying rounds, La Aguada is not aiming to take home the championship trophy; such an ambition isn’t even in their sights right now. Their focus is entirely different, directed toward accumulating enough points to remain in the elite top eight teams for 2025.
Unlike the frontrunners, La Aguada’s primary goal isn’t to claim immediate glory but rather to ensure their standing and growth within the highly competitive polo landscape. In this light, La Aguada’s direct competition isn’t La Natividad, just as La Zeta’s main opponent isn’t La Dolfina. This strategic approach means it doesn’t make sense for them to exhaust resources, put undue strain on players, or take risks with valuable horses in these matches against the most formidable teams. The points that will be crucial for their survival in this elite group will come from other games against more comparable adversaries. Facundo Llosa, a key voice for La Aguada, summed up this mindset with clarity: “We’re using these matches as opportunities to improve, to get into a rhythm, both for ourselves and our horses. It’s the last two games that we absolutely need to win. That’s our objective. Once we have our spot in Palermo, we intend to make it our home.”
The determination and drive of La Aguada, particularly embodied in the infectious spirit of the debuting player Facundo Llosa, couldn’t overcome the disparity in skill levels in this match. Despite their enthusiasm, La Aguada was unable to create a game that felt balanced or even remotely close. From start to finish, the match revealed a significant gap in ability. The individual talent on La Natividad’s side, guided by the remarkable performance of Bartolomé “Barto” Castagnola, became evident in every chukker, as they relentlessly put points on the board, steadily widening the lead whenever they chose. Each member of La Natividad contributed to the play, and all players added their own goals to the scoreboard. However, even with such a dominant team effort, Jeta Castagnola didn’t feel completely satisfied with either the team’s overall performance or his own contribution on the field. “There’s still a lot we need to work on, and we need to stay focused on each game as it comes,” he admitted, reflecting on his individual experience. “At times, I felt out of sync on the field. I returned to playing as a number 1, which is my natural position, but it’s something I need to get used to again,” confessed the game’s highest scorer, with seven goals to his credit.
Matches like this one, with La Zeta and La Aguada as opponents, don’t serve as true indicators of La Dolfina and La Natividad’s ultimate potential or readiness for the championship title. These games, against teams with significantly lower handicaps, don’t reflect the level of challenge that the top teams are likely to face in later stages of the tournament. In this initial phase, with a fixture featuring ten teams, these 40-goal quartets were expected to handle these matchups with the authority and breadth of skill they exhibited. However, the question of whether they are genuine title contenders won’t be answered until they face much tougher challenges later on. When the level of competition rises, so too will the demands on their play, and that will be the true test of whether they are destined to take the title.
Match Summary: La Natividad 19 vs. La Aguada 11
• La Natividad Lineup: Camilo Castagnola, handicap 10; Facundo Pieres, handicap 10; Pablo Mac Donough, handicap 10; Bartolomé Castagnola (h.), handicap 10. Total Team Handicap: 40.
• La Aguada Lineup: Facundo Llosa, handicap 7; Pedro Zacharías, handicap 8; Felipe Vercellino, handicap 7; Pedro Falabella, handicap 7. Total Team Handicap: 29.
• Score Progression by Chukker: La Natividad held a commanding lead throughout the game, with the progression by chukker as follows – 2-0, 7-1, 8-5, 12-5, 15-6, 17-7, 19-9, and the final score of 19-11.
• Top Scorers for La Natividad: Camilo Castagnola led with 7 goals, followed by Facundo Pieres with 5 (one from a penalty), Pablo Mac Donough with 2, and Bartolomé Castagnola (h.) adding 5 goals.
• Top Scorers for La Aguada: Facundo Llosa was the team’s leading scorer with 5 goals, followed by Pedro Zacharías with 4 (one from a penalty), and Felipe Vercellino with 2.
• Referees for the Match: Matías Baibiene and Guillermo Villanueva (h.), with José Ignacio Araya as the match umpire.
• Venue: The match took place on Field 1 at Palermo, a historic and prestigious setting for such a high-profile game.