Valiente rallies for 9-6 victory

WELLINGTON Valiente changed tactics at halftime and rallied to defeat Coca-Cola 9-6 in the 26-goal USPA Gold Cup final Sunday at International Polo Club Palm Beach.

An Adolfo Cambiaso-led team haswon the prestigious Gold Cup six out of the last eight seasonsand the 41-year-old has now won a record 13 titles, his first coming in 1991. Cambiaso, the youngest 10-goaler in the history of polo who is generally acknowledged as the best player in the sport, finished with two goals and was namedMVP.

Coca-Cola built a 5-3 halftime lead, pressuring Valiente all over the field but managed just one goal in the second half.

“I’ve got to give Coke all the credit in the world,” said Valiente patron Bob Jornayvez. “They threw us off our game. We had a hard time getting organized.”

Then Valiente (4-0) made their move during the halftime break.

“We changed a bunch, Adolfo changed just about everything,” said Jornayvez. “He changed where we were on the throw-ins, on the knock-ins, whowewent to. They confused us in the first three (chukkers).

“We tried to come out with a totally different look and it worked. It’s like having a Plan A and a Plan B. When Plan A isn’t working, we switched to Plan B.”

Valiente 8-goaler Diego Cavanagh scored agame-high six goals, five on penalty shots.

“We did really well the first half,” said Coca-Cola’s Julio Arellano, who scored one goal. “In the second half, Adolfo started controlling the ball more and they did a good job protecting him.”

Valiente has now won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown of polo. The final leg is the U.S. Open, the most prestigious tournament inNorth America.

The six-team tournament is expected to begin on April 5 or April 7. TheU.S. Open final isApril 23 at 3 p.m.