The USPA Gold Cup came to an end last Sunday, with a fantastic match, that saw two fierce lineups who fought to the very end to claim the coveted trophy, Park Place and Coca Cola. They fought hard to earn an achievement that neither of them were able to get before, so it was a crucial contest for both organisations.
Following a tough battle, that was decided in extra chukka, Andrey Borodin’s foursome claimed the tournament with a golden goal produced by Hilario Ulloa. An incredible moment of euphoria and happiness sorrounded the ponyline, as the members of the organisation repeated over and over again “we are the champions!”.
Hilario Ulloa, Park Place’s captain, and the man who sealed the win for Park Place last Sunday, spoke to PoloLine, just a few days before the team’s debut in the US Open-
What do you consider the key that allowed Park Place to claim the trophy, besides being steady thoroghouth the tournament?
I think the key was that we were able to develop a strong team play, we were able to rotate thoroghout the tounament, that was very important. The three of us, the professionals, were on attack and defense, any of us could pass the ball or end a play, and that’s what I like the most about this lineup – we played together as a team.
What thoughts did come to you mind when you had to convert that penalty from the spot?
It’s difficult – you have the ball and the goalposts right in front of your eyes is difficult. You can’t lose concentration. You have to keep your sight on the ball to make sure you have no option but to convert that penalty successfully. You can’t fail. I tried to remain concentrated; and when I converted the penalty, I was relieved, and many emotions came up to me.
Why did you choose Louis (NR: Louis Hine) to fill in for Rufo (NR: Rufino Laulhé)?
We tried many players and did many practices. Slowly, Louis demonstrated he was the perfect fit to replace Rufo. He is a great player, we like him a lot. By the time of the dreadful accident that claimed Rufo’s life, Louis was in Australia; so we asked him to come because we knew he could be the one. I think he contributed with his speed and versatility, with Peke (NR: Mariano González Jr.), who did a very good job as the back; which was quite good, because we thought to have Rufo as the back and send Peke forward. I want to pay tribute to Rufo, because we had a very difficult start of the season. I was very much looking forward to playing with him, a future star, a future 10-goaler. It was very hard for all of us. I know how hard he worked for the team, for this group of people. As a matter of fact, we were five guys in the final. Louis was amazing on the field, and Rufo was around there all the time.
How was the feeling about winning with Park Place again?
It’s always a great feeling to win, and mostly with Park Place. It’s one of the biggest organisations of the world, and organisation that aims to the best, to win. In order to remain within these organisations, you may know you need to have the results, which is not that easy. We were close to reach that aim several times and we were unable to do so. And the results started to come up in the latest years. I am very happy to give this confidence to Andrey.
How about the upcoming US Open?
Well, we are well aware that the US Open will be very tough; there are a lot of very good teams, we could see that in the USPA Gold Cup. The level is very high in all of the teams. You can be able to win a tournament, and in the next, a little mistake can leave you out in quarter finals of even before. So, the idea is to go step by step, remain concentrated. It’s a long way to the final of the US Open.
Cover photo by Agustina Fonda.