Saturday October 19 saw two extraordinary matches for the 84th. Tortugas Open, the second leg of the prestigious 2024 Triple Crown in Argentina, and that is currently underway at the Tortugas Country Club. Although Ellerstina earned a significant victory against title holders, La Natividad, it was the day that the brand new Indios Chapaleufu, a lineup that includes two members of the fourth generation of the Heguy family (Eduardo’s and Pepe’s sons, Cruz and Antonio, respectively), claimed their first win in the Triple Crown.
Indios Chapaleufu and Cría La Dolfina opened fire, in a contest that seemed an easy task for the latter; as a matter of fact, they got off to a 4-0 lead halfway in the first chukka. However, step by step, the young Chapa foursome (completed by Teo Lacau and Torito Ruiz) presented a tough battle, that saw the scoreboard reading several ties. Cría La Dolfina managed to stay in the game, mostly thanks to Bautista Bayugar’s accuracy to convert penalties, while Antonio Heguy led Chapaleufu’s attack (he scored five goals). By the end of the sixth chukka, Chapaleufu were one goal ahead (11-12); but the seventh was another story. Chapa outscored Cría La Dolfina 3-0 to make it a 14-12 with only one chukka left. And while Cría La Dolfina closed the gap to one goal, courtesy of Rufino Bensadon, the deal was said and done. The brand new and young Indios Chapaleufu boys were victorious 14-13, in an unforgettable day for the legendary Heguy family, who are still making history in the sport.
The follow-up was as thrilling as the previous game. It was no less than the clash of the current reigning champions and recent winners of the Hurlingham Open, La Natividad, and Ellerstina. La Natividad already defeated Chapaleufu in their debut while Ellerstina fell to Cría La Dolfina. So La Z were armed to the teeth to search a crucial win against a very difficult contender. And indeed they did it – Ellerstina seized the reins and played a memorable match, under the command of their their lethal weapon, a guy named Sapo Caset, who led the attack with no less than twelve goals, very well supported by his team mates – Lukin Monteverde – who celebrated his 19th. birthday, today – Gonzalito Pieres and Nachi Du Plessis. The four of them fitted to perfection in order to hold their 40-goal rivals back. At the end of the day, Ellerstina emerged victorious 16-14. It’s worth to notice that La Natividad lost their last game in the 2023 Hurlingham Open semifinal.
Last but not least, League A is hotter than hell. The four teams are tied – one win and one loss, each; this means that all of them have chances to qualify to the final in the last league games, due on Saturday October 26.
The 84th. Tortugas Open will resume on Sunday October 20, with the following order of play:
1pm: La Hache vs. La Hache Cría & Polo
4pm: La Dolfina Saudi vs. La Ensenada
(Guillermo Terrera will sub in for Adolfo Cambiaso in La Dolfina Saudi).
The final of the 84th. Tortugas Open is set to be played on Saturday November 2.
84th. Tortugas Open – Teams & Fixture
Cover photo by Matías Callejo.