Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra beat Pilará 14-11 in the final of the Tortugas Open, and became the first team to ever claim the first tournament of the Triple Crown in Argentina for three consecutive years. Once again, the boys in black confirmed their first class status as their well deserved 40 goals.
Pilará, with 7-goaler Lucas James filling in for suspended Agustin Merlos, a change that lowered their handicap fro 37 to 34, had a stronger start. With only 40 seconds of play, Santiago Chavanne converted a 40-yards penalty to give his team an early 1-0 lead. Four minutes and a half later, Santiago himself expanded the advantage to 2-0 and the chukker ended up with Pilará leading 3-0, thanks to a great neckshot goal courtesy by Sebastián Merlos.
Shocked by those almost unexpected three goals early in the match, the boys in black found their way in the second chukker. With only a minute of play in the second chukker, Juan Martín Nero ran quickly to the goalposts to score for Ellerstina. Inmediatly, and after the throw in, Gonzalo Pieres Jr. hit a backhander and passed the ball to his brother Facundo, who ran to cut the margin to one goal (2-3). Minutes later, following a great goal by Gonzalito, the scoreboard read a 3-all, and finally Facundo converted a 30-yards penalty to give Ellerstina their first lead of the match, 4-3, while Pilará remained scoreless.
Pilará made a comeback in the third chukker. Marcos Heguy converted a penalty from the spot to put things 4-all. From then on, the scores would become leveled, with both teams coming and going, exchanging goals. By the end of the third period, Sebastián Merlos picked the ball to score a great neckshot goal for a 6-6 tie. The fourth chukker had barely two goals converted by penalty shots, courtesy of Facundo (40) and Santiago Chavanne (30) - already the game's best player -, to make it 7-all.
Things would change in the fifth chukker, with title holders getting back in the lead. Two goals by the boys in black put them 9-7 up, while Sebastián Merlos was in charge to cut the margin to one goal – 9-8.
With two chukkers remaining, the match saw one dominating chukker for each team and three very leveled, so by this time, one could thing that the title was within either Ellerstina’s or Pilará’s reach. But it was in the sixth chukker when Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra showed their brave face. Title holders already had a 10-8 lead when two great shots by Gonzalito and Juan Martín Nero expanded their advantage to a comfortable 12-9 lead.
Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra put the ice on the cake in the seventh chukker. Facundo scored twice, to secure his team a decisive 14-9 lead. Two goals by Marcos Heguy and Santiago Chavanne were not enough for Pilará, and Ellerstina took Tortugas once again, a tournament that truly make them feel at home.
