LAHORE – Some close encounters were witnessed in the Raaziq Punjab Cup Polo Tournament 2011, with State Life, Askari Insurance and Guard Group/Diamond Paints staging victories here at the Lahore Polo Club ground on Thursday. Malcom Bowrick hit four goals while Ahmed Ali Tiwana bagged two as State Life edged Fernando Quinto Bourdieu-led Ciro’s Pomodoro/Al Khan 6-5.
Shah Shamyl Alam and Fernando shared two goals while Iftikhar Ali Khan Simba scored one for Pomodoro. Master Paints, despite having a two-goal edge, fell to Askari Insurance 8-9. Master Paints could score only six goals in the high-scoring match. Gaston Moore and Sufi Mohammad Aamir failed to find form and score three and two goals, respectively. Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana got one for Master Paints.
Askari, on the other hand, were flying high as Shah Qublai Alam, Saqib Khan Khakwani and Raul LaPlacette showed real team work to bring goal after goal. Saqib scored five goals and later Zain Khan Khakwani replaced him to get one. Earlier, Qublai hit one and LaPlacette scored two goals. Army/Askari Bank failed to match the challenge put forth by Guard Group/Diamond Paints, despite having the services of Julio Nevillo Astrada.
Julio Nevillo Astrada and Isfandiyar Ali Pataudi shared two goals each while the winners saw Mazzani get five of the seven goals, with Taimur Ali Malik and Raja Samiullah sharing one each to complete the tally. Manual Crespo, Raja Temur Nadeem, Ahmed Ali Tiwana, Malcom Bowrick and Shah Qubilai Alam supervised the matches.
