Travieso Win The Coveted North American Cup In Overtime Thriller

The North American Cup came to an end on Saturday at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida. The final match of the North American Cup was played between Travieso and Audi Polo Team. Instituted in 1974, the North American Cup has been a staple in American and Canadian polo for several decades. The cup is played at 16 - 20 goal level. The cup is being played at Grand Champions Polo Club since 2011. Tony Calle (+3), Grant Ganzi (+2), Juan Cruz Merlos (+5) and Pite Merlos (+8) played for Travieso Polo team. The Audi Polo team comprised of Wes Finlayson (+4), Brandon Philips (+4), Pablo Spinacci (+6) and Marc Ganzi (+2).

Trailing by 5 goals after the first half, Travieso staged a brilliant come-back for a stunning 14 - 13 victory in one of the most exciting finals in the history of North American Cup. Former 10-goaler Pite Merlos was named the Most -Valuable player after the play-maker scored four goals in the secondd-half. "It's a great feeling to win like this coming back in extra time," Pite Merlos said. "I'm so sorry for Audi because they were a great challenge." It was the first major tournament for Pite Merlos’ 20 - year old son Juan Cruz Merlos, who played alongside his dad. Juan Cruz Merlos echoed his father's sentiments, "I am so happy we won and I won with my dad. We were struggling at one stage, then my dad, the head of the team, got things together. He made some moves and changed some positions and we got it. We had our system, got our rhythm back and Grant had the best score of the game."

“It’s a great feeling to win like this coming back in extra time.”