Lahore: Pebble Breakers outran Master Paints (Black) by 7-5 ½ to clinch the historical Emporium Mall Punjab Polo Cup played here at the Lahore Polo Club ground.
Saqib Khan Khakwani was hero of the final as he hammered a hat-trick and was declared man of the match while his teammate Guy Gibrat also slammed a hat-trick and Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa hit one. From the losing side, Andres Crispo struck three and Ahmed Ali Tiwana two.
The match started with Master Paints having half goal handicap advantage and with Guy Gibrat’s goal off 30-yard penalty hit, Pebble Breakers take 1-½ lead. The first part of the second chukker was then dominated by Master Paints as they struck two with Andres Crispo and Ahmed Tiwana scoring one goal each to make give their team 2½-1 edge. Pebble Breakers them staged a strong comeback and scored two back-to-back goals – one each was struck by Gibrat and Saqib – to have 3-2 ½ .
Three tremendous goals from Pebble Breakers – two by Saqib and one Mohsin Khosa – helped them take an unbeatable 6-2½ lead. Master Paints although bounced back well in the fourth chukker and hammered three goals to take 6-5½ lead but one goal was also scored by Pebble Breakers to finish the match having 7-5½ lead.
In the subsidiary final, Barry’s beat Newage/Master Paints by 6-3. All the players contributed equally in Barry’s triumph as Raja Samiullah, George Meyrick and Hamza Mawaz Khan slammed two goals each. From the losing side, all the three goals came from Juan Cruz Losada
