Bin Drai and Abu Dhabi are the finalists of the Julius Baer Gold Cup 2018

06/03/2018
Bin Drai and Abu Dhabi will play the Julius Baer Gold Cup Final after winning their respective semifinal matches today against Zedan and Mahra. In a double action day at the Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club, Abu Dhabi defeated Mahra by 9 goals to 7 and Bin Drai won his match against Zedan by 6 goals to 5. They where two very tough semifinal matches with five chukkers of pure energy and enthusiasm. Teams fought hard to achieve the desired ticket to the final of the Julius Baer Gold Cup, the most important match of the Dubai Polo Gold Cup Series 2018.
 
Abu Dhabi and Bin Drai had to fight really hard to defeat Mahra and Zedan. Patron Faris Al Yabhouni´s team after a great start (with a 5-1 lead in the second chukker) saw how Mahra closed the gap and put pressure on them till the very end.
Finally in the last chukker they achieved to handle the advantage to close a 9-7 victory.
 
Bin Drai had a similar situation to handle after a comeback in half time and then playing two even chukkers. A penalty from the spot, scored by Raúl Laplacette, decided the game in favor of Bin Drai by a close 6 goals to 5.
 
Matches Progression:
 
Abu Dhabi: 1-1/ 5-1/ 5-3/ 6-5/ 9-7
Top Scorers of the match: Isidro Strada (Mahra) & Alfredo Capella (Abu Dhabi) 4 goals.
 
Bin Drai: 1-2/ 1-2/ 3-3/ 5-5/ 6-5
Top Scorer of the match: Rául Laplacette (Bin Drai) 4 goals
 
The Julius Baer Gold Cup (Dubai Open), an 18-goal handicap competition, is one of the only tournaments in the United Arab Emirates to be recognized and certified by the World Polo Tour (WPT) and ranked by the highly coveted ‘WPT Cup’, resulting in winners receiving 60 points for their victory. The tournament is played under the banner of the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) and under strict international supervision according to the HPA rules and provision of its umpires.
 
Participating teams include:
  • UAE Polo Team - Patron Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum 
  • Habtoor Polo - Patron Mohammed Al Habtoor 
  • Wolves Polo Team - Patron Habtoor Al Habtoor
  • Mahra Polo - Patron Rashid Al Habtoor 
  • Bin Drai Polo Team - Patron Saeed Bin Drai 
  • Zedan Polo Team - Patron Amr Zedan 
  • Abu Dhabi Team - Patron Faris Al Yabhouni 
  • Desert Palm Team - Patron Tariq AlBawardy 
 
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