Dubai: Mohammad Al Habtoor believes his Vista Jet Bombadier team will go on to improve after reclaiming the Julius Baer Dubai Beach Polo Cup at the expense of the title sponsor’s team at Skydive Dubai late on Saturday.
Al Habtoor was part of the winning team in the inaugural tournament in 2004 and again in 2005 and 2006. When the tournament was revived last year, his older brother Rashid Al Habtoor led the Julius Baer team to the top honour with a 7-5 win in the final against Mohammad’s Maradiva team.
However, this time there was no denying Mohammad as his Jet Vista Bombardier team beat Julius Baer 8-4 in the final.
“We have been playing well as a team and there is a lot of synergy and understanding between us. I suppose things can only get better for us for the next season,” Mohammad told Gulf News.
Mohammad had his son Habtoor Al Habtoor and Argentinian professional Guillermo Cuitino on his side, while older brother Rashid had his son Khalaf and another Argentinian pro, Juan Cruz Guevara, with him.
In the semi-finals played on Friday, Guevara scored all 11 goals in Julius Baer’s 11-8 win over Lindt, while Vista Jet Bombardier got the better of Maradiva 9-7.
The final was closely contested, with the two Argentines scoring all five goals as Vista Jet Bombardier managed a slender 3-2 lead at the end of the first two chukkers.
Cuitino — adjudged the best player of the tournament — then scored his fourth and Mohammad Al Habtoor got the first of his two goals as Vista Jet Bombardier broke away to lead 5-2 in the third chukker.
Guevara completed his hat-trick and added a fourth, only to see Mohammad Al Habtoor score his second and Cuitino add two more as Vista Jet Bombardier signed off in style.
“We gave everything on the field but they were the better team today and we could do nothing to stop them. But you can be sure we will come back stronger,” Julius Baer patron Rashid Al Habtoor said.
Earlier, Mohammad Bin Drai scored five and Argentinian pro Maxi Malalcalza added four to help Maradiva to third place with a 9-5 win over Lindt.
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was joined by Dr Ahmad Sa’ad Al Sharif, General Secretary of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), at the trophy presentation.
