Fifteen-year-old Minxie Romualdez scored four goals to lead Team Black to a 5-2 championship triumph over Team Orange on Sunday in the Standard Cup Polo meet at the Enrique Zobel field of the Manila Polo Club in Makati.
Romualdez, who shifted from the sport of equestrian to polo recently, struck twice in the first chukker with two goals aboard her favorite pony Holiday in a low-goal match.
Rushing from the left side in the first three minutes of action, Romualdez pulled through with the first goal as she drove past the far goal posts of the eastern end of the field
In the 3:40 mark, Romualdez once again pushed through from the left side with the help of team skipper and Argentine pro Gregorio Gelosi.
“I’m supposed to score. And I couldn’t have done it without the help of my teammates,” said Romualdez, who is taking a break from classes in the United States at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachussets.
It was the second tournament that Minxie has played in, following her debut in another meet last Saturday.
Cheered on by members of her family, led by her father House Speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez of Tacloban (first district), the young Minxie used another energetic mount in Daphne, as she scored her third marker at 4:25 of the second chukker, giving Team Black a 3-0 edge.
Jose Constantino scored the 4th goal in the third chukker for Team Black.
They later took a 5-1 edge in the fourth minute, courtesy of Minxie, who was aboard Tiki this time around.
In other matches, Team Red turned back Team Green, 4-1, with film producer Jun Juban scoring two spectacular goals in the first chukker.
Team Blue, led by Anthony Filamor, won over Team White, 2-1, in a High Goal match.
Enthusisasts are looking at the emergence of a young generation of polo players, who are loving and excelling in the sport.
“There are a bunch of young players coming up. And there’s a good circle of people who are helping them become better players,” said Filamor, the chairman of the polo committee of the MPC.
Organizers said the tournament was a unity meet, considering that the matches were held with polo players of the Manila Polo Club, joining up with members of the North Polo Club of Pulilan Bulacan.
