March 15, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 6, 1429

LAHORE, March 14: Nestle Orange and Bank of Punjab/ Rangers have entered the final of the Pakistan Polo Cup here after winning their last round matches on Friday.

Four-goal Tomas Renioso along with a half-goal handicap helped Nestle beat Askari Bank 7 1/2-7. The winners’ half-goal handicap helped them lead the first chukker by 2 1/2-2 as Renioso scored two. Sufi Haris, scorer of the third goal, banged home twice for the losing outfit. It was teamwork in action —while Renioso converted two 60-yard penalty hits, Haris cashed in on field efforts.

The solitary goal of the second chukker was scored through field efforts by Renioso who increased the lead to 3 1/2-2.

But the bankers did not give up the chase and bounced back, taking a 5-4 1/2 lead in the third chukker. Atif Tiwana consolidated the lead for the winners, scoring a field goal off Renioso’s pass to which the bankers responded strongly as Haris scored his third and Pablo Bagnardi and Taimur Mawaz Khan one each to lead.

There were ups and downs in the eventful fourth chukker as the winners scored three while conceding two. Omar Asjad Malhi fired two goals while Renioso fired his fourth to make the tally. Bagnardi and Taimur scored their second goal only to lose the match by a slim margin.

Bank of Punjab/Rangers won their eight-chukker match against Niralla Sweets with an overall lead of 16-10. The winners were 10-3 ahead in the first four chukkers’ match which they played the other day but in the remaining four chukkers, although Niralla Sweets earned a 7-6 lead, they lost the game by a six-goal difference.

In the last four chukkers, for Niralla Sweets Dhruvpal Godara (3), Ahmed Zubair (2) and Junaid Ahmad and Taimur Ali Malik scored one each. Raja Samiullah (3), Shah Qubilai Alam (2) and Asif Zahoor (1) were the scorers for the Bop/Rangers