Argentina
La Natividad, a new team emerges at Christmas time
Castagnola, Nachi Heguy, P. Pieres and Rodrigo Ribeiro in new high-handicap, Argentinian team
Lolo Castagnola (Photo: Ramón Casares, www.ramoncasares.net)
Whether it is a coincidence or not we do not know, but the fact is that, approaching Christmas time, La Natividad has been announced as a new high-handicap team in Argentina, ready for the kickoff of the 2012 season.
Members of the team are to be Pablo Pieres (8 goals), Brazils Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade (8), Bartolomé Castagnola (9) and Ignacio Heguy (9), which makes this a 34-goal team, which means that it will most probably automotically form part of the six best teams in the next Triple Crown.
The four above-mentioned players have taken part in this year's Argentinian Spring season, albeit playing for different teams. Lolo played for Estancia Grande Sancor Seguros, Nachi played for Ellerstina Etiquetw Negra, while Polito and Rodrigo played for the Chapa Uno Hope Funds team.
Lolo and Nachi will be once again playing in the same team, after a 19-year lapse. Both of them made their high-handicap debut in 1993, playing for Royal Pahang, alongside Sebastián Merlos and Tomás Fernández Llorente. That year, in the Palermo debut, they caused an upset by defeating the renowned Centauros foursome, formed by Ernesto Trotz, Alfonso Pieres, Eduardo Heguy and Alberto Heguy (Jr.).
It is not yet known which definitive line-ups of the rest of the teams will be, so as to see which teams will have a place assured from the onset, and which teams will have to play the qualifying tournament for Argentina's Spring season, but 34 goals seems a high-enough figure so as to avoid the need of qualifying.
La Natividad team line-up:
Pablo Pieres 8
Rodrigo Ribeiro de Andrade 8
Bartolomé Castagnola 9
Ignacio Heguy 9
Total: 34
