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Monday, January 30, 2017

Pala--Mundial Individual--Quarter-finals--January 27, 2017

Mundial Individual 2017, the premier InnPala singles tournament, began January 14, 2017. It is a single elimination, seeded ladder tournament that involves the entire InnPala roster. The short court tournament will be played Bizkaia Fronton, Bilbo (Bilbao) (1)(2). Two matches will be played every weekend. Seeding, from low to high: Brefel and Imanol; Ibai-Perez and Ibargarai (quarter finals); Fusto and Gaubeka (semi-finals). For more on the tournament see the tournament page at InnPala. The final will be played February 10.

Preview article (mundodeportivo.com)

Preview article (Naiz)

The articles note that Fusto is the favorite, seeded in at the semi-final level, having won all 5 of the finals played at Bizkaia (2012-16). He also won in 2009. If he wins this tournament, he will equal Oscar Insausti's record of 7 singles championships. The articles also note that Esteban Gaubeka, last year's runner up, is suffering from shoulder tendinitis, but hopes to be ready to play his first match (seeded in at the semi-final level) on February 4.

Play in Round--January 14, 2014

Second Round--January 21, 2017

Quarter-final Round--January 27, 2017

Joko score sources: Diario Vasco Cartelera, January 28, 2017

1. Ibargarai defeated Zubiri 3-0 (10-7, 10-8, 10-6) (30-21)

2. Ibai-Perez defeated Necol 3-1 (10-4, 7-10, 10-6, 10-2 ) (37-22)

Match article for both matches, along with 3 photos (InnPala Fronton Facebook page)

For the first time in the tournament, back court players won matches, setting up semi-finals that will be back court v front court (Gaubeka v Ibargarai and Fusto v Ibai-Perez, according to the InnPala home page). Ibargarai put an end to Zubiri's 2 match winning streak with a 3-0 victory, though each joko (set) was closely contested. The joko score was closer in Ibai-Perez' victory, but he won the jokos more decisively. 

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Table of wins and losses for the 2016-2017 season.

Key: Player; Position (d=delantero (front court), z=zaguero (back court)); match wins-losses; joko (set) wins-losses; winning-losing streak; championships won. Matches that are single partidos will be noted. Table will be according to match winning percentage. 1st tie breaker will be number of wins. 2nd tie breaker will be joko win-loss differential. We begin the season with  La Liga Kutxabank, starting October 29, 2016.

January 27, 2017

Gaubeka(d)..7-2.....24-15..+2*....1(La Liga)
Zubiri(d)......8-6.....30-23...-1*
Fusto(d)........5-5.....20-21..-2
Necol(d)........6-8....27-31...-1
Landeta(d)....3-7.....17-25..-1

Ibai-Perez(z)..8-3....28-19..+2*....1(La Liga)
Brefel(z)........5-5....20-19..-1
Ibargari(z).....6-6....26-23..+1
Gordon(z)......5-7....21-27...-3
Imanol(z).......3-7...15-25....-1*

Includes Dec. 30, 2016 independent match: Landeta-Imanol defeated Zuberi--Ibai-Perez 3-1 (10-8, 7-10, 10-9, 10-7) at Bizkaia.

*Does not include the result of Nov. 25, 2016 independent match Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez v Zubiri-Imanol. The result is unknown at this time. I will add it when I find it.

Includes Nov. 19, 2016 independent match: Zuberi-Ibargari defeated Necol-Gordon 3-0 (10-8, 10-3, 10-9) at Bizkaia.

 For cumulative accounting of this player table see the InnPala Player win-loss table under the Pala page on the right side of the blog.