Mano--Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M

Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M was played at Adarraga Fronton, Logrono from September 18-25, 2016.

Asegarce tournament page

This was a week long tournament played in 2 groups of  3 teams each, a single round robin in both groups. The two group winners played in a final.

Match articles for all matches  (21iguales.com)

September 25, 2016:

Final

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Altuna III-Albisu 22-21

Match article

In a titanic struggle (750 balls in play, an hour and 15 minutes) that was dramatic but error filled (19+, 24-), A-A almost, but not quite overcame 15 errors. At 15-9, E-R were cruising. Then came a 7-0 run by A-A to give them the lead. From there it was a complete nail biter, going down to the last point before E-R denied Altuna III his 5th victory in 6 finals, including what would have been his third in a row.

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube Page)

Full match video  (Match begins at 48 minutes 4 seconds on the video)(Source: EITB)

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Group A:

September 18, 2016:

Altuna III-Albisu defeated Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe 22-12

Match article

Altuna III outscored Urrutikoetxea 11-2

Full match video (Match begins at 1:09:45 on the video) (Source: EITB)

September 20:

Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe defeated Irribarria-Untoria 22-17

Match article

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 22:

Altuna III-Albisu defeated Irribarria-Untoria 22-14

Match article

Altuna III outscored Irribarria 12-4

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

Altuna III-Albisu 2-0
Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe 1-1
Irribarria-Untoria 0-2

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Group B:

September 19, 2016

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Victor-Zabaleta 22-20

Match article

E-R began this match down 0-6 before coming back to win.

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 21, 2016

Oliazola II-Merino II defeated Victor-Zabaleta 22-5

Match article

An 18-1 start led to an easy win.

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 23, 2016

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Oliazola II-Merino II 22-17

Match article

After O-M went on a 9-0 run to erase a 15-8 E-R lead, E-R scored the last 7 points to win.

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

Full match video (Source: Fronton.tv) Scroll to T. San Mateo (23/09/2016). Always find Fronton.tv matches by scrolling to date.

Ezkurdia-Rezusta 2-0
Oliazola II-Merino II 1-1
Victor-Zabaleta 0-2

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Recap of Summer tournament winners:

Highlights of the Summer Tournaments: Altuna--King of the Summer (Source: EITB)

Tourneo San Fermin Lau eta Erdiko (Quatro y Medio--4 1/2)--Urrutikoetxea

San Fermin--Oliazola II-Albisu
Torneo Bizkaia de Parejas Dentro del Cinqo Y Medio-Altuna III-Barriola
Virgen Blanca--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Villa de Ezcaray--Berasaluze II-Rezusta
Labastida Rioja Alavesa--Berasaluze II-Albisu
Villa de Zaurautz--Oliazola II-Untoria
Ciudad de Bilbao--Elezkano II-Zabaleta
Torneo San Sebastian--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Sanantolines de Lekeitio--Altuna III-Rezusta
Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M--Ezkurdia-Rezusta

Main Nue--Final Summary of spring and summer tournaments

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Main Nue late spring and summer tournaments in the North Basque Country. (Sources: Esku Pilota and  Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque) Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Main Nue" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles. Source for all match video, unless otherwise specifically stated, is Esku Pilota Youtube site.

* Players not listed on the Esku Pilota roster at present

Esku Pilota EP 2000

**Masters de Bayonne: Larralde-Guichandut

Esku Pilota EP 1000

Trophee Atharri (Itxassou): Larralde-Guichandut

**Challenge Elhina (Amendaritz): Larralde-Harismendy

**Tournoi Hoberenak (Arcangues) Waltary-Bilbao v Larralde-Ducassou  (W-B lead 16-13 when Larralde suffered an ankle injury that forced him to retire. The entire match will be replayed in October.

**Tournoi de Cambo les Bains: Ospital-Ducassou

**Tournoi Chilhar de Souraide: Larralde-Ducassou 

**Turnois de Larrau--Trophee Betzula: Ospital-Ducassou (note: at 1:09:26 move the slider bar to 1:22:39 for full sound replay)

**Trophee Puyodebat (Larressore): Ospital-de Ezcurra

**Trophee Paries (Sare): Larralde-de Ezcurra

**Tournoi de Mendionde: Larralde-de Ezcurra (final 3 points only)

**Tournoi de Garindein: Ospital-Ducassou

Esku Pilota EP 500:

**Trophee de la Rune (Ascain): Ducassou

**Trophee Intersports-(Saint-Jean-de-Luz): Monce-Guichandut

**Tournoi Intermarche Pays Basque (Medionde): Inchauspe-Bennesse*

**Tournoi De La Magdeleine (Saint Palais): Ospital-de Ezcurra

**Tournoi Espela d'Espelette: Elgart-Guichandut

**Tournoi d'Ascain: Inchauspé-de Ezcurra

Esku Pilota:

Trophee de Cize (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port): Larralde-de Ezcurra

**Tournee de Commercants de Bayonne: Aguirre-Iturbe* (match joined early in progress)

**Meste du Marcat (Peyrehorade) Ospital  (1st 7 points and final 5 points of the match only)  (Source: Daniel du Peyrehorade Sport Facebook page via pelotelive.free.fr) Remember to click on "desactiver" below the video before viewing to turn off pfp's auto refresh feature.

Esku Pilota (Fronton Place Libre):

**Trophee Esku Pilota (Sare) Etxeto*-Cubiat*

FFPB:

**Grand Semaine: (Fronton Place Libre) National A Seniors Final--Irisartarrak--Irissarry (Red)

A selection of Mammoth points--through Feb. 22, 2017

Note: this page is now also available with the recurring results pages on the right side of the blog.

The  recent Tournoi de Garindein Main Nue final was amazing in the ferocity of the fight for points in the latter stage of the match that led to points with 43, 68, and 98 balls in play. Some may say that long points are boring, lets get on with it, etc. In my opinion these long points are one of the best things about Basque Pelota. That these players are able to keep a point going for so long is a testament to their talent, fitness, strength, and psychological toughness. Watching such points is like watching a match within a match.

In that spirit, I would like to present the longest points I have seen in the short time I have been watching these sports. These, of course, are not the longest points ever played. They are just the longest ones I have seen and counted. Note: for the EITB points below (Mano, Pala, Remonte, and Partido Jai Alai), you must use the slider bar below the video to move to the time given for the beginning of the point. For the other points, in theory, you should be taken directly to the point. If that doesn't work, use the times to move the slider bar to the beginning of  the points.

Some of the Youtube links in this post may return a "Youtube Page can't be found--reload message." If you hit the reload button, the video should resolve.

Main Nue:  Tournois de Garindein Final in September 2016. Ospital-Ducassou v Larralde-Amulet 35-34. 98 balls in play. (1:09:12-1:13:24). 36-34. O-D won 40-37.  (Source: Esku Pilota Youtube site).

Mano: Antiguako Pilota Txapleketa Amateur Finals played at Donastia (San Sebastian) in August 2016. Zubizarreta-Salaverry (red) v Salaberria-Eskiroz (blue). 1st point of the match. 91 balls in play. Z-S 1-0. (32:01-36:06 on the video) Z-S won 22-15. (Source: EITB).

1. Pala: The below listed longest point was surpassed twice in the same match, In the final of La Liga Kutzabank, played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in January 2017. (Added February 11, 2017).

A. Joko 1: Point beginning 4-3 Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez. 50 balls in play (11:42-13:50). 5-3 G--I-P. G--I-P won 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

B. Joko 2: Point beginning 0-0. 68 balls in play (20:22-23:16). 1-0 G--I-P (Source for both points: EITB) G--I-P won the match 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

2. Pala: Bizkaia Open Final played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in June of 2016. Necol--Ibai-Perez v Zubiri-Imanol. 3rd Joko (set). Point beginning at 2-0 N-I. 49 balls in play (1:36:14-1:38:20). 3-0 N-I. N-I won the match 3-1 (10-6, 5-10, 10-8, 10-9). (Source: EITB).

Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet): Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque 2017 Championnat de France National A Final, February 2017. Luzean (Saint Jean de Luz) (Ramuntcho Amestoy-Stéphane Suzanne--red) v Section Paloise (Pau) (Olivier Laberdesque-Baptiste Hourçourigaray--white). Point beginning 15-20 Pau. 61 balls in play (16:12-18:33). 15-21. Luzean won the match, 40-37. (Source: Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube). (Added February 22, 2017).

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Quinella): Dania Jai/Alai, June 2016. Final point of an 8 team doubles match. Erik-Urbieta (white) v Iturbide-Leke (red). 39 balls in play (11:18-13:54). E-U won the point and match.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Partido): Internationaux Cesta Punta SLAM final, played at Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Donibane Lohizune) in August 2016. Beaskoetxea-Irastorza v Olharan-Lekerika. 1st point of the match. 35 balls in play. (3:22-5:38) 1-0 B-I. B-I won the match 2-1 (15-7, 12-15, 5-3). (Source: ICP Youtube page).

Remonte:

1. I recently re-discovered a video of the winning point of the 2016 Casco Viejo de Pamplona tournament final in April 2016. Uterga-Barrenetxea IV v Urriza-Etxeberria III. Point beginning at 34-32 U-B. 32 balls in play. (0:02--1:14). U-B win 35-32. (Source: Youtube site of one of the spectators who recorded it) (Added October 2, 2016)

2. Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa, played at Zumarraga in June 2016. Uterga-Aizpuru III v Urriza-Zaldua. Point beginning at 20-17 U-A. 22 balls in play. (1:36:44-1:37:33). 20-18. U-A won 35-25. (Source: EITB)

Pasaka (Glove): LPPB (Ligue Pelote Pays Basque) Premier Series Quarter-final, played at Urrugne in January 2017. Urrugne (Urrunarrak) (Ourquia-Ussaralde--white) v Saint Pierre d'Irube (Hiriburuko Ainhara 2) (Lapergue-Latxague--red). Point beginning at 0-15 Game 4. 22 balls in play.  (10:38--11:36) if your device doesn't parse this segment. 0-30. (Added January 20, 2017).

One interesting thing to notice is the time it took to play these points:

49 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the 2nd Remonte match (short court).

58 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the Pasaka (glove) match.

72 seconds (1:12) for the 32 balls in play in the 1st Remonte match (short court).

125 seconds (2:05) for 50 balls in play in the 1st Joko of he 1st Pala match (short court)

126 seconds (2:06) for the 49 balls in play in the 2nd Pala match (short court).

136 seconds (2:16) for the 35 balls in play in the Jai Alai Partido match.

141 seconds (2:21) for the 61 balls in play in the Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet) match.

156 seconds (2:36) for the 39 balls in play in the Jai Alai Quinella match.

174 seconds (2:54) for the 68 balls in play in the 2nd Joko of the 2nd Pala match.

245 seconds (4:05) for the 91 balls in play amateur Mano match.

252 seconds (4:12) for the 98 balls in play in the Main Nue match.

Main Nue--Tournoi de Garindein

Tournoi de Garindein, (1) (2), an EP 1000 tournament, was played September 23, 25, 2016.

Source for semi-final Scores: Esku Pilota Results page. Scroll to date. Match article source: Esku Pilota. Match video source: Esku Pilota Youtube page.

September 23:

Semi Finals

Ospital-Ducassou defeated Etchegaray-Guichandut 40-23

Larralde-Amulet defeated Waltary-Bilbao 40-32

September 25:

Final

Ospital-Ducassou defeated Larralde-Amulet 40-37.

Match article, including audio interviews with Ducassou and Amulet

Full match video

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

6-6; 7-7; 8-8; 9-9; 11-11; 14-14; 32-20; 35-34; 36-34; 40-37

For the third time in less than 2 weeks, the final of an EP 1000 tournament was decided within the last 3 points of the match. As the selected linescore shows, the early part of the match was very competive before O-D took command. The first turning point came at the 31-20 to 32-20 point (48:39--49:02)

At the end of the point Amulet painfully turned his ankle (his response is clearly audible). He was off the trinquet receiving treatment for 10 minutes before he came back. His return coincided with a tremendous comeback by L-A, a 14-3 run that brought his team to within one point of equality.

What followed was not only the second turning point of the match, but the longest Basque Pelota point I have seen (1:09:12-1:13:24). The point beginning at 35-34 consumed 98 balls in play. In the course of the point, the following excellent plays were made to keep the point going,

21st ball--Amulet
30--Ospital
43--Larralde
51--Amulet
53--Larralde
62--Ospital--a diving play that was probably the best play of the point
65--Larralde
72--Ospital
90--Ospital

98--Ospital shoots a cross court winner

A point like that should have broken the backs of the team that lost it. Not so with L-A. From that point they fought back to 38-37. The next point consumed 68 balls and over 3 minutes (1:18:24-1:21:38). Interestingly, it was fairly routine until the latter stages when the following great plays saved the point

51st ball--Amulet
59--Larralde
66--Ducassou
67--Amulet

68--Ducassou shoots a perfect low shot to the right side for the winner that did finally settle the match.

But not before a final point that consumed 43 balls (1:22:15-1:24:23) and was concluded by a great long filet shot by Ducassou.

Those three points (70, 76, 77) alone consumed 209 balls in play. All of them were won by D-O.

Remonte--Final Summary of selected major spring and summer tournaments

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Remonte late spring and summer tournaments in the South Basque Country. (Sources: Oriamendi2010 and Euskal Jai Berri Erremonte Fundazioa/La Fundacion Remonte Euskal Jai Berri,) Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Remonte" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles.

II Torneo de Pelota San Isidro 2016: Urriza-Ion (Madrid)

**Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa: Uterga-Aizpuru III (Zumarraga) (Match begins at 1:06:30 on the video). (Source: EITB)

**Tourneo de San Fermin: Urriza-Etxeberria III (Huarte). (Source: EITB)

** Tourneo Kutxabank: Urriza (Hernani) (Source: EITB via Oriamendi2010)

** XI Torneo Comunidad Foral de Navarra de Remonte-Gran Premio Magna 2016: Endika-Ion (Zubiri )

Remonte--XI Torneo Comunidad Foral de Navarra de Remonte-Gran Premio Magna 2016

This short court competition, organized by Euskal Jai Berri Erremonte Fundazioa/La Fundacion Remonte Euskal Jai Berri, was played from July 23 to September 25, 2016. The venues, with the exception of one match at Labrit Fronton, (Pamplona (Iruna)), were towns and villages in Navarra (populations given below and in the complete rundown for the tournament--see the link below--next to town or village name). The competition consisted of two tournaments, both made up of players from the Oriamendi2010 roster. The players were split into two four team divisions. The A Tournament consisted of a single round robin league phase. The second and third place team played in a semi-final. The winner played the first place team in the final. The B Tournament consisted of two semi-finals and a final.

Sources for all match scores, articles, and tables: Euskal Jai Berri and Oriamendi2010 unless otherwise specifically stated. I used Oriemendi2010 because it maintained current tables for the A Tournament league phase.

A Tournament league phase final

Endika-Ion....3-0
Uterga-Etxeberria III....2-1
Ezkurra II-Barrenetxea IV....1-2
Urriza-Aizpuru III....0-3

Note that Endika, a back courter, played this entire tournament in the front court.

In addition to the players listed, Ansa II, Segurola, Zubiri, and Garces played as substitutes.

B Tournament:

Goikoetxea V-Asproz
Eburu-Otano
Barricart-Zaldua
Benat-Martirena

In addition to the players listed, Rodriguez and Labaka played as substitutes.

September 25, 2016 at Zubiri (1)(2) (435)

A Tournament final

Endika-Ion defeated Uterga-Etxeberria III 35-25

The experiment with Endika in the front court worked from beginning to end as E-I were undefeated in the tournament with four wins. The match article praises Endika's performance. He is known as a shot maker in the back court and this was transferred to the front court for this tournament. He executed several types of shots that yielded points for his team. Ion played excellent Remonte in the back court. The result was a surprisingly easy victory over last year's champions.

Correction:  The match article noted Endika's great play in the front court in the Navarra Tournament. This indicated my ignorance about Endika's career. In researching the history of the Sagardoaren Txapelketa for the 2017 edition I discovered that Endika had played in the inaugural final (2011) in the front court. Some research in the Oriamendi2010 database showed that records of Endika's matches (going as far back as April 29, 2010) had him in the front court from April of 2010 until October 3, 2013. So his being in the front court in the Navarra tournament was no "experiment." (Added March 3, 2017).

B Tournament final:

Goikoetxea V-Azpiroz defeated Eburu-Otano 35-32

Match articles for both matches (Euskal Jai Berri)

September 23, 2016 at Fronton Toki Alai, Huarte (Uharte) (6776)

A Tournament semi-final

Uterga-Etxeberria III defeated Ezkurra II-Barrenetxea IV 30-23

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

19-8; 20-15; 24-18; 30-23

Match article (Euskal Jai Berri)

E-B started tentatively and the vastly experienced U-E took advantage for a big lead. E-B played hard during a 7-1 run that got them back in the game, but they never were able to overcome their poor start.

MY ARTICLE--The tournament from start to finish.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Open Villa de Madrid

(Added to this post October 3, 2016). Note: In late September, FIPV (see below) released some summary highlight video of the tournament. The quality of the video (produced by Gol.tv) is much higher than the Periscope TV video below.

A. Tournament Summary (18 minutes 37 seconds) (FIPV Youtube site).

B. Highlights of final: (3:56)

C. Highlights of semi-finals (3:44)

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The multi-sponsored Open Villa de Madrid was played at Universidad Complutense Fronton, Madrid on September 23-24, 2016.

Source for sponsors of the tournament: Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca website (scroll to the bottom of the page for the sponsors).

Source for match articles and photos; Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca website and Flickr,  and as.com. Source for match video, FIPV Periscope, LaLiga4Sports Facebook page.

The significance of the tournament becomes immediately evident when you notice who played in it.

A note about the full match videos. FIPV presented this tournament live via Periscope.tv All of  the full match videos can be linked to individually from the FIPV Twitter feed. I have also linked to the matches directly from Periscope for convenience.

Periscope is not commercial quality TV. This is basically raw video of the matches. There is no commentary and no way to know the score except to keep score yourself as the matches proceed. There is also no way to know how long these matches may be available on demand. With all these caveats, this is still full match video and FIPV has provided it.

Full match video of all four matches (via FIPV Twitter feed). Scroll to where the matches begin. Note that as time goes by, you will have to scroll further down to find them. This is the nature of any Twitter feed. The March 23 semi-fnals are labeled "Presentation Jugadores Torneo Internacional".

Full match video of all four matches (via Periscope). Click on the blue "x" at the bottom of the screen to widen the picture. I have not found a way to remove the label from the match as it progresses.

On the 3rd place match, Erkiaga's injury happens at 22:09 on the video, out of camera range. There are two 3rd place matches listed because after Erkiaga retired hurt, Egiguren continued playing against Olha.

September 24:

Final

Olharan-Lopez defeated Goikoetxea-Inza 2-0 (15-9, 15-9)

Video of final point of the match (source: LaLiga4Sports Facebook page).

Photos (including both days)

Third place match:

Egiguren-Enbil defeated Olha-Erkiaga after Erkiaga was forced to retire as a result of being hit on the elbow by a ball.

Background article on the final matchup (Source: as.com)

Match articles for both matches (Source: Federacion Internacional de Pelota Vasca)

Match articles for both matches (Source: as.com)

September 23:

Semi-finals:

Goikoetxea-Inza defeated Egiguren-Enbil 2-0 (15-5, 15-5).

Olharan-Lopez defeated Olha-Erkiaga 2-1 (8-15, 15-11, 10-9)

Match articles for both matches (Source: Federacion Internacional de Pelota Vasca)

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Dania Jai Alai team Jai Alai draft

Related Article (Source: southflorida.com, May 11, 2016)

In an attempt to provide something new for fans to see, Dania Jai Alai is introducing team Jai Alai into its Fall 2016 season. The matches will still be the same Quinella format but "on selected weekend nights the pairings will all be team related." Points will be accumulated based on performance and a cash prize will go to the winning team at the end of the season. All the matches will be at Dania Jai Alai. The teams represent cities but don't play in those cities.

Here are the results of the Dania player draft. The numbers to the left of the player names indicate the number of the draft pick.

(Source: Tiger's Jai-Alai Chalk Talk Discussion Forum)

Team 1 (Dania Beach)

Capt. - Zulaika
1 - Barandika
6 - Beitia
9 - Israel
10- Garita
15- Elgezabal
17- Ithurria
20- Xabat
22- Leke
27- Zabala
28- Yeche

Team 2 (Hollywood)

Capt. - Diego
2 - Arrieta
5 - Aimar
7 - Ibon
12- Chasio
13- Urtaran
18- Arbe
19- Iturbide
23- Salegi
26- Anndy
29- Larrea

Team 3 (Fort Lauderdale)

Capt. - Erik
3 - Foronda
4 - Jairo
8 - Manex
11- Amigorena
14- Urbieta
16- Goitia
21- Arta
24- Minte
25- Bailo
30- Elizalde

Main Nue--Player Rankings--September 19, 2016

Main Nue complete player rankings are available on the player rankings page (Under "Main Nue") on the right side of the main blog page. You can also find how these rankings are calculated there.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 19, 2016. Current through Tournoi de Mendionde. (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Larralde
Ducassou
de Ezcurra
Ospital
Bilbao

Baptiste Ducassou's top ranking lasted 29 days. In the last two tournamnents (Sare and Mendione) he failed to advance past the semi-finals while Peio Larralde (paired with Pascal de Ezcurra) won both tournaments. Larralde reclaimed the top rank. de Ezcurra, since August 1, 2016, has moved from 9th to 3rd. Bixintxo Bilbao moved back into the top 5 for the first time since August 10. Peio Guichandut fell to 6th.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 14, 2016.  (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
de Ezcurra
Ospital

Main Nue--Tournoi de Mendionde

Tournoi de Mendionde (Lekorne) (1) (2), an EP 1000 tournament, was played on September 16 and 19, 2016

Source for match scores and article, Esku Pilota web site. Source for match video, Esku Pilota Web site and Youtube site.

September 16, 2016:

Semi finals (Esku Pilota Results Page) Scroll to the date.

Bielle-Bilbao defeated Ospital-Amulet 40-17

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Lambert-Ducassou 40-28

September 19, 2016:

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Bielle-Bilbao 40-39

Match article

Match video: final three points of the match. 

The video joins the match early in the 77th point. From here, the rest of the match consumed 89 balls in play!

A few words must be said about the fitness and resiliency of Larralde, de Ezcurra, and Bilbao in the last week. They played back to back tournaments (Sare, Mendionde) on Aug. 12, 14, 16, and 19. In the four matches, Larralde-de Ezcurra played 289 points. Bilbao (with different partners), played 283. At the very end of that workload, to play a final 3 points with the intensity these were played with is phenomenal.

Pala/Paleta--Final Summary of selected major summer tournaments South and North

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Pala and Paleta summer tournaments in the North and South Basque Country. (Sources: InnPala Website, InnPala Twitter feed, InnPala Fronton Facebook page, Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza (EEPF), GMGZ Events Facebook Page, Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque(FFPB), and pelotelive.free.fr.) Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Pala" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles.

Grosse Pala/Pala Larga

Innpala:

**Plentzia--Gaubeka-Brefel Note: Plentzia was played on a long (54 meter) court. I am assuming that this was a Pala Larga tournament, though I have no proof of that (see the below listed GMGZ tournament which, though played on the long court at Mungia, was a Pala Motza tournament). Corrections on either one or both of these assumptions will be gratefully accepted.

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Batz-Brocas  (Soustons) (Source: PilotariP Youtube site via Pelotelive.free.fr). Note: make sure to click on "desactiver" under the match to turn off PFF's auto-refresh. The video will stop if you don't.

Pala Corta/Pala Motza

InnPala: * means amateur player.

**San Fermin (Iruna)--Sanz*-Ibargari

**Donastia Kirol Txartela Masters--Navarro*-Brefel (final begins at 52:02 on the video (Source: EITB)

**Asta Nagusia--Necol-Imanol (Bilbo) (Source: EITB)

**Sopelana--Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez

EEPF:

**Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa): Gastiez (Ordizia) (final begins at 42:42 on the video) (Source: EITB)

GMGZ Events

GMGZ "La Bolsa" Saria Kiniela: Beriain-Labiano (Mungia) (final begins at 1:18:22 on the video) (Source: EITB)

Paleta Cuir 

EEPF:

**Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa): Gastiez (Ordizia) (Source: EITB)

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Dardenne-Basterot

Paleta Pelote Gomme Pleine

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Mensan-Bareyre

Paleta Pelote Gomme Creuse

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A" Women: Etchelecu--Chapelet-Housset

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Xistera Kluba amateur competition circuit--Mutriku Tournament Finals

Note that all print articles on the Xistera Kluba website are completely bilingual. I have used Castilian links. Click on the top right side of the page to switch to Basque.

Euskal Herriko Xistera Kluben Kirol Kluba (Basque Country Xistera Sports Club) together with EEUP (Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza) has recently started an amateur Jai Alai tournament circuit. The Club has three aims: to reintroduce the game to children, to strengthen the game at the club level, and to create a competition circuit to help encourage new and young fans to follow the game. The full mission statement is here.

The Mutriku tournament finals were played on September 17, 2016. Three finals were played, including a girls final. They were played in order of age and ability with the girls match being the first match. Use the match article (reading from the end of the article to the beginning) below to identify players and locate the beginning of each match.

Preview article (Source: Xistera.eus)

Match articles for all three matches (Source: Xistera.eus)

Full match videos of all three matches (Source: Xistera.eus Youtube site)

Full match videos for all available Xistera Kluba Tourmaments so far this year (Source: Xistera Kluba Youtube site and EITB).

The next Xistera Kluba tournament is scheduled for September 24, 29, at Noain. See Xistera Kluba Calendario for details on future tournaments.

See the Xistera Kluba home page above or USstream page for details on notification of live streaming. Live and on demand streaming is available for finals only at this tme.

Main Nue--Player Rankings--September 14, 2016

Main Nue complete player rankings are available on the player rankings page (Under "Main Nue") on the right side of the main blog page. You can also find how these rankings are calculated there.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 14, 2016. Current through Trophee Paries (Sare). (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
de Ezcurra
Ospital

Complete Player Rankings as of August 29, 2016.

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
Ospital
de Ezcurra

Main Nue--Trophee Paries--Sare

Trophee Paries, an EP 1000 competition, was played at Trinquet Pleka (Sare) on September 12 and 14, 2016.

Full match videos for all three matches are available in two places.

1. Esku Pilota Youtube

2. Pelotelive.free.fr (click on the film icon under each match). Click on  "desactiver" under the video in order to disable PFF's auto-refresh before viewing. The video will not work if you don't.

Two of the matches are also linked to match articles at the Esku Pilota website. I will use EP Youtube for individual links.

September 12, 2016:

Semi-Finals

Source for all match articles: Esku Pilota web site.

Match articles for both matches (including an audio interview with Mathieu Ospital.

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Bielle-Guichandut 40-25

Note that the only way to keep track of the score for any of these matches is to listen very closely to the judge (who calls them out in Basque and French) or to keep track yourself. No scoreboard (if there was one) was ever shown on these videos.

Full match video

Ospital-Bilbao defeated Lambert-Ducassou 40-30

Full match video

September 14, 2016:

Final

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Ospital-Bilbao 40-37

Match article, along with an audio interview with Peio Larralde

Esku Pilota TVPI Highlights (Note: these highlights include the last two points of the match--also linked to below).

Full match video

The two semi-finals were easy victories, according to the match article. The final was a great match which went down to the final points before L-E won. Unfortunately there were some technical difficulties with the match video. Some points are missing and the sound was out of synch late in the match. So any kind of exact statistics are unavailable at this time.

However, the last 5 points of match are available and should be watched, even with the sound distraction.

37-36, 37-37, 38-37, 39-37, 40-37. (single link to all five points).

The 37-36 point is particularly interesting. It can be seen almost as a microcosm of what a battle this match was. It consumed 53 balls in play from serve to end, had countless great saves, and was a showcase for all four players. When it ended on a beautiful Bilbao filet shot, a long climb toward equality (L-E held the lead for most of match) was almost to the summit. And when Ospital served an ace and equality was reached, it seemed all the momentum was with O-B. But in the last three points, an error by Bilbao opened the door a crack, and Peio Larralde, as he often does in crucial situations, made emphatic plays (a service ace and a perfect right passing shot) to close out the match in the next 6 balls in play. All four players were superb, and were rewarded with a long ovation when the match ended. The unsung hero was Pascal de Ezcurra, who played magnificent defense throughout. Along with that defense, he also scored perhaps the most elegant point of the match, a two wall filet shot that gave his team a 26-20 lead. Watch and enjoy!

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Final Summary of 2016 Summer Partido Season

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Jai Alai/Cesta Punta summer partido tournaments in the North and South Basque Country. (Sources: International Cesta Punta, Jai Alai World Tour, Biarritz Athletic Club,  Jai Alai News Facebook Page, and  Jai Alive Facebook Page). Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Jai Alai/Cesta Punta" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which contain other full match videos and articles.

Internationaux Cesta Punta (Source: ICP Youtube site)

** Coupe de France: Curveur-Ihitsague

** Master 1: Olharan-Minvielle

** Master 2: Olha-Minvielle

** Master 3: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika

** Master 4: Hormaetxea-Eyheragaray

** SLAM: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Jai Alai World Tour (Source: EITB)

** Hondarribia: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika

** Gernika I: Egiguren-Etcheto

** Zumaia: Goikoetxea-Enbil (match begins at 1:10:09 on video)

** Mutriku-Markina: Beaskoetxea-Amigorena (match begins at 58:13 on video)

** Gernika II: Hormaetxea-Aldazabal (match begins at 1:18:56 on video)

** Lekeitio: Goikoetxea-Erkiaga

Jai Alai World Tour CTO MBP (Source: EITB)

** CTO Parejas MBP : Egiguren-Enbil

** CTO Individual MBP: Goikoetxea (match begins at 32:51 on video)

Biarritz (Source: Audiense Audiovisuel Youtube site)

International Open: J. Tambourindeguy-Lekerika

** Gant d'Or: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Open d'Aguilera: Unai Albero-Assier Albero

** Masters Biarritz Pro Tour: Olha-Toucoullet

Other tournaments:

Hondarribia: August 26, 2016: Jagoba-Enbil

Gernika August 13, 2016: Egiguren-Goikoetxea

Hondarribia: Hirusta Challenge:  August 12, 2016:  Olharan-Erkiaga II

Hossegor: August 11, 2012: Goikoetxea-Alliez

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Jai Alai World Tour--CTO. Individual MPB Semi-Finals and Finals reschedule

The Jai Alai World Tour finished the final part of the second phase of its summer competition on September 17, 2016. The CTO Individual MPB championship final and 3rd place match were played at Bizkaia Fronton (Bilbo (Bilbao)).  The entire competition was played on a short (38 meter) court, the first time this championship has been played this way. Matches were played in jokos (sets),  2 jokos to 12 points, with a tie-breaker to 5 points if necessary.

Final:

Goikoetxea defeated Olharan 2-0 (12-5, 12-11)

Full match video (match begins at 32 minutes, 51 seconds on the video. It is preceded by the 3rd place match (see below)). (Source: EITB)

Third place match:

Hormaetxea defeated Egiguren 2-0 (12-9, 12-6)

Final: Match article (Deia)

Final: Match article (JAWT)

Final: Background match article (Diario Vasco). This article also covers the semi-final results (see below).

Goikoetxea won the first joko easily. Olharan, who had been injured in the Masters Biarritz Pro Tour on September 14, but who played and won in the semi-finals of this tournament the next day, fought hard in the second joko. The scores were even at 7-7 and 11-11 before an Olharan error ended his chance at a tie-breaker. Goikoetxea thus won his 11th singles championship, equaling him with Julien Retegi (Mano) and Koteto Ezkurra (Remonte) for most career singles pelota championships.

September 15, 2016:

Semi-Finals

Olharan defeated Egiguren 2-0 (12-9, 12-6)

Goikoetxea defeated Hormaetxea 2-0 (12-7, 12-11)

Match article for both matches (JAWT)

Originally the semi-finals and finals of this tournament were to be held the last week in August. Due to injuries to Goikoetxea and Egiguren, a match was played between Hormaetxea and Olharan. That match, along with the results and match articles for the quarter finals that preceded it, was covered in the blog here.

True to their word, JAWT did reschedule the semi-finals and finals after the end of the CTO Parejas MBP finals. The originally scheduled semi-finals were played, Egiguren and Goikoetxea having recovered from their injuries.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Masters Biarritz Pro Tour

The Masters Biaritz (1) (2) Pro tour took place from September 7-14, 2016.

September 14, 2016:

Final

Olha-Toucoullet defeated Olharan-Minvielle 2-1 (15-14, 8-15, 10-5). Tie-breakers in this tournament were played to 10 points.

Full match video (Source: Audiense Audiovisuel Youtube site).

For complete tournament results click on "SHOW MORE" under the description.

Main Nue--Esku Pilota Summer 30-35 point village matches

Esku Pilota organized a series of Summer 30-35 point matches at outdoor venues (fronton place libres). It was a notable effort to take the game to some of the smallest villages in the North Basque Country. Note that below the town or village population (source: Wikipedia town or village articles) is listed for each venue. There is full match video for one of these matches, the Trophee Esku Pilota (see below, the first match listed).

Esku Pilota Player Pages

*=not listed at EP player pages at present.

Source for results: Esku Pilota Results pages Scroll to date or venue. Switch pages at the bottom of the page.

(Added October 31, 2016)

October 30, 2016:

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Monce-Cubiat* defeated Argain*-Inchauspe 30-20

Match article

The photo says it all as the traditional sport is enjoyed in the traditional way on a beautiful afternoon.

============================

September 14, 2016

Trophee Esku Pilota

Sare (1) (2)--(2,314) Note: one of the dedication stones for this F.P.L. reads "1833".  The year at the top of the wall reads "1902".

Etxeto*-Cubiat* (red) defeated Endara*-Olagary* (white) 30-20

Full match video

September 5, 2016

Urrugne :(1) (2)--(7,668)

Etxeto*-Cubiat* defeated Aguirre-P. Ducassou* 30-19

August 24, 2016

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Arbeletxe*-Etxeto* defeated Bereterbide*-Cubiat* 30-20

August 17, 2016

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Endara*-Cubiat* defeated Etchemendi*-Elissalde* 35-20

Match photo (click on the photo to enlarge it)

August 15, 2016

Ainhoa (1) (2)--(683)

Olcomendy*-Arbeletxe* defeated Bereterbide*-Cubiat* 30-27

August 10, 2016

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Aguirre-Ducassou defeated Etxeto*-Cubiat* 30-27

July 31, 2016

Belus (1) (2)--(615)

Inchauspe-Amulet defeated Aguirre-Harismendi 35-27

July 25, 2016

Ustaritz: (1) (2)--(6,294)

Etxeto*-Arbeletxe* defeated Etchemendi*-Maitia* 30-25

July 20, 2016

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Aguirre-Olhagaray* 26 Beterbide*-Elissalde* 22 (match stopped by rain)

July 17, 2016

Guiche: (1) (2)--(870)

Olcomendy*-Elissalde* defeated Argain*-Amulet* 35-28

July 12, 2016

Espellette (1) (2)--(1,987)

Etxeto*-Cubiat* defeated Aguirre-Erreca* 30-20

July 9, 2016

Saint-Martin d'Arberoue (1) (2)--(293)

Elgart-Guichandut deveated Bonetbelche-Inchauspe 35-19

Remonte--Uterga and the game AFTER the Tourneo Kutxabank Final

At Galaretta Fronton  (Hernani)

September 10, 2016

Uterga-Ion defeated Ezkurra-Etxeberria III 40-18.

Full Match Video (match begins at 1 hour, 20 minutes, 15 seconds on the video).

Full match video (EITB via Oriamendi 2010)

Full Match Video (EITB)

On Thursdays and Saturdays there are four Remonte matches at the Galaretta Fronton in Hernani. The second match is the "Star match," when the highest quality players on the Oriamendi 2010 roster face off against each other. The third match is also a high quality match. Whenever the "Star Match" is a tournament final, all three other matches that day become afterthoughts. This day was no different, which was unfortunate, because Uterga played a masterpiece.

Uterga has now won two in a row.  The first was last week's star match where he and Exteberria III came back from 32-38 to win 40-38, and now this great match. Before that, going back to July 1, for matches we have results for from the Oriamendi 2010 Match database, he was 2-8, including losses in the Kutxa Bank Tournament to Barrenetxea IV and Urriza, as well as two losses in the San Fermin tournament, one to Urriza. When Ezkurra returned from injury, his first match was a victory v Uterga. The last two months have been difficult ones. In the grind of a fixture list as demanding as the Remonte fixture list is, players are bound to have ups and downs. Sometimes a mechanical flaw creeps into one's game. Sometimes a nagging injury can be the cause. Any number of things can cause a slump. For a player of Uterga's caliber, this was a long slump. But the last two victories have been great ones, the first one with back firmly bolted to the wall, the second an absolute clinic in shot making that reminded us all of what an artist with the cesta he is.

He and Ion crushed Ezkurra-Exteberria III. Uterga really hit his stride in the second half of the match, turning a still competitive 20-13 lead into a 40-18 route. In the ten points when U-I really put the match out of reach (26-14--35-15), he scored 8 of the points. He scored on 4 two-wall shots, 2 dejadas, a high and deep passing shot on one of the longest points of the match (20 balls in play) and a left wall shot. These 10 points take place from 1:55:33 to 2:03:53 of the video. It is an absolute master class in Remonte offense, well worth the 8 minutes.

Oh and by the way, you might also want to check out the point that began at 36-17 and ended at 37-17 (2:06:32--2:06:41). Uterga wins that point with a two wall shot from the 7 line, with his shoulder almost against the left wall. For the match he had, by my count, 14 two wall winners. It's a beautiful thing to see Uterga at his best.

Remonte--Tourneo Kutxabank--Workings of the Tournament, Players--Final as well as complete results

The 34th Tourneo Kutxabank singles competition at the Galarrata Fronton (Hernani), a 54 meter mur a gauche, began on July 23, 2016 and ended on September 10, 2016. The results of the entire tournament are below. Read from the bottom up (starting at "Preliminaries") to follow it from beginning to end. Individual matches were covered in the "Galarreta STAR match" recurring results on the right side of the blog (September 10, 2016).

Oriamendi2010 Player Pages

September 10, 2016:

Final

Urriza defeated Barrenetxea IV 30-21

Full match video (EITB via Oriamendi 2010)

Full Match Video (EITB)

Background article

Urriza equals Matxin II with his 4th victory in this tournament--match article

Match article (Deia)

List of past tournament victors

Feature article: Interview with Matxin II (Diario Vasco)

Urriza outplayed Barrenetxia IV in all phases of the game to score a comprehensive victory. Urriza denied Barrenetxia IV his most important asset in this tournament, the devastating serve that had gotten him around 11 points in each match up to this one. In this match he scored 3. That factor, along with Urriza's surprisingly (for a player who doesn't serve in most matches) effective serve, and arsenal of great shots, sealed the outcome. Barrenetxea IV fought hard and continually tried to get back in the game (as the drawn out condensed linescore shows), but Urriza was always there to stop him. With the victory, Urriza equals the great Matxin II for second most victories in this tournament (4). The leader is Ezkurra (11). Urriza finishes the tournament 3-0. Barrentxia IV finishes 3-1.

Condensed linescore (winner always listed first).

1-0; 1-1; 2-1; 2-2; 4-2; 4-3; 5-3; 5-4; 9-4; 9-7; 10-7; 10-9; 13-9; 13-10; 15-10; 15-11; 16-11; 16-12; 19-12; 19-13; 22-13; 22-14; 23-14; 23-17; 24-17; 24-18; 25-18; 25-19; 26-19; 26-20; 27-20; 27-21; 30-21

Note: I used my own scoring as no scoring that I  found had winners and errors that added to anywhere near the final score. None that I found incorporated service faults. EITB provided no scoring of any kind for this match. All scoring judgments are mine alone. Let them be a point of departure.

Scoring:  U +23 (including 5 service aces) -5 (including 3 service faults)
                B +16 (including 3 service aces) -7 (including 1 service fault)

Number of balls in play: 171

Number of balls/number of points

0-4: 39
5-9: 10
10-14: 2

Longest point 12 (point beginning at 5-3 and ending at 5-4--17 minutes 41 seconds--18:20 on the video; 12 (point beginning at 13-9 and ending at 13-10--31:00--31:12)

Points of interest:

1. Point beginning 0-0, ending 1-0--9:42--9;59. Urriza's first serve. Note the break (curve) on the serve from left to right. This movement on the serve will challenge Barrenetxea IV throughout the match.

2. Point beginning at 2-1, ending at 2-2--11:42--11:53. Barrentxea's 1st serve of the match.

3. Point beginning at 5-4,ending at 6-4--20:01--20:13 Soft touch by Urriza.

4. Point beginning at 10-8, ending at 10-9--27:46--28:05. Beautiful dejada by Barrenextea IV. After 1-1, the closest he gets to the lead in the match.

5. Point beginning at 13-9, ending at 13-10--31:52--32:20. Possibly the best point of the match. Great finishing two wall by Barrentxea IV

6.  Point beginning at 17-12, ending at 18-12--43:02--43:12. Leaping save by Urriza.

7. Point beginning at 21-13, ending at 22-13--48:14--48:19. Great movement away from Barrentxea IV on the Urriza serve. Ace.

8.  Point beginning at 29-21, ending at 30-21--1:07:26--1:07:44. Soft two wall by Urriza to finish things off in style.

September 3, 2016:

2nd Semi-final

Barrenetxea IV defeated Ion 30-13

Full match video (Source: EITB)

Match article (Oriamendi2010)

Match Article (Diario Vasco) This article contains a complete match linescore and statistics.

Scoring: (Source: EITB) Barrenetxea +23 -5; Ion +8 -7  Two of the three sources used agreed that Barrenextea's +23 included 13 service aces.

Barrenetxea IV dominated the match from the early stages. He scored almost half his points on service aces, something Urriza (his opponent in the final next Saturday, September 10, and who played today directly after him--that match, which was highlighted by Ezkurra in the back court--is also available on the above video) surely noticed. Barrenetxea IV has averaged 11.5 service aces in the two matches in this tournament where the match article mentioned service ace data.  He has also defeated one of the best three front courters on the roster, Uterga, on his way to this final. In that match, according to an article linked to in the "Star" match results (under the recurring results links on the right side of the page), Barrenetxea IV caused problems for Uterga with the serve. Urriza is a front courter who is comfortable returning serves. Urriza is also one of the three best front courters on the roster. Barrenetxea IV is playing great Remonte. The final will be an intriguing and hopefully very competitive match. Barrenextea IV enters it with a 3-0 record in the tournament. Urriza is 2-0. Ion finished 1-2.

August 27, 2016:

1st Semi-final

Urriza defeated Uterga 30-20

Match article (Source: Oriamendi2010)

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

2-5; 9-5; 10-8; 30-20

Uterga finishes the tournament 1-2.

Note: all the below listed matches, as well as all of the rest of the tournament have been and will continue to be covered individually in the Remonte Galarreta "Star" match results.

The 34th Tourneo Kutxabank singles competition at the Galarrata Fronton (Hernani), a 54 meter mur a gauche, entered its league phase on Saturday, August 13, 2016. The lead up to the league phase was played from July 23 - August 11. Four players have been seeded into the league phase in two groups. Urriza and Endika  are in Group A. Uterga and Barrenetxea IV are in Group B , Nine other players played for the third slot in each group.

The league phase of the tournament ended on August 20, due to a rib injury to Endika which forced him out of the tournament. There was no substitute. At the end of the league phase there were two semi-finals.

===========================

Table determination in the league phase:

Matches are played to 30 points.

Winner of a match--4 points
Loser: 27-29--2 points; 24-26--1 point; <24--0 points

Results:

August 13, 2016:

Group B

Barrenetxea IV defeated Uterga 30-21

August 16, 2016

Group B

Barrenetxea IV defeated Aizpuru III 30-14

August 18, 2016

Group A

Urriza defeated Ion 30-14

August 20, 2016

Group B

Uterga defeated Aizpuru III 30-14

Final League Table:

Group A

Urriza 1-0--4 points
Ion 0-1 (1-1)--0 points
Endika 0-0

Group B

Barrenextea IV 2-0--8 points
Uterga 1-1--4 points
Aizpuru III 0-2 (2-2)--0 points

Semi-finals:

Barrenextea IV v Ion (August 27)

Urriza v Uterga (September 3)

Final will be played September 10

===========================

Preliminaries:

Zaldua defeated Martirena 30-18 on July 23 (Martirena finished 0-1)
Otano defeated Erburu 30-19 on July 28 (Erburu finished 0-1)
Zaldua defeated Otano 30-12 on July 30 (Otano finished 1-1)

Segurola defeated Zaldua 30-28 on August 4 (Zaldua finished 2-1)
Ion defeated Segurola 30-20 on August 9 (Segurola finished 1-1)

Ion won the right to join Urriza and Endika in Group A

Aizpuru III defeated Ansa II 30-17 on August 6 (Ansa II finished 0-1)
Aizpuru III defeated Matxin III 30-29 on August 11 (Matxin III finished 0-1)

Aizpuru III won the right to join Uterga and Barrenetxea IV in Group B.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Jai Alai World Tour--CTO. Parejas MPB finals and third place match

The Jai Alai World Tour has moved into its second phase, the CTO. Parejas MPB (doubles) and CPO. Indidual MPB championships. At the site you will find scheduled matches, results, match articles, rules of the competition, player pages, and how the player points are determined, among other information.

Source for all score and match article information, unless otherwise specifically stated: Jai Alai World Tour website.

CPO Parejas Final:

September 10, 2016

At Carmelo Balda Fronton, Donastia (San Sebastian)

Final:

Egiguren-Enbil defeated Goikoetxea-I. Erkiaga (substituting for the injured Etcheto)  2-1 (11-15, 15-11, 5-2)

3rd place:

Beaskoetxea-Aldazabal defeated Erik-Lekerika 2-1 (15-14, 11-15, 5-0)

 Full match video for both matches (Source: EITB) Final is the first match.

Match article for both matches

Match article for final (Deia). This article analyzes the match and includes match statistics.

=======================

Summary of winners of major summer Partidos (sources: International Cesta Punta, Jai Alai World Tour, Jai Alai News Facebook Page, Jai Alive Facebook Page)

Internationaux Cesta Punta

Coupe de France: Curveur-Ihitsague
Master 1: Olharan-Minvielle
Master 2: Olha-Minvielle
Master 3: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika
Master 4: Hormaetxea-Eyheragaray
SLAM: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Jai Alai World Tour:

Hondarribia: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika
Gernika 1: Egiguren-Etcheto
Zumaia: Goikoetxea-Enbil
Mutriku-Markina: Beaskoetxea-Amigorena
Gernika II: Hormaetxea-Aldazabal
Lekeitio: Goikoetxea-Erkiaga

Jai Alai World Tour

CTO Parejas MBP : Egiguren-Enbil

Other tournaments:

Biarritz:

International Open: J. Tambourindeguy-Lekerika
Gant d'Or: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Hondarribia: August 26, 2016: Jagoba-Enbil

Gernika August 13, 2016: Egiguren-Goikoetxea

Hondarribia: Hirusta Challenge:  August 12:  Olharan-Erkiaga II

Hossegor: August 11: Goikoetxea-Alliez

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Xistera Kluba amateur competition circuit

Note that this site is completely bilingual. I have used Castilian links. Click on the top right side of the page to switch to Basque.

Euskal Herriko Xistera Kluben Kirol Kluba (Basque Country Xistera Sports Club) together with EEUP (Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza) has recently started an amateur Jai Alai tournament circuit. The Club has three aims: to reintroduce the game to children, to strengthen the game at the club level, and to create a competition circuit to help encourage new and young fans to follow the game. The full mission statement is here.

A circuit has been created and so far, 8 tournaments have been organized  and 5 have been played (see below). See the "calendario"  page for details. Finals are broadcast live via Xistera Kluba's US Stream site. You can follow the Xistera web, Twitter, or Facebook page (Twitter and Facebook pages are linked from the web page) to keep up with times and dates of broadcasts. USstream also provdes email notices if you register with them.

Full match videos of all finals broadcast are also available on demand in three places:

1. The USstream site (selected finals only at this time)

2. Xistera Youtube page (all but the Cabanillas final at this time)

3. EITB (full collection, including Cabanillas).

(Programmas or Saioak A-Z)---->WXYZ---->Zesta Punta---->Zesta: afizionatuak

Xistera also keeps player tables:

Announcement of the next Tournament (Mutriku), final scheduled for September 17, 2016 (Diario Vasco) (see also Xistera "caldendario" link).

Below is a list of linked full match videos and articles for the tournaments that have already been played. While I have not watched all of  these, there is some very high quality Jai Alai/Cesta Punta here.

Note that match articles are given in order to identify the players and time the video. There is more than one match per video. They are age/ability based and go from youngest to oldest. Read the match article from bottom to top in order to time the video. Note that match stories contain match line scores, so if you don't want to know who won, don't read the story until after you watch the match.

September 2, 2016

Donibane Lohizune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) (2 matches)

Match articles

Full match video (Xistera Youtube)

August 7, 2016

Cabanillas (2 matches)

Match articles

Full match video (EITB)

July 9, 2016

Markina-Xemein (3 matches including 1 girls match)

Match Articles (in Basque and Castilian)

Full match video (Xistera Youtube)

June 18, 2016

Andoain (more than one match)

No match article available--Photos

Full match video (Xistera Youtube)

June 11, 2016

Durango (3 matches, inluding 1 girls match)

Match articles (in Basque and Castilian)

Full match video

Pala--Tourneo Ayuntamiento de Sopelana--Finals

The Pala Tour 2016 summer tournaments that began with the semi-finals of the Tourneo Ayuntamiento de Sopelana at the Sopelana Fronton, Sopelana on July 2, 2016, ended with the final and third place match on September 10, 2016.

Source: Innpala Twitter feed:

Final:

Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez defeated Zubiri-Ibargari 3-1 (10-8, 5-10, 10-3, 10-5)

3rd place match:

Fusto-Ayerbe defeated Landeta-Imanol 3-1 (9-10, 10-7, 10-8, 10-5) (Source for Individual Joko scores: Diario Vasco Cartelera

Summary of Major Summer Tournaments:

* Amateur

San Fermin--Sanz*-Ibargari
Donastia Kirol Txartela Masters--Navarro*-Brefel
Plentzia--Gaubeka-Brefel
Asta Nagusia--Necol-Imanol
Sopelana--Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Aritz Erkiaga's amazing week at Miami Jai Alai

On the right side of this blog, the last bullet point under "recurring results" is a link to Miami Jai Alai weekly player data that is kindly provided by Tiger's Jai Alai Chalk Talk Discussion Forum. Miami Jai Alai plays a form of the game called Quinella Jai Alai. It supports a roster of 36 players. It keeps accounts of these players' records on a daily basis. The week at Miami runs from Wednesday to Monday. If you take the Monday record and subtract the previous Monday's record from it, you get a weekly accounting of all players records. (I link to those Monday records also). Or you can let Tiger do it for you and present the results to the forum. It gives followers of this sport valuable information and helps keep track of many players.

Last week (August 29-September 5), when the records came out they were eye-popping. For the week Aritz Erkiaga led the roster.

Player----Games Played----Wins----Places (2nd place)----Shows (3rd Place). Selected winning percentages and "in the money" percentages are also provided.

Aritz----39----16----5----5 .410 winning %, .667 "in the money" %

The next best four players had 7 wins apiece. Less than half of Aritz' wins. If you look at the weeks I have copied and then go to the forum and look at a few of the weeks Tiger has compiled you will quickly see that a ratio of 2/1 for the top player over the second best player is very rare. Aritz dominated his competition in a way few players do. So much so that I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at how he did it. When you look closely at a Quinella player's statistics, you soon get an appreciation for just how difficult it is to play this form of the game, physically of course, but mentally even more so.

My findings are linked to at the bottom of this page. In those findings, I also lay out a few of the standard things that a player on this roster has to deal with in order to succeed. Many of you already know these things, and so in the report I have cued you where to skip over if you wish and simply get to the essence of things, Aritz' amazing week, day by day.

Before that, however, I will offer two links.

1. A single Quinella game. This game was played June 25, 2016 at Dania Jai Alai and featured two of the regular players in the recently completed Summer partido season in the South and North Basque (Leke--Unai Lekerikabeaskoa and Erik Mendizabal). The game takes 14 minutes and 43 seconds and will show you Quinella Jai Alai at its finest. It will also show you why a feat like Aritz' was so difficult.

2. A final Match that Aritz participated in in Basque Country summer partidos in 2014 (Source: International Jai Alai Players Association Youtube site). It gives you a flavor for the quality of Aritz' play.

MY ARTICLE: Analysis of Aritz' great week.

Mano--Summary of Asegarce and ASPE players July and August Records

ASPE player page

Asegarce player page

The Pelota Mano Twitter feed provided a very interesting and useful summary of all players' summer results (for July and August) by company (Asegarce and ASPE) on August 31 and September 1, 2016. The table is in two parts. It is ordered by number of matches played. The parts are split by match numbers rather than company.

Part 1

Part 2

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Jai Alai World Tour--CTO. Parejas MPB semi-finals

The Jai Alai World Tour has moved into its second phase, the CTO. Parejas MPB (doubles) and CPO. Indidual MPB championships. At the site you will find scheduled matches, results, match articles, rules of the competition, player pages, and how the player points are determined, among other information.

Source for all score and match article information, unless otherwise specifically stated: Jai Alai World Tour website.

CPO Parejas Semi-finals:

September 2, 2016

At Zumaia Fronton (opened in June 2016) (1) (2), Zumaia

Egiguren-Enbil defeated Beaskoetxea-Aldazabal 2-0 (15-11, 15-9)

Goikoetxea-I. Erkiaga (substituting for the injured Etcheto) defeated Erik-Lekerika 2-1 (12-15, 15-10, 5-2)

Full match video for both matches (Source: EITB)

Match article for both matches

Article about Etcheto's injury, how he tried to play with it in the quarterfinals, and why he finally had to drop out of the semi-finals. 

The  final will be played on September 10, 2016, at Donastia (San Sebastian).

Multiple Modalities--Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza--Basque Country City Championships

The Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza is a main sponsoring organization of amateur pelota in the South Basque. They organize tournaments and competitions in several modalities.

EEPF:

For information on the history of pilota and specifications of modalities, along with links to important regional federations, click on the "Federacion" tab. Note that the site is completely bilingual (Basque and Castilian). I use the Castilian here for my own convenience, as I am more familiar with Castilian than Basque. Click on the EUS tab at the top of the page for Basque.

One of EEPF's major competitions,  the Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa), with finals in four modalities, ended in July 2016. The modalities are Mano Parejas (Eskuz Binaka, Doubles Handball), Pala Corta (Pala Motza, Short Bat Pala), Paleta Cuir (Paleta Larruz, Leather Ball Paleta), and Zesta Punta (Cesta Punta, Jai Alai).

Results:

Click on "CTO. EH Interpueblos", then on any of the modalities. Note that all modalities except Pala/Paleta had three age/ability based competitions. Pala/Paleta had two senior championship finals. Click on "Calendario de Resultados." This is the easiest way to find out the overall winners of each competition. The score of the individual final is also given.

EITB televised these finals.

1. Jai Alai/Zesta Punta: July 23, 2016 at: Mutrikuko Miuruaitz Pilotalekua (1) (2)

Mutriku v Markina-Zemien

Three finals were played: Kadets, Gazteak (Juveniles), and Seniors. The matches were scored in single partido fashion.

Match article for all three matches (match stories give players names and times of each match, which are in order of age group from youngest to oldest, to help you navigate the video).

Full match video of all three matches


2. Ezkuz Binaka (Mano parejas):  July 22, 2016 at Zarauzko Aritzbatalde Pilotalekua (1) (2).

Azpetia v Doneztebe

Three matches were played: Kadets, Gazteak (Juveniles), and Seniors

Match article for all three matches (match stories give players names and times of each match, which are in order of age group from youngest to oldest, to help you navigate the video).

Full match video of all three matches


3. Larruzko Paleta (Paleta Cuir) and Pala Corta: July 15, 2016 at Ordiziako Beti Alai Pilolekua (1) (2).

Andoain v Gasteiz

Two senior championship matches were played. The matches were scored in single partido fashion.

Match articles for both matches (match stories give the names of the players).

Full match video of both matches

These two matches are quite illustrative for those trying to find their way through the thickets of the many sub-modalities of Pala/Paleta. Watch the pelota and the implement in both matches closely. You will see the difference between paleta and pala. The pala corta has a smaller hitting area but is thicker and heavier than the paleta used in larruzko paleta. A bigger pelota is used in pala corta. Listen closely to the sound of paleta/pala on pelota.

Note that the Larruzko Paleta match features the Tuesta Brothers playing for Gasteiz (blue). We have seen them recently also playing paleta cuir in the Paleta Tour in the North Basque, a competition covered in this blog in July. (If you are interested in that, simply search "Paleta Tour" in the search box on the right side of this page). There are videos of two Poule A matches they played for Alava on June 18. Those matches are the first two poule matches on the pelotelive.free.fr competition page. If you would like to watch them, make sure to click on "desactiver" tab under the video to disable the PFF auto-refresh.

Mano--Torneo Sanantolines de Lekeitio Parejas 2016 LEP.M

Torneo Sanantolines de Lekeitio was played at Santi Brouard Fronton (Lekeitio) on September 2, 3, and 5, 2016.

Asegarce tournament page

Match articles for first semi-final and final matches (21iguales.com)

Match article for second semi-final (Diario Vasco)

Source for all match video: EITB

September 2:

First Semi-final

Irribarria-Zabaleta defeated Barasaluze II-Larunbe 22-12

September 3:

Second semi-final

Altuna III-Rezusta defeated Oliazola II-Albisu 22-6

Highlights

Full match video (match begins at 52 minutes on the recording)

The first two points of this match consumed 104 balls in play (33, 71). The entire match consumed 341.

September 5:

Final

Altuna III-Rezusta defeated Irribarria-Zabaleta  22-14

Full match video (match begins at 1:00:06 on the recording)

Altuna III continued his excellent summer, winning his 4th tournament.

=====================

Recap of Summer tournament winners so far beginning with San Fermin:

Tourneo San Fermin Lau eta Erdiko (Quatro y Medio--4 1/2)--Urrutikoetxea

San Fermin--Oliazola II-Albisu
Torneo Bizkaia de Parejas Dentro del Cinqo Y Medio-Altuna III-Barriola
Virgen Blanca--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Villa de Ezcaray--Berasaluze II-Rezusta
Labastida Rioja Alavesa--Berasaluze II-Albisu
Villa de Zaurautz--Oliazola II-Untoria
Ciudad de Bilbao--Elezkano II-Zabaleta
Torneo San Sebastian--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Sanantolines de Lekeitio--Altuna III-Rezusta

Remonte--Tourneo Kutxabank--Workings of the Tournament, Players--Results through the semi-finals

Oriamendi2010 Player Pages

September 3, 2016:

2nd Semi-final

Barrenetxea IV defeated Ion 30-13

Full match video (Source: EITB)

Match article (Oriamendi2010)

Match Article (Diario Vasco) This article contains a complete match linescore and statistics.

Scoring: (Source: EITB) Barrenetxea +23 -5; Ion +8 -7  Two of the three sources used agreed that Barrenextea's +23 included 13 service aces.

Barrenetxea IV dominated the match from the early stages. He scored almost half his points on service aces, something Urriza (his opponent in the final next Saturday, September 10, and who played today directly after him--that match, which was highlighted by Ezkurra in the back court--is also available on the above video) surely noticed. Barrenetxea IV has averaged 11.5 service aces in the two matches in this tournament where the match article mentioned service ace data.  He has also defeated one of the best three front courters on the roster, Uterga, on his way to this final. In that match, according to an article linked to in the "Star" match results (under the recurring results links on the right side of the page), Barrenetxea IV caused problems for Uterga with the serve. Urriza is a front courter who is comfortable returning serves. Urriza is also one of the three best front courters on the roster. Barrenetxea IV is playing great Remonte. The final will be an intriguing and hopefully very competitive match. Barrenextea IV enters it with a 3-0 record in the tournament. Urriza is 2-0. Ion finished 1-2.

August 27, 2016:

1st Semi-final

Urriza defeated Uterga 30-20

Match article (Source: Oriamendi2010)

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

2-5; 9-5; 10-8; 30-20

Uterga finishes the tournament 1-2.

Note: all the below listed matches, as well as all of the rest of the tournament have been and will continue to be covered individually in the Remonte Galarreta "Star" match results.

The 34th Tourneo Kutxabank singles competition at the Galarrata Fronton (Hernani), a 54 meter mur a gauche, entered its league phase on Saturday, August 13, 2016. The lead up to the league phase was played from July 23 - August 11. Four players have been seeded into the league phase in two groups. Urriza and Endika  are in Group A. Uterga and Barrenetxea IV are in Group B , Nine other players played for the third slot in each group.

The league phase of the tournament ended on August 20, due to a rib injury to Endika which forced him out of the tournament. There was no substitute. At the end of the league phase there were two semi-finals.

===========================

Table determination in the league phase:

Matches are played to 30 points.

Winner of a match--4 points
Loser: 27-29--2 points; 24-26--1 point; <24--0 points

Results:

August 13, 2016:

Group B

Barrenetxea IV defeated Uterga 30-21

August 16, 2016

Group B

Barrenetxea IV defeated Aizpuru III 30-14

August 18, 2016

Group A

Urriza defeated Ion 30-14

August 20, 2016

Group B

Uterga defeated Aizpuru III 30-14

Final League Table:

Group A

Urriza 1-0--4 points
Ion 0-1 (1-1)--0 points
Endika 0-0

Group B

Barrenextea IV 2-0--8 points
Uterga 1-1--4 points
Aizpuru III 0-2 (2-2)--0 points

Semi-finals:

Barrenextea IV v Ion (August 27)

Urriza v Uterga (September 3)

Final will be played September 10

===========================

Preliminaries:

Zaldua defeated Martirena 30-18 on July 23 (Martirena finished 0-1)
Otano defeated Erburu 30-19 on July 28 (Erburu finished 0-1)
Zaldua defeated Otano 30-12 on July 30 (Otano finished 1-1)

Segurola defeated Zaldua 30-28 on August 4 (Zaldua finished 2-1)
Ion defeated Segurola 30-20 on August 9 (Segurola finished 1-1)

Ion won the right to join Urriza and Endika in Group A

Aizpuru III defeated Ansa II 30-17 on August 6 (Ansa II finished 0-1)
Aizpuru III defeated Matxin III 30-29 on August 11 (Matxin III finished 0-1)

Aizpuru III won the right to join Uterga and Barrenetxea IV in Group B.