The amateur scene in Basque Pelota crackles with activity as the 2016-17 season begins. I will check in with selected competitions when match videos are available. This is just a sampling of some regional and special competitions that are themselves a prelude to the national competitions that follow toward the end of this year and through the first half of next year. Link to EEPF and its regional links page or the GMGZ Events Facebook page for listings of competitions in the South.
GMGZ Events specializes in organizing quinela tournaments and competitions. The form they take is usually three quinela matches with 3 teams or players. The winners of the 3 matches then play in a final. This was a singles tournament. In the matches one player plays a point with another. The winner plays another point. The loser is replaced by the player not participating in the point.
Information, score, and photo sources: GMGZ Facebook page. Full match video source: EITB.
Information about the tournament
October 7, 2016:
Kurtzea Pilotalekua, Galduakao (1) (2): Eskupilota Txapelketa 4 1/2 (played to 11 points). Note that in this form of the game, a toss with a special three sided object determines which two start. Then another toss determines who serves. The player who comes in after a point is won gets the serve.
Full match (all four matches) video: Group A: (0:00-22:21); Group B: (22:22-41:09); Group C: (41:10-58:10); Final: (58:11-1:29:20)
Group A (photos and scores): Santxo (Blue) 11; Elezkano (Red) 5; Uriona (White) 3
Group B (photos and scores): Errandonea II (Blue) 11; A. Beitia (Red) 4; Olaizola III (White) 3
Group C: (photos and scores): P. Labaka (Red) 11; Ojuel (Blue) 6; Urretabizkaia (White) 4
Final: (photos and scores): Santxo (Red) 11; Errandonea II (White) 10; P. Labaka (Blue) 10
The group matches quickly separated the best three players from the rest. The final was as exciting as a match of this nature can be. All three players had a chance to win. Two of them (Santxo and Labaka) slightly miscalculated winning kill shots giving Santxo one more chance. Another kill shot presented itself, and this time he didn't miss.
A final note: Santxo is the same Santxo who played (and won) in last summer's prestigious Antiguoako Txapelketa Amateur final in Donostia (San Sebastian), covered in the blog here.
