This is a current awareness blog that links to the latest sources of information on Basque Pelota matches and Tournaments. It covers all of both North and South Basque modalities: Pro and amateur. It links to match stories, statistics and video highlights and/or full match videos. NEW!!! JAI ALAI LEAGUE (EREMAN!) SEASON INTRO AND JAI ALAI WOMEN'S WINTER TOUR 2024 (2/22/24)!!!

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Mano--Tourneo Parejas San Fermin

The Tourneo Parejas San Fermin was contested at Labrit FrontonIruna (Pamplona) from July 7-14, 2016. The tournament consisted of  6 pairs in two groups. A single round robin was played in both groups. The winners of each group met in the final. 

Final: July 14, 2016

Oliazola II-Albisu defeated Irribarria-Barriola 22-14

Match Article (noticias de Gipuzkoa)

Full Match Video (Fronton.tv) Scroll to T. San Fermin Parejas, Irribarria-Barriola v Oliazola II-Albisu 14/07/2016. This is on the first page of videos now, but eventually will drop to lower pages. Simply search, page by page, for the date to find the match.

O-A began the match with a run of 12 straight points, 8 scored by Oliazola II. There was no way back for I-B from that position.

MY ARTICLE: Tournament Roundup and links to match videos (score and match article for every match, full match video for four of the six preliminary matches).

Mano--Matinez de Irujo out indefinitely with heart ailment

In mid-July 2016 Juan Martinez de Irujo was diagnosed with a heart ailment which will sideline him indefinitelty. For more see the July 13, 2016 article in El Diario Vasco: "Martínez de Irujo sufre una dolencia del corazón," by Joseba Lezeta.

Remonte--Ezkurra set to return to action

After being out of action with a calf injury for the last 6 weeks, the great front courter Koteto Ezkurra is set to return to action this coming week. For more, see the July 28, 2016 article in El Diario Vasco: "Ezkurra, el regreso más esperado," by Enrique Echavarren.

Pala--Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament--Players--Tournament Regulations--Schedule--Day 3, 4 (Round 2) Results

The Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament  at the Atano III FrontonDonastia (San Sebastian) began on July 6, 2016.  It will end with a final on August 17, 2016. The Tournament link above explains the nature of the tournament and how it is to be contested. The same information is also available in less graphic form at InnPala. Basically it is an 8 team doubles tournament, consisting of the entire 10 man InnPala roster along with 6 invited amateurs. The teams are split into two 4 team groups. This is a short court tournament. Each match will be contested to a best three out of five 10 point jokos (sets). Table points are determined entirely by number of jokos won. The league phase will consist of a single round robin in each group, with each player playing every other week. Matches will take place every Wednesday evening. At the end of the league phase there will be a final. Source for all match scores: InnPala Twitter feed. For more information on professional players see the player pages linked to on the right side of the blog.

Note: *=Amateur

Third Day: July 20, 2016. 

Group A: Landeta--Ibai-Perez defeated Gaubeka-Irigoyen* 3-2 (10-9, 10-6, 1-10, 8-10, 10-9)

Group B:  Fusto-J. Irigoyen*  defeated Zubiri-Ayerbe  3-2 (10-7, 10-5, 6-10, 8-10, 10-7)

Fourth Day: July 27, 2016

Group A: Navarro*-Brefel defeated Necol-Andueza*  3-0 (10-8, 10-9, 10-6)

There is some confusion as to who Brefel's partner was. The InnPala website says it was Navarro, who is listed as Brefel's partner throughout the tournament. But both the InnPala Twitter feed and the InnPala Fronton Facebook page say it was Lopez. It is possible one or the other site was incorrect. It is also possible that the twitter feed/facebook page was correct and Lopez played as a sub, but the team is still called "Navarro-Brefel." There is precedent for this in Remonte, where, in the recent Sagardoaren Txapleketa (Torneo Sidra), there were several substitutions during the tournament. However, the teams were named after interests in the cider trade and they stayed consistent, even to the point of substitutes wearing the name of the original player on their back. If I can find out who actually partnered with Brefel, I will put a note in this entry. For now, InnPala is treating the team as Navarro-Brefel.

Group B:  Arozena*-Ibargari defeated Ibarguren*-Imanol 3-2 (5-10, 10-1, 5-10, 10-6, 10-7)

Group A Table:

Navarro*-Brefel (2-0) (3-0; 3-0)--6 points
Landeta--Ibai-Perez (2-0) (3-1; 3-2)--6 points
Gaubeka-Irigoyen* (0-2) (0-3; 2-3)--2 points
Necol-Andueza* (0-2) (1-3; 0-3)--1 point

Group B Table:

Arozena*-Ibargarai (2-0) (3-0; 3-2)--6 points
Zubiri-Ayerbe (1-1) (3-2; 2-3)--5 points
Ibarguren*-Imanol (0-2) (2-3; 2-3)--4 points
Fusto-J. Irigoyen* (1-1) (0-3; 3-2)--3 points

MY ARTICLE: Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament cumulative scores and tables