* not listed on the Esku Pilota player pages at this time.
Groupe A
Peio Larralde-Bixintxo Bilbao; Agusti Waltary-Peio Guichandut; Mathieu Ospital-Baptiste Ducassou; Julien Etchegaray-Vincent Lazcano; Alexis Inchauspe-Anton Amulet; Philippe Bielle-Ximun Lambert
Groupe B:
Laurent.Lambert-Mickael Palomes; Vincent Elgart-Pascal de Ezcurra; Mattin Olcomendy*-Jean-Philippe Bennesse, Antton Monce-Cedric Lucu
Source for all match articles, unless otherwise specifically stated, is pilota-ttiki.com. Thus far, most Pilota Ttiki match articles are incorporated into the Pelotelive.free.fr match pages. I will link to them, for ease of access when they are.
Week 1: March 3-4, 2017 ; Week 2: March 12-13 ; Week 3: March 18-19 ; Week 4: March 25, 27, 2017 ; Week 5: April 1-2, 2017 ; Week 6: April 7, 10 2017 ; April 14, 2017--Barrage
Semi-finals in both poules in this competition were played on April 21 and 22, 2017.
April 21, 2017
Trinquet Haitz Pean, Anglet (1)(2)(3)
Match preview article for both matches
Poule A:
Waltary-Guichandut (A4) defeated Ospital-Ducassou (A1) 40-36
Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (source: both match articles)
0-4; 12-12; 16-12; 20-14; 21-14: 24-14; 26-15; 28-16; 32-17; 32-20; 32-21; 34-24; 36-29; 38-32; 39-32; 39-36; 40-36
Poule B:
Aguirre (substituting for L. Lambert)-Palomes (B1) defeated Monce-Lucu (B4) 40-20
Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (source: both match articles)
26-12; 26-19; 38-19; 40-20
Match article for both matches, including an audio interview with Peio Guichandut (Esku Pilota)
Poule A:
This was the upset of the tournament, as O-D were undefeated in poule play (athough they were severely tested by W-G in March before winning 40-38.) According to the match article, a key moment occurred when Waltary scored consecutive winners from 21-14--24-14. It was part of a 16-4 (12-12--28-16) run which basically decided the match, They needed every bit of that cushion because O-D fought back tenaciously with a 19-8 run at the end (32-17--40-36), including 4 consecutive points when W-G had 39, to begin to put the match in doubt. In the end, W-G, who barely survived the Barrage match against L. Lambert-Palomes (B1) when Waltary took matters into his own powerful hands, now find themselves (4-3) and in the final against Larralde-Bilbao (A2--5-1). Both Bilbao and Waltary will be defending the championship that they won together last year. For O-D it was a disappointing end to a magnificent tournament. They finished 5-1.
Poule B:
L. Lambert's tournament ended due to an adductor injury. He was replaced by Gregory Aguirre. A-P had little trouble with M-L, answering a 7-0 run with a 12-0 run of their own to secure the victory. Palomas' team remains undefeated in Poule B at 4-0. They will now face Poule A 5th place team Inchauspe-Amulet in the Poule B final. Inchauspe-Amulet have an overall record of 2-4 (1-0 in Poule B).
April 22, 2017
Le Garat, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (1!)(2)
Match preview article
Poule A:
Larralde-Bilbao (A2) defeated Bielle-X. Lambert (A3) 40-25
Selected linescore (winners always listed 1st) (source: both match articles)
4-4: 6-6; 7-7; 8-8; 13-8; 20-11; 25-14; 30-15; 39-21; 39-25; 40-35
Poule B:
Inchauspe-Amulet (A-5--B-2) defeated Elgart-De Ezcurra (B2--B3) 40-34
Selected linescore (winners always listed 1st) (source: both match articles)
6-0; 18-10; 18-17; 20-19; 25-24; 26-25; 26-26; 34-28; 34-31; 35-33; 40-34
Match article for both matches along with a link to a condensed full match video of the Poule A match (also linked to directly below)
Match article for both matches, including an audio interview with Peio Larralde (Esku Pilota)
Condensed full match video of Larralde-Bilbao v Bielle-X. Lambert (Bixintxo Bilbao Youtube)
Poule A:
This match, according to both match articles (and corroborated by the match video), was not as easy as the final score indicated. It lasted around an hour and 15 minutes, with many long and hotly contested points, After an early 12-3 run that took their lead to 20-11, L-B slowly built the lead to 18. They faltered slightly at the end, as B-L made a 4 point run. Bilbao will be going for his 3rd consecutive CdF.
Poule B:
This hour and 20 minute battle had many ebbs and flows, but in the end, E-D could not recover from an early 8 point deficit. Every time they challenged, I-A met that challenge, finally pulling away with a 5 point run at the end. I-A hoped to be contending for a Groupe A championship this year, but a chance to defend their 2016 Groupe B championship is not the worst consolation.
