The Main Nue
Individuel Elite Pro Championnat de France A and B competition is sponsored by the Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque (FFPB). The competition began on December 23, 2016 and will end on February 20, 2017. You can follow its progress here. Pelotelive.free.fr also provides A and B
coverage. The tournament is a seeded ladder tournament.
* not listed on the Esku Pilota player pages at this time.
The
A group consists of Antton Amulet, Philippe Bielle, Bixintxo Bilbao,
Pascal de Ezcurra, Baptiste Ducassou, Peio Guichandut, Ximun Lambert,
Peio Larralde, Matheiu Ospital, and Agusti Waltary. The seeds, from low
to high are: Amulet and Ospital (1/8), Bilbao and Waltary
(Quarter-finals), and Larralde and Ducassou ("Liguilla").
The
B group consists of Gregory Aguirre, Jean-Philippe Benesse*, Mickael
Darmendrail, Vincent Elgart, Julien Etchegaray, Alexis Inchauspe,
Laurent Lambert, Cedric Lucu, Alain Migueltorena, Antton Monce, Mattin
Olcomendy*, and Mickael Palomes. The seeds, from low to high are:
Darmendrail and L. Lambert (1/8), Palomes and Inchauspe
(Quarter-finals), and Elgart and Monce ("Liguilla).
The "Liguilla" phase is a round robin among the top 4 finishers (two
who win their way in and two who are seeded in) which will determine
the finalists.
Article describing the competition (Esku Pilota)
December 23 2016-January 2, 2017 matches
January 6, 2017
Arcangues (1) (2)
Preview article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
Match article for both matches along with an audio interview with Peio Guichandut (Esku Pilota)
Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
B4: Etchegaray defeated Aguirre 40-23 or 40-24
Both match stories list the final score of this match as 40-24. FFPB and pelotelive.free.fr list the final score as 40-23. In any event, after the 1st quarter of the match (7-7; 11-11) Etchegaray took complete control. Etchegary next plays Laurent Lambert at Villefranque on January 14, 2017.
In the Pilota Ttiki preview article on the Etchegary v Inchauspe match of January 20, 2017,
the final score of this match is
40-23. (Added January 21, 2017).
A3: Guichandut defeated Amulet 40-39
Selected linescore (source: both articles above)
0-6; 13-13; 13-20; 17-23; 25-25; 27-27; 29-29; 30-30; 33-33; 33-38; 35-39; 39-39; 40-39
According to both accounts, neither player had a particularly good match. There were 7 equalities and Guichandut came from behind to finally win. Guichandut next plays Bilbao at Villefranque on January 14, 2017.
For cumulative records of Main Nue elite professionals see the "Cumulative records of EP players" on the recurring results page on the right side of the blog.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Los Templos Chinos de la Pelota
Los Templos Chinos de la Pelota (Diario Vasco (Bilbo (Bilbao)), January 3, 2016. This article gives a short history of Jai Alai Cesta/Punta in China. It also mentions landmark dates for the expansion of the sport into various parts of the globe. (Thanks To Tiger's Chalk Talk discussion forum Jai Alai News Facebook page for discovering it).
Main Nue-South Basque v North Basque
The Arabako Sagardotegien Torneo Kopo was played January 6, 2017 at Tornosolo, Abadino (1) (2)
Gonzalez-Ugarte defeated Inchauspe-Bilbao 40-14
Condensed linescore (winners always listed 1st) (Source: EITB)
1-0; 1-1; 9-1; 9-2; 11-2; 11-3; 15-3; 15-5; 18-5; 18-6; 19-6; 19-7; 20-7; 20-10; 37-10; 37-14; 40-14
Full match video (EITB)
In a match billed as Hegoalde (South Basque) v Ipparalde (North Basque), the Hegoalde team completely dominated with runs of 8-1 and 17-0 in the first and second halves. Mikel Gonzalez continued his excellent play that was featured in the Super Prestige tournament. His partner Inhar Ugarte also played very well in the back court. Ugarte is a small but strong man, who strikes the pelota with surprising power. His rebotes were quite effective and he showed deft touch on several direct points into the side dugout mesh. Together they simply overwhelmed their North Basque opponents. The 61 ball 20-10 point (33:01-35:48 on the video), won by I-B, their 3rd in a row, was the kind of point that might have given them some needed momentum. Instead it was the last point they scored for the next 17. The 26-10 point was another marathon (73 balls--43:04-46:13) that Ugarte won with a beautiful shot. Gonzalez' service game was effective, netting him 11 aces by my count. He also began several points by serving from the right side, something he did not feature in the two Super-prestige matches for which full match videos were available.
The trinquet was interesting in that a) there was no xilo box, and b) the back wall was glass, behind which was a spectator section. This effectively made Tornosolo an "Argentine" trinquet like Cambo les Bains, meaning the defenders played differently than they would have on a conventional trinquet.
I have little knowledge of the organization of Esku Pilota tournaments and even less knowledge of the state of Main Nue in the South Basque. And making any comparisons based on one match is always dangerous. But I would love to see more Hegoalde-Ipparalde matches like this one. I hope Mikel Gonzalez (and perhaps Inhar Ugarte) get more exposure in future EP tournaments as well.
Gonzalez-Ugarte defeated Inchauspe-Bilbao 40-14
Condensed linescore (winners always listed 1st) (Source: EITB)
1-0; 1-1; 9-1; 9-2; 11-2; 11-3; 15-3; 15-5; 18-5; 18-6; 19-6; 19-7; 20-7; 20-10; 37-10; 37-14; 40-14
Full match video (EITB)
In a match billed as Hegoalde (South Basque) v Ipparalde (North Basque), the Hegoalde team completely dominated with runs of 8-1 and 17-0 in the first and second halves. Mikel Gonzalez continued his excellent play that was featured in the Super Prestige tournament. His partner Inhar Ugarte also played very well in the back court. Ugarte is a small but strong man, who strikes the pelota with surprising power. His rebotes were quite effective and he showed deft touch on several direct points into the side dugout mesh. Together they simply overwhelmed their North Basque opponents. The 61 ball 20-10 point (33:01-35:48 on the video), won by I-B, their 3rd in a row, was the kind of point that might have given them some needed momentum. Instead it was the last point they scored for the next 17. The 26-10 point was another marathon (73 balls--43:04-46:13) that Ugarte won with a beautiful shot. Gonzalez' service game was effective, netting him 11 aces by my count. He also began several points by serving from the right side, something he did not feature in the two Super-prestige matches for which full match videos were available.
The trinquet was interesting in that a) there was no xilo box, and b) the back wall was glass, behind which was a spectator section. This effectively made Tornosolo an "Argentine" trinquet like Cambo les Bains, meaning the defenders played differently than they would have on a conventional trinquet.
I have little knowledge of the organization of Esku Pilota tournaments and even less knowledge of the state of Main Nue in the South Basque. And making any comparisons based on one match is always dangerous. But I would love to see more Hegoalde-Ipparalde matches like this one. I hope Mikel Gonzalez (and perhaps Inhar Ugarte) get more exposure in future EP tournaments as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)