Main Nue--FFPB Championnat de France Pro Individuel--Qualification Round Seeded Matches--January 19, 2019

The 2019 FFPB (Federation Francais de Pelote Basque) Championnat de France Pro Individuel Tournament began on January 4, and will end on March 3, 2019. For the third consecutive year, there are two competitions,  Group A and Group B. 21 players are involved. FFPB has provided a "dossier" (.pdf format, 7p.) explaining how the tournament works and who the players in each group are. This is a seeded ladder knock out tournament with qualification and league rounds, leading to the final.

The Players:

Player Profiles at Esku Pilota

Group A: Peio Larralde (front); Matthieu Ospital (front); Baptiste Ducassou (back); Bixinto Bilbao (back); Augusti Waltery (front); Ximun Lambert (back); Peio Guichandut (back); Vincent Elgart (front); Julien Etchegary (front); Ion Iturbe (back); and Anton Monce (front)

Last year's finalists: Larralde and Ospital have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)

Group B: Pascal de Ezcurra (back); Laurent Lambert (front); Alexis Inchauspe (front); Mickael Palomes (back); Gregory Aguirre (front); Cedric Lucu (back); Bixente (Vincent) Cubiat (back); Mattin Olcomendy (front); Mickael Darmendrail (front)

de Ezcurra and Lambert have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)
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Previous Championships:

Complete coverage of the 2018 Championship was provided by FFPB:

Results
Brief Match Articles and Photos

More detailed articles and selected match videos were provided by Pilota Ttiki. When videos are available they are linked at the bottom of the article.

Beginning January 9 and "suivant" at the bottom of the article until you reach other tournament articles. The tournament ended on February 25 (A) and February 27 (B) (Note that not all articles you will link to are articles about this tournament).

Twenty 2018 FFPB Championnat de France Elite Pro condensed full match videos are available via Pilota Ttiki Youtube. Scroll to or find "Championnat Individuel" or "Liguilla" (without the quotes).

Finals:
Group A: Larralde 40 Ospital 18
Match article and link to full match video

Group B: Iturbe 40 L. Lambert 27
Match article and link to full match video

2017 Tournament complete coverage (match articles and available videos)

Finals:
Group A: Ducassou 40 Ospital 27
Group B: Etchegaray 40 Elgart 21

2016 Full Tournament Results: Final: Larralde 40 Ducassou 22
2015 Full Tournament Results: Final Ducassou 40 Larralde 21 (pelotelive.free.fr)

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Play in Round (January 4-7, 2019) Qualification Round Seeded Matches (January 12-14); January 19; January 26;

Liguilla: February 2; February 3; February 9; February 11; February 15, February 17

Finals: February 25--Group B; March 3--Group A

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Note: All match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, are condensed full match videos (usually between 15 and 40 minutes).


January 19, 2019

Arcangues (1)(2)

Group A

X. Lambert (back) 40 Guichandut (back) 37 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

11-6; 21-6; 26-16; 31-22; 34-34; 35-35; 40-37
35-35

Lambert was a great shot maker at the beginning of this match and jumped  out to a huge 15 point lead at mid-match. From there Guichandut took over with a 29-14 run to reach equality. But, as often happens, the energy used up in the comeback was exhausting and an error by Guichandut led to a 5-2 finish and victory for Lambert. He now faces Baptiste Ducassou, the best player in the modality at the moment. It should be an interesting confrontation between two back court players. Lambert has no illusions. :

“Mon objectif c’était de bien figurer encore en tête à tête. Je crois qu’en gagnant contre Peio j’ai fait mon job. Contre Baptiste, vu la forme qu’il a en ce moment, ça va être compliqué."

Loosely translated (by Google):

"My goal was to still be in the Tournament. I think that by winning against Peio I did my job. Against Baptiste, given the form he has right now, it's going to be complicated. "

Group B

Palomes (back) 40 Aguirre (front) 31 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Selected linescore: (winner always listed first)

25-25: 40-31

The game was very close, according to the match article, until the last decade, when Palomes took it over.

Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)

Match article for both matches (FFPB)

Group B: Back 1-1; Front 1-1

==========

The next Qualification matches will take place January 25, 2019 at Arcangues

Group A:

Waltery (front) v Bilbao (back) (seeded in at this point)

X. Lambert (b) v Ducassou (b) (seeded in at this point)

Mano--Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas--2018-2019--Week 9

Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas, the premier doubles competition of the 2018-2019 Mano season, began November 23, 2018. 8 teams will compete for the title. The first (league) phase is a double round robin (14 matches). The top 4 finishers will face off in a single round robin (3 matches). The two winners will play in a final on April 7, 2019.

Source for all match articles, unless otherwise specifically stated, is 21iguales.com.  21iguales.com will also keep an ongoing phase table at its main Parejas site.

This table is the most up to date of any I've found.

Match linescores will be provided from match articles when available. Full match linescores can be found at 21iguales.com Twitter feed.  Track back to the date and match and follow from beginning to end. The feed is also available at the Main site of 21iguales.com while the matches are in progress.
Source for all highlights and full match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, is EITB.

At present, EITB is providing all highlights, in chronological order:

We begin at Week 7 as that was when the 2019 calendar year began. Coverage of the first six weeks is available at 21Iguales.com, and the Baiko Pilota  (formerly Asegarce and ASPE websites. Full match video coverage of all available matches can be found at EITB.

For all available full match videos

"buscar" (search--top right side of page): "binakako" (without the quotes). Look for "2019 Binakako Txapelketa." Matches are usually the second or first match on the video.

Full match videos of earlier finals going back to 2000:

 "buscar" "Binakako Txapelketako finalak" (without the quotes)

Selected full match videos before 2000:

"buscar" "Gure bideoteka" (without the quotes) and scroll until you find them.

For complete print and video coverage of the 2016-17 competition 

Links to all matches available (by week).

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Week 7; Week 8; Week 9; Week 10; Week 11; Week 12; Week 13; Week 14; Semi-final Round 1; Semi-final Round 2; Semi-final Round 3;

Final

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Week 9

The rich got richer and the poor got poorer as the table broke further into a two tier affair. The top three teams all won. The 4th place team lost but still managed to keep their heads above water and hold on to a two game lead for the last semi-final slot.

January 18, 2019

Mungia (1) (2)

Ezkurdia-L. Galarza (3-6 -13) 22 Laso (substituting for Urrutikoetxea 
[left hand injury])-Aretxabaleta (2-7 -43) 18 (EITB: match begins 49:23) (Basque)

Full match video: Fronton TV: (Castilian)

Final point (EITB)

Match article (incl. balls in play, linescore, scoring) (21Iguales)

Two teams who seemingly had little but pride left to play for thoroughly entertained the Mungia fans (who filled the fronton to the rafters--temporary seating was installed at the 12 line of this long court "Cathedral of Pala" and it was filled as well). They were treated to a very hard fought (closest of any of the weekend's matches) battle (553 balls in play, almost 75 minutes of play). L-A broke out to 8-3 and 13-7 leads, but then E-G fought back to equality at 13. The scores were equal at 15 and 16 before L-A took their final lead at 17-16. Then E-G spurted ahead 20-17 and were able to close the match out. There were an equal number of winners and errors (20). Laso showed promise with 10 winners but also inconsistency with 7 errors. It was his 2nd match as a substitute, having been brought in for the injured Artola and partnering with Marriezkarrena II in a December 29 loss to Elezkano II -Rezusta. He will replace Urrutikoetxea again next week against the team he substituted for.

January 19, 2019

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1)(2)

Elezkano II-Rezusta (7-2 +47) 22 Artola-Mariezkurrena II (5-4 +2) 14

Highlights (EITB--1st half of highlights)

Highlights (21Iguales Youtube--11 selected points, including the winning point)

Match article (including. balls in play, linescore, scoring)

This was the highlight match of the week, with A-M having a possible chance to tie for the lead in the table. Interestingly, 600 balls were played in a little over an hour. From 4-3, E-R led most of the way, with 3 points spurts (4-4--7-4; 12-11--15-11; 16-13--19-13; and 19-14--22-14). E-R played a more solid, fundamental match, Elezkano's 3 errors to Artola's 8 and Rezusta's 2 errors to Mariezkurrena II's 6. That, in essence, was the difference in the match. Rezusta has played in the last 3 Championship finals (with Elezkano II last year, winning with Irribarria in 2017, and with Martinez de Irujo in his final match (scroll to "mano"). He has played with three partners who were very different in terms of speed, power, and shot making ability. All he does is anchor an airtight defense.

So far in this year's league phase, here are his error totals. 3,1,1,0,3,1,2,5,2. That's 2 per game. 2! If he isn't the best defender on the circuit, I don't know who is.

January 19, 2019

Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao) (1)(2)

Oliazola II-Albisu (7-2 +35) 22 Altuna III-Martija (3-6 -31) 9  (EITB--match begins at 48:00)

Highlights (EITB--2nd half of highlights)

Match article (including. balls in play, linescore, scoring)

This was a surprisingly difficult victory for O-A, as the 31 points consumed 570 balls in play The difference in this match was 39 year old master Aimar Oliazola. He was +15 -1. That he can still produce those numbers is phenomenal. He has played in 7 championships in this competition and won 3, last in 2016. He is still, in my opinion, among the best three front court players in the sport. He is looking dangerous. As for the match, well, A-M scored the first point and then were buried under a 9-0 run that took the drama out of it. But if you watch the match, you will see several long, hotly contested points, showing that these players, in addition to having hands of iron, are very good at what they do. With the win, O-A remained in a tie for first at the top of the table with Elezkano II-Rezusta, but 12 points in arrears in the differential column.

January 20, 2019

Astelena, Eibar (1)(2)

Irribaria-Zabaleta (6-3 +40) 22 Bengoetxea VI-Imaz (3-6 -37) 6 (EITB--match begins at 1:04:12)

Highlights (EITB)

Match article (incl. balls in play, linescore, scoring)

This was the most lopsided match of the weekend. B-I took a 2-0 lead and then scored 4 more points in the match. They were dispatched in less than 40 minutes. Irribarria led the way at +10 -2. Bengoetxea VI had a quiet match. And Imaz' 7 errors did not help. Zabaleta played tight defense (2 errors) and complemented Irribarria well. I-Z, though third in the table, are second in point differential.

In the next round the 4 leaders will face the 4 tail enders, so it would seem the gulf between the two will get larger. But one never knows.

Pala/Pala Larga--InnPala Rankings--January 13, 2019

The first Innpala player rankings for the 2018-2019 season were recently published at the Innpala website. Note: The rankings begin the new season and include The Liga Kutxabank competition which ended on January 12, 2019.

Player information and photos

DELANTEROS ZAGUEROS
(Front Courters)      (Back Courters)

Necol 66 Urrutia 66
Fusto 54 Gordon 54
Gaubeka 42 Ibai Perez 42
Garate 36 Brefel 36
Landeta 30      Ibargarai 30

The ranking criteria are available at Innpala at this time (scroll past the rankings, which are current).

A Google Translate version of how the rankings are derived.

The company awards diamonds (*) (1 to 3) to the championships depending on their importance, duration, etc. Note: *** ranked tournaments are the major annual tournaments, to the best of my knowledge. These would by the Liga Kutxabank (pairs), the Mundial Individual (singles), the Mundo Parejas (pairs) and the Bizkaia Open (pairs). The rankings of the summer tournaments are unknown to me at this time.

The diamonds of each tournament are multiplied by the following points ladder:

1º: 22 | 2nd: 18 | 3rd: 14 | 4th: 12 | 5th onwards: 10

In the individual world the points are awarded depending on the elimination in which each paddler has fallen

The pelotaris that do not compete in a tournament acquire as many points as the last of the competition.

* New incorporations to the company that are linked to the ranking with the palista who has the fewest points on the day of incorporation

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For 2019, we will be putting together a table of actual wins and losses along with jokos won and lost for players by position, as another way to look at how the Palistas are doing throughout the year. It will include all of the matches that I find, whether tournament or independent matches. Some data the early part of the 2016-17 season is available at the InnPala Player win-loss table page on the right side of the blog.

Pala/Pala Larga: 2018-19 Liga Kutxabank Final, Semi-final, Complete Results, and Various Information about Liga Competitions back to 2006

The Liga Kutxabank competition, the premier (mostly) short court Pala pairs tournament, began on October 26, 2018, and ended with a final on January 12, 2019. Most of the tournament was played at Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao) (1)(2). But the first three rounds were played at Sopela (1)(2), Sestao (1)(2), and on the Mungia (1)(2) long court that is the "Cathedral" of Pala.

It was a double round robin tournament featuring all of the InnPala  roster. There was a league phase, a double round robin in which the table was determined by the amount of jokos (sets) won, making each set important, no matter the outcome of the 3 out of 5 set matches (each set to 10). The top league finisher was seeded automatically into the final. The number two and three finishers played a semi-final. The teams:

Fusto-Gordon
Necol-Urrutia
Gaubeka-Ibai Perez
Garate-Brefel
Landeta-Ibargarai

InnPala Players, information and photos (click on "entradas anteriores" at the bottom of the page for the remaining players.)

Note: the complete Liga table, along with complete results (jokos and joko scores--which are linked to their source, Diario Vasco Carteleras), are available. There are short match stories available for many of the league rounds (also known as "jornadas"). The source, when available, is the InnPala Fronton facebook page. For matches where newspaper accounts are available, the source is provided next to the link. The sources for available full match video are EITB and Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube. The final league table will be posted here. The match by match results will be linked to a "MY ARTICLE" post at the bottom of the page.

Also below there is a listing of previous Liga winners going back to 2011, with joko scores (various sources given below), along with links to relevant newspaper and blog articles, as well as match video when available (video source is EITB unless otherwise specified). For selected earlier tournaments there is Liga phase information available as well. Sources are InnPala and various newspaper or blog information.

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

Competition preview article (Deia)

A new Innpala player, delantero (front court player) Ibon Garate, (Mundo Deportivo) made his professional debut in this competition. He replaces Erik Zubiri, who left InnPala in August 2018 to become a fire fighter (Mundo Deportivo).

January 12, 2019

Final (Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao)

Necol-Urrutia 3 Fusto-Gordon 0 (10-6; 10-8; 10-7) (30-21)

Full match video

Match preview (interviews with Necol and Fusto--EITB)
Match article (Deia)
Match article (Mundo Deportivo)

Scoring (Source: Deia match article)

Necol +11 -5; Urrutia + 9 -8 (including 1 service fault)
Fusto +4 -3; Gordon +4 (including 2 service aces) -7 (including 1 service fault)

327 bip.
Time of match: 39 minutes.

Enhanced Linescore (winners always listed first).

Key: Server: U=Urrutia; G=Gordon; (number of balls in play (bip)); score; selected comments

N-U won the toss.

Joko 1:  U (7) 1-0; U (5) 2-0; U (5) 3-0; U (1) 4-0; U (5) 5-0, N 2 wall winner; U (5) 6-0; U (11) 7-0; U (2) 7-1; G (3) 7-2; G (1) 7-3; G (12) 8-3; U (3) 9-3; U (0) 9-4 (U fault); G (11) 9-5; G (9) 9-6; G (2) 10-6: 82 bip

Joko 2: G (6) 1-0; U (3) 2-0; U (2) 2-1; G (23) 2-2, F winner; G (3) 2-3; G (8) 3-3; U (7) 4-3; U (12) 4-4; G (0) 5-4 (G fault); U (5) 6-4; U (4) 6-5; G (4) 7-5; U (10) 7-6; G (8) 8-6; U (5) 9-6; U (12) 9-7; G (1) 9-8; G (6) 10-8: 119 bip

Joko 3: G (4) 1-0; U (4) 1-1; G (2) 2-1; U (16) 2-2; G (3) 2-3; G (5) 2-4; G (24) 3-4, U winner; U (21) 4-4, N 2 wall winner; U (3) 5-4 U left wall winner; U (2) 5-5; G (4) 6-5; U (3) 7-5; U (10) 7-6; G (12) 8-6; U (5) 9-6; N 2 wall winner; U (6) 9-7; U (2) 10-7: 126 bip

Dan Necol has had a fabulous three months. First, he won the Federation International Pelota Vasca (FIPV) Pala Corta Campeonato del Mundo Gold Medal with Sylvan Brefel, for France against  Gaubeka-Skufca (Spain), in a brilliant final (10-15; 15-12; 10-8). That was in mid-October, 2018.

Full match video, (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube, match begins at 21:23 on the video).

Match article (FIPV)

That victory helped France to win the overall World Championship (7 golds, 5 silvers, 4 bronzes) for the first time since 1994. After about two weeks off to celebrate, Necol and Inaki Urrutia got a slow start in the Liga competition, losing three of their first five matches (but still having a 12-9 joko record), before they caught fire, winning their last three matches (finishing with a 21-15 joko record). They then won an incredible semi-final (see below). Their momentum carried them to an easy victory over Fusto-Gordon, last year's Mudial Parejas champions, in the final. The teams split their two matches in the competition. Two months earlier F-G had overcome a 2-0 joko deficit on the 43 meter court at Sestao. (1 point of that match is available via Dan Necol's Facebook page.

The match was decided in the first joko. Neither team played especially well.  Iker Gordon had a particularly difficult time, and before they knew it, F-G were down 7-0. They closed the gap, (9-3--9-6), but had too deep a hole to get out of. The entire joko consumed only 82 balls in play.

The second joko was of better quality, and Fusto came to the party, helping his team reach their first equality with a nice winner on the 23 ball 1-2--2-2 point. F-G then took their first lead (3-2) but N-I responded immediately, taking back the lead at 4-3 and stretching it to 9-6 before F-G rallied to 9-8. Urrutia then finished the joko with a winner and N-U were up 2-0. There were 119 balls in play in this joko.

In the third joko, both teams played their best pala, and the result was some very scintillating play. N-U stumbled early and F-G took a 4-2 lead. Here N-U showed their mettle, winning the two longest points of the match (24 and 21 balls in play) via an Urrutia winner and a wonderful Necol 2 wall winner. They then took a 5-4 lead on a very nice Urrutia left wall shot that Fusto swung at, but only connected with air. Gordon played well in this joko, making some outstanding saves during the long points. A Gordon winner made it 7-6. Then Necol emphatically punctuated the win with another crisp 2 wall winner. A short time later N-U were Champions. There were 126 balls in play in this joko. There were 327 in the match.

NU finished the competition with five consecutive wins. They won 15 of their last 19 jokos. It was Necol's second Liga championship in two tries. Fusto has now, since 2011, played in six of the seven championship finals in this grueling competition. He has won three. Gordon, last year's champion (with Gaubeka) in his first Liga Championship match, is now 1-1. Urrutia, who also played in his first Championship Match last year, is also 1-1.

Finally, some salient statistics should be pointed out. The 51 match points averaged 6.41 balls in play per point. There were 10 points that consumed 10 or more balls in play, 2 points that consumed 20 or more. The match took 39 minutes to play even though none of the jokos was decided by more than 4 points. So maybe it was not the most brilliant championship match ever played, but there were flashes of great play. The 3rd Joko was excellent. And...Dan Necol is one happy palista :)

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December 28, 2018

Semi-final

Necol-Urrutia 3 Gaubeka-Ibai Perez 2 (10-8; 10-9; 5-10; 8-10; 10-7) (43-44)

Full match video (EITB--match begins at 1:10:44)

N-U tied Fusto-Gordon for most jokos won with 21 in the league phase. They split two league matches, with both joko scores 3-2 (F-G won at Sestao on November 4, 2019  4-10, 7-10, 10-7, 10-6, 10-5 while NU won at Bilbo (Bilbao) on December 14, 10-9, 10-9, 3-10, 6-10, 10-5. The league winner, I am assuming (because I could find no specifications in the latest rules, which are in the 2016 Liga InnPala announcement), came down to total points. F-G won the league by 7 points (84-77). Gaubeka-Ibai Perez came in 3rd with 19 jokos won. That is how this semi-final matchup came to be. G-I and N-U split two league matches, G-I winning the first at Bilbo November 16 3-2 (7-10, 8-10, 10-3, 10-6, 10-8). N-U won at Bilbo on December 24 3-1 (10-4, 10-4, 7-10, 10-9). That win came directly after F-G beat the tail enders Landeta-Ibargarai in a very tough match 3-2 (10-6, 7-10, 10-4, 9-10, 10-4), clinching their spot in the final. So this semi-final was likely to be quite competitive, given how close the league phase was between the thee teams. And it did not disappoint. 1 point separated the teams after five extremely hard fought jokos and Gaubeka's quest for a third consecutive championship (unprecedented in this competition since 2011) came three points short.

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Recap of the entire 2018-19 Liga Kutxabank competition.

Final Table (Source: cut and pasted from InnPala home page)

Liga kutxabank
Teams Games Jokos won Jokos lost                Total
 
Fusto-Gordon      8             21             15                   21  (6-2)
Necol-Urrutia      8             21             15                   21  (5-3)
Gaubeka-Ibai      8             19             16                   19  (6-2)
Garate-Brefel      8             14             17                   14  (3-5)
Landeta-Ibargarai8              6              21                     6  (0-8)

There was one match I was unable to find, but was able to infer. The second match between Gaubeka-Ibai Perez and Garat-Brefel was won, I believe, by G-I 3-0. That is the only way that both the jokos and win-loss records balance. I also counted the jokos and came up with slightly different findings, again, which you can look at in the MY ARTICLE accompanying this. This difference didn't effect the final number of jokos won, but I could only find 12 joko losses for N-U, and G-I. Since L-I lost all their matches, they had to have 24 joko losses.

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Winners of the Liga competition going back to 2011 (sources: InnPala, Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube, Diario Vasco Cartelera, Naiz Cartelera, various newspaper articles, Haixeder Blog).

Deportivo de Bilbao 2006 Parejas (?)

Fusto-Torre 45 Urkia Rekalde 37 (Dairo Vasco Cartelera)

Match article (Diario Vasco)

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

Deportivo de Bilbao 2007 Parejas (?)

Imanol-Urkia 45 Gaubeka-Velilla 33

Partial linescore
24-13; 45-33

Match article (Diario Vasco)

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Deportivo de Bilbao 2008 (?)

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Deportivo de Bilbao Parejas 2009 (?)

Gaubeka-Beldarrain 45 Urkia-Lujan 35

Match article (Diario Vasco)

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Deportivo de Bilbao 2010 (?)

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Liga de Parejas 2011

Fusto-Garma 3 Altadill-Ayerbe 1 (10-5; 10-7; 9-10; 10-6)

Third place: Gaubeka-Larrinaga 3  Zulaika-Lujan 2 (2-10, 10-8, 3-10, 10-3, 10-8) both (Naiz cartelera)

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Liga de Parejas 2012

Gaubeka-Larrinaga 3 Urkijo-Ibargari 2 (12-5, 12-11, 7-12, 9-12, 12-11)

Third place: Altadill-Imanol 3 Garcia Aierbe 1 (12-3, 12-11, 8-12, 12-6)

Source for joko scores of both: Diario Vasco Cartelera

Tournament regulations, standings, joko scores (Innpala)

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2013 Liga Innpala de Parejas

Fusto-Ayerbe 3 Gaubeka-Imanol 2 (10-7, 7-10, 10-7, 7-10, 10-4)

Third place: Altadill-Lujan 3 Garcia-Ibargari 2 (10-9, 7-10, 10-9, 9-10, 10-4)

Final Table (InnPala)
Joko scores for final and 3rd place (InnPala)

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2014 BBK Liga

Fusto-Ibai Perez 3 v Gaubeka-Larranaga 0 (10-7; 10-7; 10-2) (Diario Vasco Cartelara)

Final Table (Innpala)

Entire Tournament results (Haixeder Blog)  all but the final

Final point and closing ceremony (EITB)

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2015 Liga BBK 

Necol-Imanol 3 Fusto-Ayerbe 1 (10-8; 10-4; 5-10; 10-4)

Match article (Naiz)

Schedule and regulations (Innpala)

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2016 Liga Kutxabank

Gaubeka-Ibai-Perez 3 Necol-Ibargari 0 (10-4; 10-7; 10-9)

Complete coverage of the entire tournament is available in another post in this blog. Unfortunately, the EITB videos are no longer available.

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2017 Liga Kutxabank

Gaubeka-Gordon 3 Fusto-Urrutia 2 (10-8; 10-9; 9-10; 3-10; 10-6)

Full match video (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)

Jornada 2 matches:

Full match video (Toute sur la Pelota Basque Youtube)

Landeta-Brefel 3 Necol-Ibargari 2 (8-10, 10-4, 8-10, 10-8, 10-7) (1st match on video)
Fusto-Urrutia 3 Zubiri-Ibai Perez 0 (10-9, 10-8, 10-5)

Jornada 6 match: Fusto-Urrutia 3 v Landeta-Brefel 2 (10-9; 10-9; 6-10; 10-9)

Full match video (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)

Journada 8 match:

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

Full match video (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)


MY ARTICLE: The 2018-19 Liga Kutxabank--Match by Match. Also, a few Librarian's tricks.

Pala/Pala Larga--Final Innpala Rankings for 2017-2018

The final Innpala player rankings for the 2017-2018 season were recently published at the Innpala website. Note: This table does not include InnPala's newest player, front courter Ibon Garate, (Mundo Deportivo) who debuted at the beginning of the 2018-19 Liga Kutxabank competition. The Liga Kutxabank competition ended on January 12, 2019. It is not included in this ranking. Garate replaced Erik Zubiri, who left InnPala in August of 2018 to become a fire fighter. (Mundo Deportivo).

Player information and photos

Ranking de pelotaris a  9/9/2018

DELANTEROS ZAGUEROS
(Front Courters)      (Back Courters)

Gaubeka  268 Gordon  212

Fusto  212     Ibargarai   210
Necol  196 Urrutia     190
Landeta 172 Ibai Perez  180
                      Brefel       156

The ranking criteria are available at Innpala at this time (scroll past the rankings, which are current).

A Google Translate version of how the rankings are derived.

The company awards diamonds (*) (1 to 3) to the championships depending on their importance, duration, etc. Note: *** ranked tournaments are the major annual tournaments, to the best of my knowledge. These would by the Liga Kutxabank (pairs), the Mundial Individual (singles), the Mundo Parejas (pairs) and the Bizkaia Open (pairs). The rankings of the summer tournaments are unknown to me at this time.

The diamonds of each tournament are multiplied by the following points ladder:

1º: 22 | 2nd: 18 | 3rd: 14 | 4th: 12 | 5th onwards: 10

In the individual world the points are awarded depending on the elimination in which each paddler has fallen

The pelotaris that do not compete in a tournament acquire as many points as the last of the competition.

* New incorporations to the company that are linked to the ranking with the palista who has the fewest points on the day of incorporation

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

For 2019, we will be putting together a table of actual wins and losses along with jokos won and lost for players by position, as another way to look at how the Palistas are doing throughout the year. It will include all of the matches that I find, whether tournament or independent matches. Some data the early part of the 2016-17 season is available at the InnPala Player win-loss table page on the right side of the blog.

Mano--Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas--2018-2019--Week 8

Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas, the premier doubles competition of the 2018-2019 Mano season, began November 23, 2018. 8 teams will compete for the title. The first (league) phase is a double round robin (14 matches). The top 4 finishers will face off in a single round robin (3 matches). The two winners will play in a final on April 7, 2019.

Source for all match articles, unless otherwise specifically stated, is 21iguales.com.  21iguales.com will also keep an ongoing phase table at its main Parejas site.

This table is the most up to date of any I've found.

Match linescores will be provided from match articles when available. Full match linescores can be found at 21iguales.com Twitter feed.  Track back to the date and match and follow from beginning to end. The feed is also available at the Main site of 21iguales.com while the matches are in progress.
Source for all highlights and full match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, is EITB.

At present, EITB is providing all highlights, in chronological order:

We begin at Week 7 as that was when the 2019 calendar year began. Coverage of the first six weeks is available at 21Iguales.com, and the Baiko Pilota  (formerly Asegarce and ASPE websites. Full match video coverage of all available matches can be found at EITB.

For all available full match videos

"buscar" (search--top right side of page): "binakako" (without the quotes). Look for "2019 Binakako Txapelketa." Matches are usually the second or first match on the video.

Full match videos of earlier finals going back to 2000:

 "buscar" "Binakako Txapelketako finalak" (without the quotes)

Selected full match videos before 2000:

"buscar" "Gure bideoteka" (without the quotes) and scroll until you find them.

For complete print and video coverage of the 2016-17 competition 

Links to all matches available (by week).

--------------------------------------

Week 7; Week 8; Week 9; Week 10; Week 11; Week 12; Week 13; Week 14; Semi-final Round 1; Semi-final Round 2; Semi-final Round 3

Final

--------------------------------------

Week 8

January 11, 2019

Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao) (1)(2)

1. Oliazola II-Albisu (6-2 +22) 22 Urrutikoetxea-Aretxabaleta (2-6 -39) 19 (EITB: Match begins at 1:16:30) (Basque)

2, Fronton TV Youtube (Castilian)

Highlights (EITB--first half of video)

Match article (including balls in play, linescore, and scoring (21Iguales)

In a match between two teams going in opposite directions, U-A put up very stiff resistance before O-A finally prevailed, moving them into a first place tie with Elezkano-Rezusta at 6 wins 2 losses. U-A opened with a 6-1 run but O-A equalized at 7. The match was equal at every point to 10. U-A took their last lead at 12-10. O-A finally took the lead at 13-12. From there they stretched it to 21-14. 5 consecutive U-A points made it close, but not close enough as they remained entrenched at the bottom of the table, tied with Ezkurdia-L. Galarza at 2-6. For O-A, Olaiazola II was the hero of the piece with +12 -4. Albisu  played air tight defense with only 1 error after making 8 (or 12 depending on the source) last week. The match was very hotly contested, consuming over 600 balls in play.

January 11

Sahatsaga, Getaria: (1)(2)

Artola-Mariezkurrena II (5-3 +10) 22 Bengoetxea VI-Imaz 11 (3-5 -21) 11 (at present there is no available full match video)

Highlights (EITB--second half of video)

Match article (including balls in play, linescore and scoring) (21Iguales)

At 7-8, B-I were in contention. Then a 6 point run silenced them. From that point A-M closed them out with an 8-3 run to move into a 3rd place tie (5-3) with Irribarria-Zabaleta. Artola was +14 -1 to lead the way. He more than made up for a poor day at the office for Mariezkurrena (+1 -6). Bengoetxea VI had a quiet day (+4 -4).

January 12

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1)(2)

Altuna III-Martija (3-5 -18) 22 Ezkurdia-L. Galarza (2-6 -17) 15 (EITB: Match begins at 0:00)

Highlights (EITB)

Match article (including balls in play, linescore, and scoring) (21Iguales)

A-M kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a victory that moved them into a tie for 5th place with Bengoetxea VI-Imaz. Their margin of victory moved them ahead on point differential. This was a tightly contested match with E-G slightly ahead at 11-8. But then A-M broke it wide open with a 10 point run. 13 E-G errors kept them at the foot of the table, tied with Urrutikoetxea-Arretxabaleta.

January 13

Atzuri, Zumaia (1)(2)

Elezkano-Rezusta (6-2, +39) 22 Irribaria-Zabaleta (5-3 +24) 19 (EITB--Match begins at 1:03:40)

Highlights (EITB)

Match story (including balls in plan, linescore, and scoring (21Iguales).

In the most important match of the competition so far, I-Z brought a 4 match winning streak that allowed them to tie for the lead into this confrontation. In the early going they had it all their own way at 5-1 and 9-3. E-R fought back to equality at 11 and finally took the lead at 13-12. From there, although I-Z never took the lead, the difference was never more than 3 points until E-R finally opened up a 21-16 lead.  A late rally by I-Z got them to within 3 but then, just as they had done to Oliazola II-Albisu in last week's most important match of the competition, E-R closed the match out to move into a tie for the lead with O-A. E-R have a +17 point differential lead.

E-R face Artola-Marriezkarrena at Iruna (Pamplona) on Saturday, January 19 in Week 9's pivotal game, when, for the third straight week, two teams will fight it out for top of the ladder honors. Technically, E-R will remain at the top no matter what happens, as they have a +29 point differential lead over A-M going into the match. A-M have won 3 of their last 4 (the 22-11 loss coming in a match against E-R in December that Artola missed due to injury). O-A have also won 3 of their last 4, after losing to Irrebarria-Zabeleta last week.

Main Nue--FFPB Championnat de France Pro Individuel--Qualification Round Seeded Matches--January 12-14, 2019

The 2019 FFPB (Federation Francais de Pelote Basque) Championnat de France Pro Individuel Tournament began on January 4, and will end on March 3, 2019. For the third consecutive year, there are two competitions,  Group A and Group B. 21 players are involved. FFPB has provided a "dossier" (.pdf format, 7p.) explaining how the tournament works and who the players in each group are. This is a seeded ladder knock out tournament with qualification and league rounds, leading to the final.

The Players:

Player Profiles at Esku Pilota

Group A: Peio Larralde (front); Matthieu Ospital (front); Baptiste Ducassou (back); Bixinto Bilbao (back); Augusti Waltery (front); Ximun Lambert (back); Peio Guichandut (back); Vincent Elgart (front); Julien Etchegary (front); Ion Iturbe (back); and Anton Monce (front)

Last year's finalists: Larralde and Ospital have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)

Group B: Pascal de Ezcurra (back); Laurent Lambert (front); Alexis Inchauspe (front); Mickael Palomes (back); Gregory Aguirre (front); Cedric Lucu (back); Bixente (Vincent) Cubiat (back); Mattin Olcomendy (front); Mickael Darmendrail (front)

de Ezcurra and Lambert have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)
-------------------------------------

Previous Championships:

Complete coverage of the 2018 Championship was provided by FFPB:

Results
Brief Match Articles and Photos

More detailed articles and selected match videos were provided by Pilota Ttiki. When videos are available they are linked at the bottom of the article.

Beginning January 9 and "suivant" at the bottom of the article until you reach other tournament articles. The tournament ended on February 25 (A) and February 27 (B) (Note that not all articles you will link to are articles about this tournament).

Twenty 2018 FFPB Championnat de France Elite Pro condensed full match videos are available via Pilota Ttiki Youtube. Scroll to or find "Championnat Individuel" or "Liguilla" (without the quotes).

Finals:
Group A: Larralde 40 Ospital 18
Match article and link to full match video

Group B: Iturbe 40 L. Lambert 27
Match article and link to full match video

2017 Tournament complete coverage (match articles and available videos)

Finals:
Group A: Ducassou 40 Ospital 27
Group B: Etchegaray 40 Elgart 21

2016 Full Tournament Results: Final: Larralde 40 Ducassou 22
2015 Full Tournament Results: Final Ducassou 40 Larralde 21 (pelotelive.free.fr)

-------------------------------------

Play in Round (January 4-7, 2019) Qualification Round Seeded Matches (January 12-14); January 19; January 26

Liguilla: February 2; February 3; February 9; February 11; February 15, February 17

Finals: February 25--Group B; March 3--Group A

-------------------------------------

Note: All match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, are condensed full match videos (usually between 15 and 40 minutes).

Qualification Round (January 12-14)

January 12

Both matches: Trinquet Berria, Hasparren--Trinquet (old and new) (1) (2) Hasparren

Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)

Match article for both matches (FFPB)

Match article for January 12, 2019 matches only (FFPB)

Group A: Guichandut (back) 40 Monce (front) 30 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first):

19-19; 27-19; 40-30

After the match, the Guichandut said Monce was a player he feared. Based on the first half of the match, it looked like he had reason to. But in the second half Guichandut slowly tired Monce and won going away. He will next face the seeded X. Lambert (back) on January 19 at Arcangues. Lambert eliminated him last year 40-28.

Group A Front 1-1; Back 1-1

Group B: Aguirre (front) 40 Darmendrail (front) 31 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first):

14-3; 16-9; 19-14; 22-21; 40-31

Aguirre built a huge early lead, a mountain which Darmendrail almost climbed with an 18-8 run. But, as sometimes happens, the energy needed to climb the mountain exhausts the player. Aguirre answered with an 18-10 run of his own. He will next face the seeded Palomes (back) on January 19 at Arcangues.

January 14, 2019

Both matches were played atTrinquet Garat, Donibane Garazi (St. Jean Pied de Port) (1) (2)

Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)

Match article for both matches (FFPB)

Group A:

1.  Waltery (front) 40 Etchegaray (front) 30 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)
2. Info Garazi Youtube (slightly different camera angle, better view of the scoreboard)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first):

6-0; 8-8; 8-16; 12-24; 20-26; 23-30; 40-30

This was the match of the weekend. The 38 year old Waltery with (in his own words, according to the match article), "nothing more to prove", proved once again that he is still one of the premier players in Main Nue. He fought back against, Etchegary, more than 8 years his junior, after taking an early 6-0 lead (4 service aces), weathering a 24-6 Etchegary run, and getting back to 23-30. From there he shut out Etchegary 17-0 with 9 service aces. It was one of the most devastating Main Nue comebacks in many years. Waltery has always had a devastating serve, and when he gets it right, it can turn  a match quickly, as it did this one. To see just how devasting, watch the entire 17 point run.

23-30; 40-30 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Waltery will next face the seeded Bilbao (back) on January 25 at Arcangues.

Group B:

Inchauspe (front) 40 Cubiat (back) 15 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first)

15-4; 23-5; 31-15; 40-15

The left-handed Inchauspe completely dominated the proceedings with runs of 15-4, 8-1, and 9-0. He now passes directly to the League phase and will face the winner of the Aguirre-Palomes match (see above).

Group B Front 1-0; Back 0-1

Remonte--Euskal Jai Berri--XIV Tourneo Individual de Remonte de Navidad Semi-finals and Final

Euskal Jai Berri will  shortly announce its schedule of Tournaments and independent matches for 2019.

Except for the San Fermin Tournament (links are to the 2018 tournament)

Match Article (Oriamendi2010)
Full Match Video (EITB--which includes a beautiful ceremony celebrating the career of the legendary Koteto Ezkurra)

it is exclusively a short court circuit. We will keep track of this schedule along with cumulative player records here (see under pages on the right side of the blog). Tournament finals and semi-finals will be covered in the main blog as well.  The Euskal Jai Berri page is designed to complement the recurring Galarreta Star Match Page (also on the right side of the blog) for a more full picture of professional Remonte in the South Basque Country.

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

January 12, 2019

Torneo Individual de Remonte de Navidad

Tournament Presentation article (Euskal Jai Fundacion)
Tournament Preview article (Euskal Jai Fundacion)

Final:

Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona (1) (2)

Urriza (front) 30 Urtasun (front) 28

Preview article (Euskal Jai Fundacion)

Match article (Euskal Jai Fundacion)

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

5-2; 7-7; 7-9; 9-11; 11-17; 17-17; 21-21; 22-22; 24-22; 26-23; 26-27; 27-27; 29-28: 30-28

The final of the 14th edition of this short court tournament was the first to be held outside the confines of Labrit Fronton, Iruna (Pamplona), Navarre. It was held in Barcelona, Catalunya. Described by the match article as "espectacular", it was exactly that. Urriza, the best front man in the sport today, aimed to defend his championship against long time short court specialist Urtasun, who came back to the sport after a four year hiatus, specifically to win tournaments like this. And he almost did. He dominated the proceedings from 2-5 to 17-11, putting Urriza on the defensive. But Urriza then showed just how tenacious a player he is by winning the next 6 points to equal the score. From there it was a battle to the finish, with Urriza finally getting a 26-23 lead, only to have Urtasun score 4 straight points to take back the initiative. The next point was pivotal and very difficult, finally won by Urriza to tie the score. He then won the next two points.

"Ese tanto dio alas a Urriza, que hizo los dos siguientes después de sendos buenos saques, y le pusieron el partido en la mano."

But Urtasun won the next point before Urriza finally put the match away with a winner. Both players received a standing ovation at the end of the match.

January 4, 2019

Semi-finals:

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1)(2)

Urtasun (front) 30 Barrenatxea IV (back) 25

Selected linescore; winners always listed first

5-10; 7-11; 10-16; 15-16; 19-19; 20-20; 23-23; 30-25

Urriza (front) 30 Ezkurra II (front) 18

5-1; 9-3; 16-4; 26-8; 30-18

Match articles for both matches (Euskal Jai Fundacion)

These two matches begin the 2019 Remonte season, but are actually an extension of the 2018 final Euskal Jai Berri tournament. For purposes of EJB records we will start here. The results of the two semi finals set up what should be a fascinating final between two front courters,  a short court specialist and The front courter in Remonte at present. Urtasun earned a gritty, determined victory during which he dominated the second half of the match. He outscored Barrenetxea IV 15-9 after trailing 16-15. Even more impressive, he ran the match out with a 7-2 run at the end. Urriza dominated as only he can on the short court, using 7-1 and 10-4 runs to win easily. The final will be played in Barcelona on January 12.

December 30

Play-in Triangular

Urtasun, Ezkurra II, and Uterga played a triangular Tournament (partidos to 20 points) with the top two moving on to Semi-finals against seeded 2017 Champion and runner-up Urriza 

and Barrentxea IV.

Irurita (1--frontons.net) (2--Wikipedia) (Castilian)

Ezkurra II  20 Uterga     10

Urtasun     20 Uterga     13

Urtasun     20 Ezkurra II 17

Urtasun     2-0

Ezkurra II  1-1

Uterga      0-2

Urtasun     40-30 (+10)

Ezkurra II  37-30  (+7)

Uterga      23-40 (-17)

Urtasun and Ezkurra II advance to the Semi-finals

Match article for all 3 matches (Eukal Jai Fundacion)

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

Euskal Jai Berri Remonte Table Through January 12, 2019

Key: Player; Position (d-delantero (front), z-zaguero (back); match record; points for and against, + (winning) - (losing) streak, tournaments won. Players will be ordered by match winning percentage. 1st tie breaker is most wins. 2nd tie breaker is point differential. 3rd tie breaker is point differential percentage.

A: Torneo Individual Remonte de Navidad.

Urriza(d)--2-0...60-56...+2..1(A)
Urtasun(d)--1-1...58-55...-1
Ezkurra II(d)--0-1...18-30...-1
Barrenetxea IV(z)--0-1...18-30...-1

This post, along with all other posts concerning Euskal Jai Berri short court Remonte tournaments (along with a brief recap of all 2018 tournament results) is available via the Euskal Jai Berri recurring results and cumulative player table page on the right side of the blog..

Mano--Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas--2018-2019--Week 7

Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas, the premier doubles competition of the 2018-2019 Mano season, began November 23, 2018. 8 teams will compete for the title. The first (league) phase is a double round robin (14 matches). The top 4 finishers will face off in a single round robin (3 matches). The two winners will play in a final on April 7, 2019.

Source for all match articles, unless otherwise specifically stated, is 21iguales.com.  21iguales.com will also keep an ongoing phase table at its main Parejas site.

This table is the most up to date of any I've found.

Match linescores will be provided from match articles when available. Full match linescores can be found at 21iguales.com Twitter feed.  Track back to the date and match and follow from beginning to end. The feed is also available at the Main site of 21iguales.com while the matches are in progress.

Source for all highlights and full match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, is EITB.

At present, EITB is providing all highlights, in chronological order at:

We begin at Week 7 as that was when the 2019 calendar year began. Coverage of the first six weeks is available at 21Iguales.com, and the Baiko Pilota (formerly Asegarce) and ASPE websites. Full match video coverage of all available matches can be found at EITB.

For all available full match videos

"buscar" (search--top right side of page): "binakako" (without the quotes). Look for "2019 Binakako Txapelketa." Matches are usually the second or first match on the video.

Full match videos of earlier finals going back to 2000:

 "buscar" "Binakako Txapelketako finalak" (without the quotes)

Selected full match videos before 2000:

"buscar" "Gure bideoteka" (without the quotes) and scroll until you find them.

For complete print and video coverage of the 2016-17 competition 

Links to all matches available (by week).

--------------------------------------

Week 7; Week 8 ;Week 9; Week 10; Week 11; Week 12; Week 13; Week 14; Semi-final Round 1; Semi-final Round 2; Semi-final Round 3

Final

--------------------------------------

January 4, 2019

Bergara Municipal, Bergara (1) (2)

Elezkano II-Rezusta (5-2 +36) 22 Urrutikoetxea-Aretxabalata (2-5 -36) 9

(Full Match Video-- 54:07-end)

Highlights

Match article (including. balls in play, linescore, individual statistics)

The key to this lopsided match between the the top and foot of the ladder of the competition was a linescore that went from 5-8 to 22-9, and which ER finshed with a 10-0 run. UA errors supplied ER with half their points.

--------

January 5, 2019

Beotibar, Tolosa (1) (2)

Artola-Mariezkurrena II (4-3 -1) 22 Ezkurdia-L. Galarza (2-5 -10) 16

(21Iguales highlights-4:21) 7 selected points)

Highlights (1:23)

Match article (including. balls in play, linescore, individual statistics)

Artola was the star of this match, which helped his team to move into playoff contention. He was +12 -1, including 5 service aces. At the halfway point the match was tied 11-11 but then AM pulled away, finishing the game by winning the last 4 points. EG were not helped by 8 errors.

--------

January 5, 2019

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1) (2)

Bengoetxea VI-Imaz (3-4 -10) 22 Altuna III-Martija (2-5 -25) 13

(Full Match Video) (52:42-end) (EITB-Basque)

Full match video (Fronton.tv Youtube-Castilian)

Highlights

Match article (including. balls in play, linescore, individual statistics)

Bengoetxea VI's stellar offense (+14 -3) and Imaz' air tight defense (no errors) were the highlights of this match. Two 5 point runs in the first half of the game gave the winners a 13-5 advantage. From there they coasted to victory.

--------

January 6, 2019

Astelena, Eibar (1) (2)

Irribarria-Zabaleta (5-2 +27) 22 Oliazola II-Albisu (5-2 +19) 19

Full match video: (1:02:10--2:00:17)

Highlights

Match article (including balls in play, linescore, individual statistics)

This was the best and most competitive match of the weekend. When it was over IA had won their fourth consecutive match to force a three way tie at the top of the ladder with OA and Elezkano II-Rezusta. Albisu had a poor day at the office with +1 -8. Irribarria was +9 -7. (Curiously, there was quite a discrepancy in scoring for Albisu between 21Iguales and EITB. EITB gave him +2 -12). All in all there were 21 errors (21Iguales) in a match that more than made up for its lack of skill with its tenacity of effort. OA were on the back foot for most of the match, trailing 6-10; 11-18, and 13-20. But from 13-20 they clawed their way back into the match, outscoring their opponents 6-1 to make it 19-21. OA then closed it out.

From an Oliazola II error that made the score 16-21, here is  summary of the eye popping final 4 points of the match, which consumed 138 balls in play (1:49:20--2:00:17 on the video). They were a perfect microcosm of the whole match.

Key: server, balls in play, score, Player initial and + or -

I--18--17-21--Z-
O--47--18-21--I-
O--49--19-21--I-
O--24--19-22--A-

Albisu, for all of his struggles, played magnificently in this part of the game, saving one point with his back against the back wall. The 18-21--19-21 point is as good a Mano point as you will ever see. Both teams received a standing ovation at the end. For IZ the road gets no easier next week, when they play for first place again v Elezkano II-Rezusta at Zumaia.

Main Nue--FFPB Championnat de France Pro Individuel--Qualification Round Play In Matches

The 2019 FFPB (Federation Francais de Pelote Basque) Championnat de France Pro Individuel Tournament began on January 4, and will end on March 3, 2019. For the third consecutive year, there are two competitions,  Group A and Group B. 21 players are involved. FFPB has provided a "dossier" (.pdf format, 7p.) explaining how the tournament works and who the players in each group are. This is a seeded ladder knock out tournament with qualification and league rounds, leading to the final.

The Players:

Player Profiles at Esku Pilota

Group A: Peio Larralde (front); Matthieu Ospital (front); Baptiste Ducassou (back); Bixinto Bilbao (back); Augusti Waltery (front); Ximun Lambert (back); Peio Guichandut (back); Vincent Elgart (front); Julien Etchegary (front); Ion Iturbe (back); and Anton Monce (front)

Last year's finalists: Larralde and Ospital have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)

Group B: Pascal de Ezcurra (back); Laurent Lambert (front); Alexis Inchauspe (front); Mickael Palomes (back); Gregory Aguirre (front); Cedric Lucu (back); Bixente (Vincent) Cubiat (back); Mattin Olcomendy (front); Mickael Darmendrail (front)

de Ezcurra and Lambert have been directly seeded into the League phase (1st and 2nd seeds)
-------------------------------------

Previous Championships

Complete coverage of the 2018 Championship was provided by FFPB:

Results
Brief Match Articles and Photos

More detailed articles and selected match videos were provided by Pilota Ttiki. When videos are available they are linked at the bottom of the article.

Beginning January 9 and "suivant" at the bottom of the article until you reach other tournament articles. The tournament ended on February 25 (A) and February 27 (B) (Note that not all articles you will link to are articles about this tournament).

Twenty 2018 FFPB Championnat de France Elite Pro condensed full match videos are available via Pilota Ttiki Youtube. Scroll to or find "Championnat Individuel" or "Liguilla" (without the quotes).

Finals:
Group A: Larralde 40 Ospital 18
Match article and link to full match video

Group B: Iturbe 40 L. Lambert 27
Match article and link to full match video

2017 Tournament complete coverage (match articles and available videos)

Finals:
Group A: Ducassou 40 Ospital 27
Group B: Etchegaray 40 Elgart 21

2016 Full Tournament Results: Final: Larralde 40 Ducassou 22
2015 Full Tournament Results: Final Ducassou 40 Larralde 21 (pelotelive.free.fr)

-------------------------------------

Play in Round (January 4-7, 2019) Qualification Round Seeded Matches (January 12-14); January 19; January 26

Liguilla: February 2; February 3; February 9; February 11; February 15, February 17

Finals: February 25--Group B; March 3--Group A

-------------------------------------

Note: All match videos, unless otherwise specifically stated, are condensed full match videos (usually between 15 and 40 minutes).

Qualification Round (play in)

January 4, 2019

Arcangues (1) (2)

Note: Arcangues is a town of a bit over 3,000 people. It's trinquet is spare but useful, its Main Nue fans proud when the "big boys" come to play. If you watch the below matches closely you will see the players' breaths as they play. According to my Google science knowledge, that means the temperature is a maximum 45 degrees F, (7.2 C, 280.4 K). The next time you go to a ball game in a domed stadium where the temperature outside is 45 but inside you are at a comfortable 68-72, think of the Arcangues Trinquet and how much your comfort costs under that dome. I'll take Arcangues in a sweater and jacket any day of the week :).

Group A: Monce (front) 40 Iturbe (back) 17  (video)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first):

2-7; 7-7; 10-10; 13-13; 20-16; 30-16; 40-17

Iturbe got off to a great start but then Monce used two overwhelming runs (28-9; 10-1) to win easily. By the last 10 points, it looked like Iturbe was completely deflated.

Group A: Front 1-0; Back 0-1

Group B: Darmendrail (front) 40 Olcomendy (front) 37 (video)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first):

11-2; 13-3; 13-13; 20-16; 25-21; 28-28; 30-30; 36-33; 36-36 (29:01); 37-37; 40-37 (30:54)

This was easily the best match of the weekend. Darmendrail opened up throwing all but the kitchen sink at Olcomendy with a 13-3 run. But Olcomendy settled down and slowly achieved one equality after another. Each time Darmendrail took the initiative again. Finally Olcomendy took a 37-36 lead.

Then !!! (times from 36-36--40-37 listed above in linescore.

Darmendrail serves: 2 balls in play; 36-37;  D- (mis-hit from close in)
O: 6 bip; 37-37: D+ (passing shot)
D: 1 bip: 38-37: D+ (service ace)
D: 1 bip: 39-37: D+ (service ace)
D: 19 bip: 40-37: D+ (Darmedrail runs 3/4 the length of the court to return an Olcomendy dejada with a high left wall passing shot)

A brilliant finish.

Match articles for both matches (Pelota Ttiki)

Match articles for both matches (FFPB)

January 7, 2019

Trinquet Garat, Donibane Garazi (St. Jean Pied de Port) (1) (2)

Group A: Elgart forfeited his match to Etchegary due to injury.

Group B: Cubiat (back) 40 Lucu (back) 29 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube--condensed full match video)

Partial linescore (winner always listed first)

4-4; 4-10; 15-15; 20-15; 30-19; 40-29

Just as with the Group A match at Arcangues above, the loser of the match got off to a great start. Down 10-4, Cubiat got back in the match with an 16-5 run and then followed with a 10-4 run. The last 10 points were equal, but that was far too little for Lucu to overcome the deficit.

X. Lambert (back) 40 Etchegaray (front) 31 (partie amicale) (video)

Partial linescore:

25-25; 38-25; 40-31

This was a friendly and a chance for both A players to get some work in, Lambert got a chance to prepare for his upcoming match against the winner of the Monce-Guichandut (seeded in to a January 12 match) on January 19. Etchegary got some practice for his January 12 match with the seeded Waltery. They each had their moments but Lambert's 13-0 run was a little better than Etchegary's 6-2 answer.  Etchegary tried to put the most positive light he could on the defeat.

"J’ai beaucoup de choses encore à améliorer pour pouvoir gagner lundi. Aujourd’hui je n’ai vraiment pas eu de réussite mais je le prends comme un manque de précision.” He will need all the improvement and precision he can muster against Waltery next week. The 38 year old veteran, who won six consecutive singles titles between 2008-2013, is still a formidable opponent who still possesses one of the most feared serves in Main Nue.

Match articles for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)

Match article for both matches (FFPB)

Upcoming qualification matches.

January 12, 2019:

Hasparren: Group A: Monce (front) v Guichandut (back); Group B: Darmendrail (front) v Aguirre (back).

January 14, 2019

Donibane Garazi (St. Jean Pied de Port): Group A: Etchegary (front) v Waltery (front); Group B: Darmendrail (front) v Aguirre (seeded in at this point) (front).