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Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Mano--Binakako Txapelketako/Campionato Parejas--2018-2019--Week 12

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 7Week 8Week 9Week 10Week 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 12:

Injury Report: 

A. February 4: Oliazola II suffered serious left quadriceps tendon injury in a practice session--out 4 months, will be replaced by Arteaga II (Deia); will be replaced by Victor for Week 13 (baikopilota)



February 10, 2019

Week 12 featured the top 3 teams all losing, Ezkurdia personally making sure that his Championship defense would live for another week, and Bengoetxea VI-Imaz being rudely eliminated from contention by foot of the table Victor (substituting for Urrutikoetxia)-Arretxabaleta. 

Ogueta, Vitoria-Gasteiz (1) (2)


Highlights  (EITB)


A-M solidified their position in the fight for a semi-final berth with this win, but it was hardly a thing of beauty. 22 year old Asier Arteaga (Arteaga II) was rushed into the big show from the Promotion League (where his team was 2-3) to replace the irreplaceable: Oliazola II. It was expected that he would have a challenging first match, especially with so much riding on the outcome. He was +2 -8. That, in combination with a truly bad day at the office by Albisu (+1 -11) meant that A-M had only to score 3 points on their own. But they didn't play that well either (+3 -12). So for the match both teams total score was +6 -31. But it isn't necessarily about artistry, it's about winning. O-A have lost their last 3 matches by 66-40 and are now in danger of falling out of the Semi-Final picture altogether. And the road doesn't get easier for them,with their last 2 matches against top of the table Elezkano II-Rezusta and Irribarria-Zabaleta (who both lost this week--see below). As for A-M, their next opponents are Altuna III-Martija (6-6) who will be brimming with confidence after hammering E-R this week (see below). As for this match, A-M established an early 10-2 lead and simply surfed home on the wave of their opponents' errors, making enough of their own so that the final score was respectable.

February 9, 2019

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1) (2)


Highlights (EITB)

Match article (incl. linescore, scoring, balls in play (Deia))
More accurate scoring (baikopilota (formerly Asegarce))

E-R's 6 match winning streak came to an abrupt end as they were crushed by A-M. The loss also put a small dent in their point differential. However, due to losses by their their two closest competitors, they lost no ground and now lead the League phase by 2 games with 3 to play. Elezkano had an unexpectedly poor day (+2 -8). Altuna III had a very good day (+10 -2). In essence, that was the story of the match. The sub-story is, of course, Altuna III. If he continues to play well and A-M can win their crucial match against Artola-Marriezkurrena II this week, they will close against recently eliminated Bengoetxea VI-Imaz with a chance at an 8-6 finish, which might be enough to get them into the Semi-Finals. As far as this match goes, A-M never allowed E-R  to get into the match. They started with a 6-1 run and increased their lead from there. E-R finish the League phase with Victor (substituting for Oliazola II)-Albisu and tail enders Urrutikoetxea-Arretxabaleta, so they have a good chance win the League sooner rather than later.

Feburary 8, 2019

Izarraitz, Azpeitia (1) (2)

Ezkurdia-L. Galarza (5-7 -13) 22 Irribaria-Zabaleta 21 (7-5 +44) (EITB: match begins at 1:05:50--Basque)

Fronton TV Youtube (Castilian)

Highlights (1st half of video)

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

Ezkurdia showed why he is a defending Champion and kept his team's faint hopes alive by scoring the last three points (consuming 28, 17, and 27 balls in play) to overcome an 19-21 deficit. I couldn't find any scoring that added up to the final totals. But Ezkurdia had 5 service aces and either 9+ or 10+ in play (+14 or +15 total), towering over everyone. A 6-0 run led to an 8-4 E-G lead, but then a 10-2 I-Z run put them 4 points in the lead. They maintained that until 16-20. But then, with the match almost won by I-Z, E-R, aided by Ezkurdia's great finish, ended the match with a 6-1 run. The loss dropped I-Z into a 3 way tie for 2nd place in the League phase. E-G must win out and hope for a lot of help, while I-Z finish with tail enders Urrutikoetxea-Arretxabaleta and the depleted Victor (substituting for Oliazola II)-Albisu. All in all, a very interesting week awaits fans of this Competition.

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Ereta, Tafalla (1) (2)

Victor (substituting for Urrutikoetxea)-Aretxabaleta (3-9 -55) 22 Bengoetxea VI-Imaz (4-8 -43) 15. B-I eliminated from Semi-finals 

There is no full match video for this match at this time.

Highlights (2nd half of video)

Match article (incl. correct scoring) (Baikopilota (formerly Asegarce)
Match article (21Iguales)

The week's play began with the tail enders in the competition breaking a 5 match losing streak, heavily aided by Victor's excellent play (+13 -3). Bengoetxea VI played after his side strain last week and was +7 -7. I was unable to find a linescore and so know little about the progress of the match. B-I's Semi-Final prospects were dashed by their 4th loss in the last 5 matches. With Urrutikoetxea expected back for the last two matches of the League phase, he and Aretxabaleta could play a spoiler role against Irribaria-Zabaleta, but their match with Elezkano-Rezusta to finish the phase will be little more than academic.