Masters de Bayonne was the premier Summer professional Main Nue Tournament, and was part of the 5 day long the Fetes de Bayonne.
The teams:
Ospital-Ducassou; Waltary-Guichandut; Larralde-Bilbao; Etchegaray-Harismendy
(Esku Pilota Classification as of June 30: Ducassou #1; Larralde #2; Ospital #3; Waltary #4; Bilbao #5, Guichandut #6; Harismendy #7)
Preview (Pilota Ttiki)
July 28, 2019
Larralde-Bilbao 40 Ospital-Ducassou 33 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video
Full match video (France 3 Nouvelle Acquitaine Youtube)
Full match video (France 3 Nouvelle Acquitaine Youtube)
Video Highlights (Sud-Ouest Youtube) (4 selected points, including the final point
10 photos (Sud-Ouest)
Selected linescore (Esku Pilota and Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed first
10-5; 17-13; 19-19; 19-20; 20-20; 26-25; (mais après une bataille de près de deux minutes trente--P.T.) 27-25; 40-33
Partial scoring:
Larralde 11 service aces: Ospital 5 service aces
Preview article (Sud-Ouest)
Preview article (Esku Pilota)
Match article (Esku Pilota) (contains video of the last points)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
Esku Pilota Roundup of articles on this and recent Masters de Bayonne
In a rematch of the FFPB (Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque) Elite Pro Championnat de France par Equipes (pairs), L-B won again, this time defeating the defending champions of this Tournament. They were in control of the match from start to finish, but never ahead (for most of the match) enough to call this an easy victory. The match articles noted that Ducassou had an unusually poor day at the office (indeed, Ducassou himself agreed--P.T.):
Je suis déçu de ma prestation parce que malgré tout on n’est pas loin et moi je n’ai jamais été à la hauteur dans cette partie
(Loose translation):
I am disappointed with my performance because despite everything we were in the match... I was never at my best in this match.
The key point was the 26-25--27-25 (video--does not stop after the end of the point) point, a 58 ball struggle that was saved magnificently by Larralde on the 28th ball, and then again by Bilbao on the 54th. Larralde finally won it. The point seemed to finally turn the match away from O-D, as L-B won 13 of the final 21 points.It was a relatively dominant win, but one that was in doubt for a long time.
Larralde had now won this tournament 4 times. It was Bilbao's first win. And for L-B, it was the completion of two "triples". This team has now won the FFPB (Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque) Championnat de France par Equipes 3 times:
2015 (Bixintxo Bilbao Youtube condensed full match video)
2017 (Audiense Audiovisuel full match video)
2019 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video
In addition, they have now won the last 3 major finals they have played, this one, CdF 2019 and
2018 FIPV (Federacion Internacional de Pelota Vasca) World Championship in Barcelona, Spain. (FIPV via Toute Sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)
Quite an accomplishment for two of the best.
And not too bad for Ospital-Ducassou either. Two consecutive Masters de Bayonne Finals is quite an accomplishment.
July 25, 2019
2nd Semi-Final
Larralde-Bilbao 40 Etchegaray-Harismendy 16 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed first)
6-2; 20-7; 40-16
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
Match articles for both Semi-Finals (Esku Pilota)
In a dominant preformance, L-B won the first half 20-7 and the second half 20-9.
July 24, 2019
1st Semi-final
Ospital-Ducassou 40 Waltary-Guichandut 21 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed first)
7-0; 13-3; 20-10; 30-15; 40-21
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
In a dominating performance to open the Tournament, O-D won the first half 20-10 and the second half 20-11.
In addition, the Lever de Rideau (curtain raiser) for each of the Tournament matches was a tournament in itself. Thanks to Pilota Ttiki we have full match condensed videos of all of these matches.
July 28, 2019
Lever de Rideau (Curtain Raiser)
FINAL
Heguy*-Iphar* (green) 30 Biscouby*-Harocarene (blue)* 27 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
July 25, 2019
Lever de Rideau (Curtain Raiser)
2nd Semi-Final
Heguy*-Iphar (green)* 30 Mugica*-Echeverria Semper* (blue) 22 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
July 24, 2019
1st Semi-final
Lever de Rideau (Curtain Raiser)
Biscouby*-Harocarene* (green) 30 Barnetche*-Orategaray* (blue) 18 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
