Tournois des Fetes de Saint Palais was played July 19 and 23, 2019, in ancient Trinquet Saint Jayme, the first Trinquet built in the Basque Country. Its frame was designed by Gustave Eiffel, a man you may have heard of. Note that the dedication stone above the front wall says "1891", meaning that TSJ has been used for Basque Pelota for 128 years. Jean Jaures, who hailed from not too far away, could have come to watch matches had he been a BP fan (though it might have taken him a while to get there). It is always great fun to watch videos of matches at Saint Palais, as history and tradition fairly drips from its walls and ceiling.
Trinquet Saint Jayme, Saint-Palais (1) (2) (3)
Esku Pilota Players Page
July 23, 2019
FINAL
Inchauspe-Cubiat 40 Elgart-Amulet 30 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Esku Pilota and Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed 1st)
1-7; 13-7; 13-10; 20-11; 22-18; 26-18; 30-25; 40-30
Match article (Esku Pilota)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)
All related Tournament content (Esku Pilota)
I-C got off to an awful start but took control of the match early with a 12-0 run. They were in control for the rest of the match, turning back 2 attempted E-A rallies before taking over in the last decade. Cubiat's defense, especially in the last decade, was noted in the match articles.
July 19
Semi-finals
Elgart-Amulet 40 Bielle-X. Lambert 20 (Pelota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed 1st)
14-1; 17-4; 17-12; 40-20
Inchauspe-Cubiat 40 Etcheverry-Harismendy 13 (Pelota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)
Selected linescore (Pilota Ttiki) (winners always listed 1st)
6-0; 18-3; 29-7; 40-13
Match articles for both matches (Esku Pilota)
Match articles for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)
Both matches were basically finished by the end of the third decade, with the winners ahead 17-4 and 18-3 respectively. Both then expanded their leads, with I-C finishing the second half with a 22-9 flourish while E-A finished theirs 23-8.
This was somewhat surprising in that Harismendy is an established pro ranked 7th in Esku Pilota rankings for June 30, 2019. In the same rankings Etcheverry was tied for 10th with Cubiat. Inchauspe was ranked 9th. But I-C were irrepressible and finished their opponents in less than an hour. Bielle and X. Lambert were 12th and tied for 7th in the rankings, much higher than either Elgart or Amulet. But the latter also won easily, after fending off an 8 point run that made the match closer. It just shows that "on any given day..." as the sportsmen say. Main Nue can always surprise.
