Torneo San Mateo--Adarraga, Logrono (1)(2) (September 21-29)
This tournament was contested between 6 teams, 3 in Group A and 3 in Group B. The fomat was a single round robin in both groups. The group winners played a final on September 29.
Final League Table
Group A
Oliazola II-Rezusta (2-0; +18)
Ezkurdia-Aretxabaleta (substituting for Mariezkurrena II) (1-1; +5)
Victor-Zabaleta (0-2; -23)
Group B
Altuna III-Imaz (2-0; +11)
Bengoetxea VI-Martija (1-1; +4)
Irribarria-Albisu (0-2; -12)
September 29
FINAL
Note: This was EITB analyst Joxan Tolosa's final broadcast following a 20 year career as a manista (during which he won 1 singles and 3 doubles world championships) and long career as a coach and TV analyst. There is a video tribute to him that begins at 58:07.
Condensed linescore (21Iguales.com) (winners always listed 1st)
16-0; 16-2; 17-2; 17-4; 18-4; 18-6; 21-6; 21-7; 22-7
Scoring (EITB)
Oliazola II +9 -2; Rezusta +5 -1
Altuna III +4 -6; Imaz +0 -2
Balls in Play: 489: Oliazola II 115; Rezusta 135; Altuna III 110; Imaz 129
Time of the Match: 51:33
Attendance: 1,335
In one of the most dominant mano performances you'll see, O-R began the match with a 16-0 run, taking all possible drama out of it. Although from that point, A-I outscored them 7-6, this was a match that would have been stopped on a "TKO" (Technical Knock Out) had it been a contest between boxers. Interestingly, even though this match was so one sided, it still had 489 balls in play. One has to wonder if Altuna III, playing his second game in 3 days, and coming in off a match were he had 181 balls in play, simply "ran out of gas" in this match.
Oliazola II finished the tournament +30 -2 and Rezusta finished +10 -4 in 3 matches. In their final 5 Summer Festival matches Oliazola II was +58 -8. Rezusta was +16 -6.
Rezusta was named best player of the tournament.
September 27
Group B
Condensed linescore (21Iguales) (winners always listed 1st)
0-3; 4-3; 4-4; 8-4; 8-4; 8-5; 11-5; 11-9; 12-9; 12-10; 15-10; 15-12; 17-12; 17-13; 20-13; 20-19; 22-19
Scoring (EITB)
Altuna III +11 -3 Imaz +1 -6
Bengoetxea +7 -6 Martija +3 -4
Balls in Play: 670: Altuna III 181; Imaz 155; Bengoetxea VI 151; Martija 183
Time of the Match: 75:27
A-I advanced to the final after an arduous match. They established an early 4 point lead, slowly widened it, and seemed on their way to an easy victory. But then B-M roared back to cut the lead to 1 point before finally succumbing. It wasn't the greatest match from an artistic standpoint (+22 -19), but it was an exciting and tense one. Altuna III carried a tremendous load on offense (181 balls) and lead his team to victory.
September 26
Group A
Oliazola II-Rezusta (2-0; +18) 22
Ezkurdia-Aretxabaleta (1-1; +5) 10
Condensed linescore (winners always listed 1st)
1-0; 1-1; 2-1; 2-2; 4-2; 4-4; 6-4; 6-6; 7-7; 20-7; 20-8; 21-8; 21-10; 22-10
Scoring (21Iguales.com)
Oliazola II +12(including 1 service ace); -3; Rezusta +3 -1
Ezkurdia +5(2a) -6; Aretxabaleta +1 -1
Number of Balls in Play: 418
Time of the Match: 50:14
O-R broke open a tight match with a 13-0 run to win easily. Ezkurdia had a quiet day, with an uncharacteristic -1 net, while Oliazola II continued his recent great form. The win sent them into their second consecutive final, this time playing together.
September 25
Group B
Altuna III-Imaz (1-0 +8) 22 Irribarria-Albisu 14 (0-2; -12) 14
Condensed Linescore (21Iguales) (winner always listed 1st)
4-0; 4-1; 5-1; 5-5; 10-5; 10-6; 13-6; 13-8; 15-8; 15-9; 16-9; 16-11; 18-11; 18-12; 21-12; 21-14; 22-14
Scoring (21Iguales.com)
Altuna III +9(including 1 service ace) -3; Imaz +0 -1
Irribarria +10(2a) -8(including 1 service fault) ; Albisu +1 -5
Irribarria-Albisu are eliminated. They had 13 errors in this match, 22 errors in 2 matches.
A-I used a 5 point run early to take the lead and never looked back, slowly increasing their lead throughout. I-A never jelled in this match, conceding more than half the winners' points.
September 23
Group A
Ezkurdia-Aretxabaleta (1-0; +17) 22
Victor-Zabaleta (0-2; -23) 5
Victor-Zabaleta are eliminated. V-Z had 19 errors in 2 matches.
Condensed linescore (winners always listed 1st)
2-0; 2-1; 2-2; 5-2; 6-2; 6-3; 8-3; 8-4; 12-4; 12-5; 22-5
Scoring: Ezkurdia +13(including 1 service ace) -2; Aretxabaleta +1 -0
Victor +2 -1; Zabaleta +1 -7
Balls in Play: 421
Time of the Match 46:00
V-Z were blown out of the tournament by an emphatic 10 point run at the end. Once again their errors helped to do them in. Zabaleta had a poor "day at the office" and Ezkurdia had an excellent one (+11 net). Victor, who can be a force on offense when he is on his game, was held to +5 in two matches.
September 22
Group B
15 balls in play.
Selected linescore (21Iguales.com) (winners always listed 1st)
1-0; 1-6; 6-6; 6-9; 12-9; 13-11; 13-13; 15-13; 15-14; 16-14; 16-16; 17-16; 17-17; 18-17; 18-18; 22-18
8 equal scores
Scoring (EITB)
Bengoetxea VI +13(including 1 service ace) -3; Martija +0 -3
Irribarria +9 -4; Albisu +3 -5
Balls in Play: 540: Bengoetxea VI 123; Martija 149; Irribarria 124; Albisu 144
Time of the Match: 63:45
B-M got off to a terrible start but then used an 11-3 run to take the initiative. I-A fought back to equality 4 times but could never get "over the hump." Bengoetxea IV had an outstanding offensive match with a net of +10.
September 21
Group A
Condensed linescore (winners always listed 1st)
2-0; 2-1; 6-1; 6-4; 7-4; 7-5; 8-5; 8-6; 11-6; 11-7; 13-7; 13-8; 14-8; 14-14; 20-14; 20-15; 21-15; 21-16; 22-16
Scoring
Oliazola II +9(including 3 service aces) -7; Rezusta +2 -2
Victor +3 -8; Zabaleta +4 -3
For the match +18 -20
Balls in Play: 743: Oliazola II 140; Rezusta 234; Victor 145; Zabaleta 224
Time of the Match: 83:00
Match article (21Iguales.com) Note that the match article has the score listed incorrectly and the match placed in the incorrect Group.
O-R began the tournament with an error marred victory. More points were lost than won. Still, it was an grueling and exciting match, Both backs had more than 220 balls in play. A 4 point run gave O-R a lead that they never relinquished. V-Z achieved equality with a 6 point run but then O-R answered with a 6 point run of their own. There were a particularly uncharacteristic number of errors from both fronts.
