This is a current awareness blog that links to the latest sources of information on Basque Pelota matches and Tournaments. It covers all of both North and South Basque modalities: Pro and amateur. It links to match stories, statistics and video highlights and/or full match videos. NEW!!! JAI ALAI LEAGUE (EREMAN!) SEASON INTRO AND JAI ALAI WOMEN'S WINTER TOUR 2024 (2/22/24)!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Iparralde (North Basque) Professional--Cesta Punta Pro Tour--St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune)--

Cesta Punta Pro Tour's---Intrnationaux Cesta Punta Tour (this link lists match times (local--in GMT) began July 16, 2020 with a Play In Tournament to determine the final Front (avant) and Back (arriere) who would make up the roster of the 4 Master Tournaments that follow it. Matches are contested every Tuesday and Thursday, with the Final on August 27. Each Master Tournament consists of  two Semi-finals and a Final.

The top 4 (CORRECTED AUGUST 20) fronts and backs (point standings) at the end of the 4 tournaments will compete in a SLAM Tournament to end the Tour. 

Here is how the points system works (courtesy of Jai Alai News Facebook)

The points system is based solely on the results of individual matches. There is no bonus for winning tournaments.

Match Win--2-0--4 points
Match Win--2-1--3 points
Match Loss--1-2--1 point
Match Loss--0-2--0 points

Ties are broken by point differential (ADDED AUGUST 20)

Here is the roster.

Canal + is the TV network that broadcasts the matches. Live and On Demand streams are available at the St. Jean de Luz Cesta Punta Youtube site

For live streams check the scheduled time (Time Zone Converter--Use Paris as local time)

Live streams AND on demand are all available from this link.

I will copy out scoring when I find it. The matches are scored differently in Ipparalde (North Basque Country) than in Hegoalde (South Basque Country). EITB (Basque TV network that televises Cesta Punta in Hegoalde always scores matches:
Team A's winners + Team B's errors always equal Team A's score. Same formula for Team B.

Canal + works differently. The formulas listed above do not add up and not all sets are scored.

Complete standings will be provided after every Tournament.

Note: there are also links to FULL MATCH ON DEMAND VIDEOS for the individual matches from every Tournament on the results/match article pages for that Tournament. I will use those links, for convenience. However, if those links disappear or are incorrect, please consult the above link. Matches from this competition going back to 2016 can be found there.

To follow the competition chronologically, read from the bottom up.

Venue for all matches: St.Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune) (1--Frontons.net) (2--Wikipedia)

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

6. SLAM Tournament (August 20, 25, 27)

Note: According to Sud Ouest (August 26) Unai Lekerika (Leke) tested positive for Covid 19 and dropped out of both this and the Gant d'Or Tournament. (ADDED AUGUST 26)

The Teams

#1 Jean Olharan-Imanol Lopez
#2 Jon Tambourindeguy-Unai Lekerika (Leke)
#3 Alex Hormaetxea-Ibon Aldazabal
#4 Aritz Erkiaga--Aimar Aldazabal


August 27

FINAL

#1 Olharan-Lopez 2
#2 J. Tambourindeguy-(Ibon) I. Aldazabal 1
(15-9, 11-15, 5-0) (31-24)

MATCH VIDEO Part 1 (includes opening ceremonies and 1st set to 9-8)
MATCH VIDEO Part 2 (unfortunately the end of the first set is missing. The action is rejoined at: 15-9; 3-1)
Obviously there were technical issues with the video. If and when a single file is constructed with the entire match, I will point to it.
(Source for both: St. Jean de Luz Cesta Punta Youtube)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH-USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE--LINK TO MATCH VIDEO IS DISABLED IN US AT THIS TIME)

Jai Alai News Facebook FINAL Preview
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam information

Match articles:

Baleike (Zumaia) (Basque--Use Google Translate)

Jai Alai News Facebook FINAL Article  (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam information

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook FINAL Article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam information.

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Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 4-1; 8-8;  8-9; 15-9

Set 2: 3-0; 3-1; 4-4; 5-7; 6-7;  6-9; 9-9; 11-11; 11-15 

Tie breaker: 5-0

Selected scoring

Scoring for the 1st set is not available at present due to the lack of availability of that part of the video.

Set 2: (cumulative sets 1+2 scoring).

Olharan +5(including 1 service ace) -3 Lopez +5 -7
J. Tambourindeguy +11 -1 I. Aldazabal +2 -7

Set 2 Balls in Play: Olharan 41 (21%); Lopez 56 (28%); J. Tambourindeguy 55 (28%); I. Aldazabal 42 (21%)

Tie breaker: (My scoring, yours may be different). None was provided by Canal+

Olharan +0 -0 Lopez +1 -0
J. Tambourindeguy +0 -0 I. Aldazabal +0 -4

======

Youth FINAL

Thomas Urrutia-Theo Labourde (red) 2
Iban Etcheberry-Paul Montamat (blue) 0
(13-8) (13-6) (26-14)

Full match video (St. Jean de Luz Cesta Punta Youtube)

Selected scoring

Set 1

Urrutia +2 -3(including 1 service fault) Labourde +0 -2
Etcheberry +3 -5(including 1 service fault) Montamat +0 -5

There was no Balls in Play information given.

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 5-3: Urrutia +2 -4(including 2 faults)
At 8-4: Etcheberry +5 -7(including 2 faults)
At 9-4: Urrutia +2 -5(including 3 faults)
At 9-5: Etcheberry +5 -8(including 2 faults)
At 10-6: Urrutia +2 -6(including 3 faults)

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August 25

Semi-Final 2

#2 J. Tambourindeguy-(Ibon) I. Aldazabal 2
#3 Hormaetxea-Julien Ihitasgue (substituting for Lekerika [Leke]) 0
(15-11, 15-8) (30-19)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH-USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE ,AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO)

Jai Alai News Semi-Final 2 Match Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam information.

Jai Alai y Mas Semi-Final 2 Match Article (Fernando Sierra Felgueres) (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam information.

Selected linescores (match winning team always listed first)

Set 1: 0-2; 5-5; 10-7; 11-8; 12-10; 13-11; 15-11

Set 2: 8-1; 11-3; 11-7; 15-8

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

J. Tambourindeguy +4 -2 I. Aldazabal +2 -3
Hormaetxea +6 -7 Ihitsague +0 -2

There was no Balls in Play information given.

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 8-2: Hormaetxea +7 -7
At 9-2: J. Tambourindeguy +7 -2
At 9-3: Hormaetxea +7 -7
At 10-3: J. Tambourindeguy +7 -3
At 11-5: Hormaetxea +7 -8
At 12-7: J. Tambourindeguy +7 -3
At 13-8: Hormaetxea +8 -8
At 14-8: J. Tambourindeguy +7 -3

Hormaetxea finished at +7 -9

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August 20

Semi-Final 1

#1 Olaran-Lopez 2
#4 (Aritz) Erkiaga-A. Aldazabal 1
(15-14, 10-15, 5-2) (30-31)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Semi-Final 1 Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Slam 1st Semi-Final information.

Selected linescores (match winning team always listed first)

Set 1: 1-3; 6-4; 6-6; 7-7; 12-9; 14-11; 14-14; 15-14 

Set 2: 4-6; 6-10; 10-15

Tie breaker: 0-1; (consecutive errors by Aritz) 2-1; 3-2; 5-2

Selected Scoring

Set 1: 

Olharan +5 -0 Lopez +2 -5
(Aritz) Erkiaga +9 -2 A. Aldazabal +0 -5

Balls in Play: Olharan 40 (19%); Lopez 63 (30%); (Aritz) Erkiaga 51 (24%); A. Aldazabal 55 (26%)

Set 1+2 cumulative scoring:

Olharan +9 -2 Lopez +3 -12
(Aritz) Erkiaga +14 -3 A. Aldazabal +1 -8

Canal + scoring adds to 52 points. Total 2 set score adds to 54 points.

Set 2 Balls in Play: Olharan 27 (24%); Lopez 28 (25%) (Aritz) Erkiaga 24 (21%); A. Aldazabal 31 (28%)

========

FINAL Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of AUGUST 27--INCLUDES BOTH ST. JEAN DE LUZ AND GANT D'OR. SET RECORDS ARE TOTAL COMBINED SETS FOR SJDL AND GANT d'OR

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss): Tournaments Won

Tournaments: S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament; M1=Master 1; M2=Master 2; M3=Master 3; M4=Master 4; SL=Slam; G=Gant d'Or

Note: Play in Championship does not count toward final Masters points that determine participants in SLAM Tournament

Fronts (Avants)
                                        SJDL  G d'Or      
Barandika..........4-1...........6.6--4....2(S,M2)
Olharan...........(4-1)(1-1).....8.6--6....2(M1,SL)
J. Tambourindeguy..4-2.........8.3--4.3....1(M3)
(Aritz) Erkiaga...(2-3)(2-0)...9.3--5.6....1(G)
Hormaetxea.........2-2.............4--4....1(M4)
Goikoetxea........(1-2)(1-1).....5--5.3
Beaskoetxea.......(1-2)(0-1).......2--6
Laloo..............0-1...........1--1.3
Olha...............0-1.............0--2
Laduche...........(0-1)(0-1).....1--3.3
P. Tambourindeguy..0-2.............0--4

Note:St. Jean de Luz: (Aritz) Erkiaga had 2 second place finishes (M1, M2); Goikoetxea had 1 second place finish (M3); Beaskoetxea had 1 second place finish (M4) J. Tambourindeguy had 1 second place finish (S).

Gant d'Or: Goikoetxea finished 2nd.

Backs (Arrieres)
                               SJDL   G d'Or         
Minvielle..........(2-0)....4--0..1(G)
Lopez.........(6-0)(0-1)..9.9--5..3(M1,M2,SL)
Lekerika.......3-1..........6--2..1(M3)
I. Aldazabal...4-2........9--3.3..1(M4)
Maya...........2-1........3.3--3..1(S)
Irastorza..........(1-1)....2--2
A. Aldazabal...1-3........4--4.6
Ihitsague......1-3......2.3--6.3
Etcheverry.....1-3......2.3--6.3
T. Basque.....(0-2)(1-1)....2--6
Millat.........0-2........1--3.3
Etcheto.......(0-1)(0-1)....0--4

Note: I. Aldazabal had 2 second places (M3,SL);
Ihitsague (M1), A. Aldazabal (M2),and Lekerika (M4) each had 1 second place finish

Gant d'Or: Lopez finished 2nd.

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JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK FINAL MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)


OLHARAN-LOPEZ, CHAMPIONS! OLHARAN-LOPEZ va TAMBOURINDEGUY-ALDAZABAL: 15-9, 11-15, 5-0
"Finalísima" in Saint Jean de Luz, the most important match of the entire Luzien season, to which only the four best pelotaris of the Summer Masters have access. In this 2020, Jean Olharan, a native of Pau; Imanol Lopez, from Zumaiarra; Jon Tambourindeguy, the youngest of Bidarte's brothers; and Ibon Aldazabal, from Berriatua.

Good game and a beautiful finish, although the initial 4-1 of the colorados (favorites) presaged a clear victory for Olharan and López. Nothing of that. The Blues have entered the game, they have tied at four, with Tambo hitting well with his side and rebound, and the two defenders wanting to dominate in the rally. Aldazabal more aggressive, and López fiddling backwards. The game has been showy, until 9-9, which has been a cut from López. From that moment on, the Blues have started to fail, and Olharan and López have scored seven goals in a row. From losing 8-9, to winning the set 15-9. Against this two great pelotaris, there is no margin of error.

The first three goals of the second game have also been red, ten goals in a row in total (counting the last seven of the previous set). The blues have managed to break the losing streak at 3-1. They have taken out a new ball and have started to rally more. The first tie (at 4) was a bit from Tambo's service and immediately afterwards the Blues took the lead but with little difference, until 9-9. Meanwhile we have been able to see a two side walls of the forward of Bidarte (5-7) or a beautiful dive to the width of López (6-7). In the same nine, Tambo made a couple of mistakes but the Blues managed to tie again at 11, and from there they went straight to card 15. One of those goals gave us a clue as to how Aldazabal's right arm was at that point in the game. In 11-13 Ibon pulled from right to good, without strength, but it has been well placed and has fallen in such a way between Olharan and López, that for not having strength, it has been so much. The set ended 11-15 for the Blues and everything has been decided in the tiebreaker.

It was a shame that being the game played, the final ended like this. Aldazabal could no longer with the right resentful of his injury and shot just right. The balls that have reached that position, plus the couple of mistakes he has made, have decided the title. The one from Berriatua couldn't take it anymore. 5-0 and the title for Olharan and López, who, very importantly, have not experimented and played a serious game with the fewest possible mistakes. The Zumaia defender, very clever, has taken out a new basket to play the last five tiebreaker goals. Objective: that the ball came out of the tool with more speed to be able to play more with the right. Objective well accomplished.
End of party at Donibane Lohitzune. There have been thirteen performances of Jai Alai, thirteen "full" (capacity), thirteen high quality television broadcasts through Canal Plus, and thirteen festivals that in the absence of other major tournaments, this summer have given life to the Jai Alai and to all the fans of this sport.
Thank you.

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JAI ALAI Y MAS FACEBOOK FINAL ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

THE SHOW WAS TAKEN TO HIM TAMBOUR!
With the triumph in the Grand Slam of the "Elf (duende)" Olharán and the "Campeonísimo" López, over the blue Tambour and Aldazabal by 15-9, 11-15 and 5-0, the 2020 season of the San Juan de San Juan Internationals ended brilliantly. Luz, France.

It was a very entertaining match, where we saw, with great pleasure, that Tambour in this tournament has made a spectacular leap in the world of Jai Alai and once again offered a performance full of spectacularity, claw, delivery, quality and not in Few times did he force the French public to stand up before his innumerable backhand rebounds, which are wonderful, and before any number of precise and precious "costadillos" that he gave us yesterday.

To a very intermittent Aldazabal who finished the match in a miracle due to a visible injury to his right arm.

A very serious "Elf (duende)", very concentrated, very compliant, but far from the spectacular nature that his game and his qualities can offer.

And to the "copy" of López that this season has been presented to the summer season in the Basque Country, because it is light years away from the dominating, powerful, bossy and forceful "Champion" that we know. 


Even so, it was enough for him to gird himself with the Grand Slam crown.

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JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK FINAL PREVIEW ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE

Yesterday the second semifinal of the Internationaux was played at the Campos Berri lohitzun fronton, with the qualification for the grand final of the bidartetarra Jon Tambourindeguy and the Berriatuarra Ibon Aldazabal. They beat Alex Hormaetxea and Julien Ihitsiague by two sets to zero, 15-11, 15-8, the latter replacing Lekerika.
Few would believe at the start of the Internationaux that Jon Tambourindeguy and Ibon Aldazabal would qualify for the grand final. First, because Berriatua's had to suspend in one of the Masters due to his elbow injury, leaving him with few chances for the final classification. But how are things. Etcheto's injury gave the youngest of the Aldazabal an opportunity. They played him back for the fourth Master, and together with Hormaetxea, he managed to win, first, Olharan and Etcheverry, and then in the final, Beaskoetxea and Lekerika.

In the case of Tambourindeguy, the mere fact of qualifying among the first four already seemed very difficult, facing forwards such as Goikoetxea, Beaskoetxea, Erkiaga, Olharan, Hormaetxea, Barandika, Olha or his own brother Patxi Tambourindeguy. But Jon and Lekerika gave a real show in the third Master, first against Barandika and Aimar, and then against Goikoetxea and Aldazabal. He has been seen very plugged on the court, bouncing very well backwards and with nothing to lose. Not only has he managed to qualify in the top four, but he is already in the grand final tomorrow Thursday:

OLHARAN-LOPEZ vs TAMBOURINDEGUY-ALDAZABAL

On paper and in all polls, Jean Olharan and Imanol López start as favorites. But beware! As the Biarritz player Jon Curveur says ... The musicians are paid at the end of the dance!

Tambo and Aldazabal are playing very well and López is not at his best ... although even so, López is a lot of López.

The show will begin at 9:00 p.m., and will be broadcast as usual, live on YouTube via Canal Plus, and on television for the entire French state. The maximum capacity of the Campos Berri fronton is 750 seats (of its more than 2,000 seats), which has been competed in each of the previous twelve functions this summer.

International Master 1: OLHARAN-LOPEZ
Master 2: BARANDIKA-LOPEZ
Master 3: TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA

Master 4: HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL

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JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK SEMI-FINAL 2 MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

THE BASKET SEASON IS DECIDED BETWEEN TODAY AND TOMORROW!

Today and tomorrow are key days for the summer basket-tip season, as two of the most important competitions on the Basque calendar will take place. The Golden Glove of Biarritz, and the Grand Slam of Donibane Lohitzune-Saint Jean de Luz.

Yesterday the second semifinal of the Internationaux was played at the Campos Berri lohitzun fronton, with the qualification for the grand final of the bidartetarra Jon Tambourindeguy and the Berriatuarra Ibon Aldazabal. They beat Alex Hormaetxea and Julien Ihitsiague by two sets to zero, 15-11, 15-8, the latter replacing Lekerika.

Few would believe at the start of the Internationaux that Jon Tambourindeguy
and Ibon Aldazabal would qualify for the grand final. First, because Berriatua's had to suspend in one of the Masters due to his elbow injury, leaving him with few chances for the final classification. But how are things. Etcheto's injury gave the youngest of the Aldazabal an opportunity. They played him back for the fourth Master, and together with Hormaetxea, he managed to win, first, Olharan and Etcheverry, and then in the final, Beaskoetxea and Lekerika.

In the case of Tambourindeguy, the mere fact of qualifying among the first four already seemed very difficult, facing forwards such as Goikoetxea, Beaskoetxea, Erkiaga, Olharan, Hormaetxea, Barandika, Olha or his own brother Patxi Tambourindeguy. But Jon and Lekerika gave a real show in the third Master, first against Barandika and Aimar, and then against Goikoetxea and Aldazabal. He has been seen very plugged on the court, bouncing very well backwards and with nothing to lose. Not only has he managed to qualify in the top four, but he is already in the grand final tomorrow Thursday:

OLHARAN-LOPEZ vs TAMBOURINDEGUY-ALDAZABAL
On paper and in all polls, Jean Olharan and Imanol López start as favorites. But beware! As the Biarritz player Jon Curveur says ... The musicians are paid at the end of the dance!

Tambo and Aldazabal are playing very well and López is not at his best ... although even so, López is a lot of López.

The show will begin at 9:00 p.m., and will be broadcast as usual, live on YouTube via Canal Plus, and on television for the entire French state. The maximum capacity of the Campos Berri fronton is 750 seats (of its more than 2,000 seats), which has been competed in each of the previous twelve functions this summer.

International Master 1: OLHARAN-LOPEZ
Master 2: BARANDIKA-LOPEZ
Master 3: TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA
Master 4: HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL
**GOLD GLOVE
GOIKOETXEA-IRASTORZA vs ERKIAGA-MINVIELLE

Tonight the final of the Biarritz Golden Glove will be played in the Euskal Jai fronton, which throughout the tournament has had the recently deceased Jean Pierre Abeberry, former world basket champion and club man, present throughout the tournament.

On the one hand, we have the veterans Goikoetxea and Irastorza, who beat Olharan and Basque (2-0) in their semifinals. Goiko is looking for his third txapela in Biarritz, which would also be the third in a row (2018 with Irastorza, 2019 with Inza), and the Bidarte giant wants to enlarge his legend with his 11th Golden Glove. They will not have it easy with Aritz Erkiaga and the local baseball player David Minvielle. In the semifinals they already beat Beaskoetxea and López (15-14, 15-14), Aritz has a lot of play, the one from Biarritz is a good fronton for Minvielle, and both are eager to get their respective second Golden Glove (Erkiaga won in 2009 with López, and Minvielle in 2017 with Egiguren).
The Biarritz performance begins at 8:30 p.m.

LUCK EVERYONE AND GREETINGS

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JAI ALAI Y MAS SEMI-FINAL 2 MATCH ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUEROS (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

The final of the Grand Slam of Saint Jean de Luz

TAMBOUR-ALDAZABAL VS. OLHARÁN-LOPEZ

The red couple, made up of Tambour and Aldazabal, advanced to the final of the Grand Slam of Saint Jean de Luz, France, the last tournament of the season for this beautiful fronton, after beating the blue Hormatxea and Ihitsague in the semifinals with 15- cards. 11 and 15-8.

In the first set, Tambour had many problems with his serve, since at no time did he find the formula for Hormaetxea to “subtract” him and despite that he managed to win the set with a compliant Aldazabal.

Of the blues, we can say that Hormatxea was not the forceful of other days, because it could have been a feast with so much "rest" of serve, but it was not like that. Ihitsague, for his part, had an uncertain start, but ended up with a great set.

For the second, everything was very easy for Tambour and Aldazabal as they reached a huge advantage, up to 7 points (11-4). They played very well, while the Blues, each time it fell against them, despaired more and more.

It should be noted that defender Ihitzague played in place of “Pitbull” Lekerika, who had to suspend due to personal problems. Hopefully everything is fine and from this space we send you a hug.

With this result, it will be Tambour and Aldazabal who will face the “Duende” Olharán and “Campeonísimo” López in the search for the coveted title of the Grand Slam of San Juan de Luz, France

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JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK SEMI-FINAL 1 MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

OLHARAN AND LOPEZ, GRAND SLAM FINALISTS ... BUT BY A SIGH
OLHARAN-LOPEZ vs ERKIAGA-AIMAR: 15-14, 10-15, 5-2

Jean Olharan and Imanol López faced Aritz Erkiaga and Aimar Aldazabal last night in the first semi-final of the Grand Slam Internationaux, the puntista competition par excellence of this atypical summer. The Pau striker and the Zumaia defender were the best striker and best defender of the Masters, respectively, and they faced the quarterfinals, Erkiaga and Aimar. Before the start of the semifinal, heartfelt tribute to the 1970 World Cup champions Juan Mari "Txino" Bengoa and Tomás Goyogana, on the 50th anniversary of the title won at Campos Berri. Various gifts were presented to them, and a representation of the Markina-Xemein basket club was present at the offering.

But let's leave behind what happened in 1970 and move on to 2020. The match started quite evenly and the highlight of the first goals was the controversial play that occurred at 4-4. Erkiaga enters Olharan's serve, shoots two walls, Olharan scores but remains in a forced position looking back, rests his hand on the net, shoots to the wall and the Blues do not follow the play ... the judges, inexplicably, gave good. Despite this, the set was good, with beautiful goals from Aritz -txik txak at 6-5, two walls from the right for 6 to 7-, Olharan's reply with another dizzying two walls tying at seven; great rebound goal from Pau's striker in a difficult position to go 8-7; another two walls of Olharan when reaching a bite the width of Aimar; Aritz shortens distances with a left to serve rest (10-8) and a side to the middle (10-9). At the rear, Aimar was playing at his level, with more difficult balls thrown than mistakes made. But López was unrecognizable, making mistakes that we are not used to, and unable to feel comfortable on the court. Olharan realizes this and takes responsibility for the Colorados. He hits very difficult balls and with his cheerful game he gets four points ahead (13-9). The Colorados are short of both, 14-11, but Erkiaga tied the game with three consecutive rebound goals. López is not well, Erkiaga takes out and Olharan, with 14 equal, decides to enter to finish the goal by shooting backhand to rebound. 15-14 for the colorados, when the party had turned blue. with more difficult balls in than mistakes made.

But as we have been saying, the Biscayan Erkiaga and Aimar dominated the game, and in the second set they were much better than the Colorados. They broke the set after the tie at six, and did not go straight to 15 because despite being in crisis, López decided to suffer and not throw in the towel, and Olharan held on as best he could the difference on the scoreboard. Very remarkable the goal that Erkiaga made to put the light at 6-9. A lovely two walls bouncing backwards. It is to take the play and give it on television 1000 times in a row. The blues more or less kept the lead, despite a nice goal from López at 9-14 (wide-open) and another txik txak from Olharan (10-14). But the set ended 10-15 when the ball bounced or pumped into Lopez's basket.

The Blues were close to victory. They commanded the game, they commanded on the scoreboard, Erkiaga with a lot of class, great effectiveness and offering a tremendous show. And also, helping Aimar and putting a lot of ball between frames 8 and 9. But the tiebreaker is five, and although most of the time, those who win the second set win the match, yesterday it was not like that. The most important thing is not to make mistakes. There is no margin. And the Blues, being better in the match, made mistakes in the tiebreaker set. They started winning 0-1 with both from Aritz. The Ispaster decides to enter a right hand from López but hits a stick. 1-1. In the next goal, Erkiaga rebounds and throws the ball into the canopy above. 2-1. Olharan makes it 3 to 1 passing over Aimar, who caresses the ball but does not make it. Erkiaga shortened the gap with a goal from txik txak (3-2) but two errors in a row by Aimar (a ball that hit the wall and went wide, and a right to the upper txapa) decided the game. 5-2 and Olharan-López finalists.

The other semifinal will be played next Tuesday: JON TAMBOURINDEGUY-ALDAZABAL (second) against HORMAETXEA-LEKERIKA (third). Open match. Olharan and López wait in the final. The one from Zumaia will have to improve a lot if he wants to win the Donibane Lohitzune Grand Slam again. He knows. Still, and having a bad day, yesterday he won. Olharan had a lot of "guilt" for it, but there are very few who, even having a bad day, win.

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

5. Master 4 Tournament (August 13,18)

The Teams

Alex Hormaetxea-Ibon Aldazabal (substituting for Nicolas Etcheto)
Deigo Beaskoetxea-Unai Lekerika (Leke)
Patxi Tambournindeguy-Benoit Maya
Jean Olharan-Pierre Etcheverry

Master 4 Preview:

Jai Alai News Master 4 Preview (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

August 18

FINAL

Hormaetxea-I. Aldazabal 2
Beaskoetxea-Lekerika (Leke) 0
(15-14, 15-7) (30-21)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Match articles:

Jai Alai News FINAL Preview Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

Jai Alai News FINAL Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

Jai Alai y Mas FINAL Article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 5-11; 8-11; 11-12; 13-13; 14-14; 15-14

Set 2: 7-2; 9-3; 13-5; 14-5; 15-7

Selected scoring:

Set 1

Hormaetxea +3 -4 I. Aldazabal +4 -5
Beaskoetxea +1 -3 Lekerika +3 -5

Balls in Play: Hormaetxea 30 (21%); I. Aldazabal 38 (27%); Beaskoetxea 34 (24%); Lekerika 35 (25%

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 7-3: Beaskoetxea +1 -3
At 10-3: Hormaetxea +8 -4
At 12-4: Hormaetxea +9 -4
At: 12-5: Beaskoetxea +1 -5
At 13-5: Hormaetxea +9 -5

+++

August 13

Semi-Final 2

Hormaetxea-I. Aldazabal 2
Olharan-Etcheverry 0
(15-12, 15-9) (30-21)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Semi-Finals Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

Selected linescore: (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 7-7; 8-8; 10-10; 15-12

Set 2: 11-7; 15-9

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

Hormaetxea +7 -1 I. Aldazabal +0 -4
Olharan +4 -4 Etcheverry +1 -4

Balls in Play: Hormaetxea 40 (30%); I. Aldazabal 26 (19%); Olharan 31 (23%); Etcheverry 36 (27%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 7-4: Olharan +6 -5
At 9-6  Olharan +7 -5
At 9-6: Olharan deflects a pelota into Etcheverry's throat--no harm done
At 10-6: Hormaetxea +10 -1
At 14-9: Olharan +7 -6

+++

Semi-Final 1

Beaskoetxea-Lekerika (Leke) 2
P. Tambourindeguy-Maya 0
(15-4, 15-14) (30-18)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Semi-Finals Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 4 information.

Selected linescore: (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 8-1; 8-3; 12-3; 15-4

Set 2: 3-4; 4-5; 6-7; 8-10; 11-11; 12-12; 14-13; 14-14; 15-14

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

Beaskoetxea +4 -0 Lekerika +3 -1
P. Tambourindeguy +2 -4 Maya +1 -3

Balls in Play: Beaskoetxea 47 (27%); Lekerika 40 (23%); P. Tambourindeguy 38 (22%); Maya 43 (25%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 6-6: P. Tambourindeguy +5 -7
At 6-8: P. Tambourindeguy +7 -7
At 7-9: P. Tambourindeguy +8 -8
At 8-9: Beaskoetxea +5 -2
At 12-12: Beaskoetxea +5 -4
At 12-13: P. Tambourindeguy +9 -9
At 13-13: Beaskoetxea +5 -4
At 14-13: Beaskoetxea +6 -4
At 14-14: Beaskoetxea +6 -5(service fault (under serve after pasa (over serve)--servers are allowed 1 over serve until the 6th pasa--any under Iserve is an automatic fault)
At 14-14: P. Tambourindeguy +9 -10
At 14-14. Maya goes to the apron for an excellent save, but juggles it

+++

Cumulative Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of August 18 (through Master 4)

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss): Tournaments Won

Tournaments: S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament; M1=Master 1; M2=Master 2; M3=Master 3; M4=Master 4

Note: Play in Championship does not count toward final Masters points that determine participants in SLAM Tournament

Fronts (Avants)

Barandika......... 4-1.....6.6--4..2(S,M2)
J. Tambourindeguy..3-1.....5.3--3..1(M3)
Hormaetxea.........2-1.......4--2..1(M4)
Olharan........... 2-1.......4--2..1(M1)
(Aritz) Erkiaga....2-2...4.3--4.3
Goikoetxea.........1-2.....3--3.3
Beaskoetxea........1-2.......2--4
Laduche............0-1.....1--1.3
Laloo..............0-1.....1--1.3
Olha...............0-1.......0--2
P. Tambourindeguy..0-2.......0--4

Note: (Aritz) Erkiaga has 2 second place finishes (M1, M2); Goikoetxea has 1 second place finish (M3); Beaskoetxea has 1 second place finish (M4)

Backs (Arrieres)

Lopez..............4-0......7.3--1..2(M1,M2)
Lekerika...........3-1........6--2..1(M3)
I. Aldazabal.......3-1........6--2..1(M4)
Maya...............2-1......3.3--3..1(S)
A. Aldazabal.......1-2......3--3.3
Ihitsague..........1-2....2.3--4.3
Etcheverry.........1-3....2.3--6.3
Etcheto............0-1........0--2
Millat.............0-2......1--3.3
T. Basque..........0-2........0--4

Note: Ihitsague (M1), A. Aldazabal (M2), I. Aldazabal (M3), and Lekerika (M4) each have 1 second place finish

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS FINAL ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL, TITLE AND CLASSIFICATION!
BEASKOETXEA-LEKERIKA vs HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL: 14-15, 7-15

Final of the Master 4 yesterday in the Campos Berri lohitzun fronton, with the stands full (750 people, maximum capacity), and a lot at stake on the court: nothing more and nothing less than the qualification for the Grand Slam. For this, Hormaetxea and Beaskoetxea needed a victory, and by two sets to zero.

The favorites, Diego and Lekerika, started ahead on the scoreboard. There were mistakes at the beginning, Diego made some good goals (side rebound against the wall, two walls after practically rebounding ...), Lekerika took advantage of his right hand on two occasions without Aldazabal being able to reach a boat run .. and the 11-5 score was already overwhelming. But so long, the blues were getting closer. They began to command in the rally, Aldazabal felt comfortable behind, Lekerika did not have his day, and Hormaetxea scored so many forward, one after another. At 13-12 for the Blues, Diego bounces from the side to the inside, Hormaetxea is protects in the width and the whole field is for Aldazabal. The ball hits the left wall, but Berriatua's, with his 1.94m tall, plus the basket, plus the jump he made, he manages to put the ball in and from box seven the goal ends with a perfect cut. In the same 13, Aldazabal asks Hormaetxea to enter a difficult ball from Lekerika, since if he left it he would surpass him. Alex enters pot soon but hits a stick. 14-13. Maximum tension, because the striker who lost the set was practically out of the Grand Slam. Beaskoetxea takes out, Aldazabal enters with a backhand, his ball accidentally hits the left wall, it opens more and more, and Lekerika does not manage to score on width. 14-14. Anything could happen. Many nerves on the court. Great excitement and qualification in the air. Take out Hormaetxea, enter the service Beaskoetxea, throw two side walls but Alex arrives, he shoots cut, Beaskoetxea manages to score and shoots quickly and as he can backhand ... It is not an easy ball but Aldazabal bounces backwards. There you have Diego. From square three and a half, he shoots txik txak but misses the angle. The ball goes out and the game continues. In these, Hormaetxea throws one side in the middle. Beaskoetxea is in the width but Lekerika arrives, but in his intention to dominate, the Gernika defender the ball goes to the top mattress. Ready. 14-15. Beaskoetxea removed. Now it only remained to know if Hormaetxea and Aldazabal managed to win the other set, for the Bermeotarra to qualify.

But there was no second set. Yes, there was, but the defeat of the first game weighed heavily on the Gernikar couple. Demoralized and out of the game, they were no longer focused and everything went wrong. Great match of the blues. Hormaetxea at its best, entering difficult balls, many bouncing-soon, and finishing sideways like nobody, or almost nobody. Aldazabal also, confident and dominating, has ended up being the second best defender of the Masters after López.

Therefore, the title of Master 4 is for Hormaetxea and Aldazabal, and thus the classification for the Grand Slam remains, without Goikoetxea or Beaskoetxea.

DELANTEROS (FRONTS)

1- OLHARAN ..............8 points (+22)
2- J. TAMBOURNIDENGUY ...8 points (+19)
3- HORMAETXEA ...........8 points (+11)
4- (ARITZ) ERKIAGA ......8 points  (-9)

ZAGUEROS (BACKS)

1- LOPEZ ...............15 points (+44)
2- I. ALDAZABAL ........12 points (+26)
3- LEKERIKA (LEKE) .....12 points (+22)
4- A. ALDAZABAL .........5 points  (-2)

GRAND SLAM SEMIFINALS: August 20 and 25

FINAL: August 27

Qualifiers: 

OLHARAN-LOPEZ (#1) vs (ARITZ) ERKIAGA-A. ALDAZABAL (#4)
TAMBOURINDEGUY-ALDAZABAL(#2) vs HORMAETXEA-LEKERIKA (#3)

+++

JAI ALAI Y MAS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES ((TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

In the last Master of Saint Jean de Luz

HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL CAMPEONES

The final of the last Master of the Internationals of Saint Jean de Luz, France was played yesterday and the triumph was for the blue Hormaetxea and Aldazabal over the red Beascoetxea and “Pitbull” Lekerika in two sets, 15-14 and 15-7.
The highlight of the match was the comeback of the winners in the first set, as they lost 11-5 and ended up turning a set that seemed lost to them.

Hormaetxea played very well, serious and with flashes of his undeniable quality.
Aldazabal holding up well and complying.

Beaskoetxea and Lekerika were not even the shadow of what they had been playing in previous matches and tournaments.

As much as I was looking for a justification for his performance yesterday, I could not find it.

In a single word we could say that they were unrecognizable.

If we have to say more things, we will say that they were out of place, without communication between them, without the claw of a final and with very little desire to please.

What happened to you? Only they will know.

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS FINAL PREVIEW ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

EVERYTHING AT PLAY IN SAN JUAN DE LUZ!
Final of the Master 4 today at Campos Berri de Donibane Lohitzune, starting at 9:00 p.m. and with the main game scheduled at around 10:00 p.m. (live on YouTube through the Canal Plus signal):

HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL vs BEASKOETXEA-LEKERIKA
Without diminishing the importance of the final of the Master, today what is really at stake is the qualification for the Grand Slam at the end of the season in Saint Jean de Luz. Eight pelotaris (four couples) in search of the great trophy of this atypical summer. They are already classified, OLHARAN, JON
TAMBOURINDEGUY and ARITZ ERKIAGA among the forwards.

Goikoetxea, Olha and Patxi Tambourindeguy have been left out, and Barandika, Hormaetxea and Beaskoetxea have the option to enter.

Xabi Barandika: he needs the winner of today's final to do so by two sets to one. A 2-0 would leave him out. With a 2-1, both Hormaetxea and Beaskoetxea would tie on points with Barandika and the both-average would decide the coveted fourth place: Barandika has a +4 compared to Hormaetxea and a +14 compared to Beaskoetxea.

Alex Hormaetxea: if he wins 2-0 he qualifies. If you win 2-1, you need a win by four or more points apart. With a loss, he is eliminated.

Diego Beaskoetxea: if he wins 2-0 he qualifies. If you win 2-1, you need a win by 14 or more points difference. With a loss, he is eliminated.

As for the defenders, LOPEZ, LEKERIKA and IBON and AIMAR ALDAZABAL are already classified. In the case of Lekerika, if he wins today and does so by two sets to zero, he would surpass López, get first place and play the Grand Slam with the number one striker. If he wins 2-1 he ties with López and the average is favorable to Zumaiarra (+13). If Lekerika loses 2-0, Ibon Aldazabal would tie with him and the second place would be decided in the goal-average (+14 in favor of Gernikarra).

Therefore, today the title of Master 4, the Grand Slam classification, and the pairings to this final tournament are decided, depending on the score of each player (the best forward with the best defender, second by second, etc.)

The winners of the three previous Masters have been OLHARAN-LOPEZ, BARANDIKA-LOPEZ and JON TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA.

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS SEMI-FINALS MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

MAXIMUM EMOTION IN SAN JUAN DE LUZ!

Little by little the doubts are being cleared with a view to qualifying for the Grand Slam of Saint Jean de Luz. Last night the semifinals of the fourth and last Master were played, with the following results:

BEASKOETXEA-LEKERIKA vs PATXI TAMBOURINDEGUY-MAYA: 15-4, 15-14
OLHARAN-ETCHEVERRY vs HORMAETXEA-ALDAZABAL: 12-15, 9-15

That means, on the one hand, that next Tuesday Beaskoetxea-Lekerika and Hormaetxea-Aldazabal will play the Master 4 final, but there is much more at stake. The classification for the GRAND SLAM that will be played on August 20, 25 and 27 at the Campos Berri fronton, which as in all previous functions (nine with yesterday's) has completed the capacity with 750 people allowed.
The first conclusion is that Ibon Aldazabal is already among the four best defenders. The Berriatua man suspended one of the Masters due to injury, and it was not easy for him to qualify. Luck has been on his side, when Etcheto was suspended yesterday and replaced Ahetze's defender. With the four points obtained last night (victory by two sets to zero), he is third with eight points and with the final on Tuesday remaining. There is only one doubt: Aldazabal, if he won 2-0 in the final against Lekerika, he would tie on points with Gernika's and the second place would be decided with the goal-average.

Back row classification:

1- LOPEZ .............15 points (+44)
2- LEKERIKA ..........12 points (+31)
3- IBON ALDAZABAL .....8 points (+17)
4- AIMAR ALDAZABAL ....5 points  (-2)

Eliminated, in this order: Ihitsague, Etcheverry, Etcheto, Maya, Millat, Basque.

As for strikers, things couldn't be more interesting. The one who is currently in fourth place is Xabi Barandika, with seven points. Alex Hormaetxea and Diego Beaskoetxea threaten to take away his position. On Tuesday they will play the final of the Master 4 (Hormaetxea-Aldazabal vs Beaskoetxea-Lekerika). If the winner does so by beating the opponent by two sets to zero, be it Hormaetxea or Beaskoetxea, he will add four points and enter the Grand Slam, leaving Barandika out. If the victory is by two sets to one, there will be a seven point tie between the winner (Hormaetxea or Beaskoetxea) and Barandika. But Xabi Barandika currently has an advantage in the goal-average, (+4 compared to Hormaetxea and +14 compared to Beaskoetxea). To ensure classification, both Hormaetxea and especially Beaskoetxea,

With a score of 2-0, Erkiaga would move to fourth place and make a Grand Slam pair with Aimar Aldazabal. Lekerika aspires to the first place among the defenders. Winning 2-0 he would surpass López.

Front classification:

1- OLHARAN ...............8 points (+22)
2- JON TAMBOURINDEGUY ....8 points (+19)
3- ERKIAGA ...............8 points  (-9)
4- BARANDIKA .............7 points  (+6)

Hormaetxea has four points and a point-average of +2, and Beaskoetxea has four points and a point-average of -8.

Eliminated, in this order: Goikoetxea, Olha and Patxi Tambourindeguy.
Many nerves ahead of the decisive on Tuesday. May the best man win, and may the rest of us enjoy the final.

System of points:
2-0 win: FOUR points
Victory 2-1: THREE points
Loss 1-2: ONE point
Loss 0-2: ZERO points

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS MASTER 4 PREVIEW ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

CHANGE IN SAN JOHN OF LIGHT

Etcheto, injured, replaced by Ibon Aldazabal.

Ibon Aldazabal is more likely to enter the Grand Slam now, playing a second Master's Degree. Aldazabal had to leave without playing a Master's degree due to an injury at Ukalondo (he played with Erkiaga Ihitsage), but after Etcheto's injury he court again and if he punctualizes, he can get into the Grand Slam.

INTERNATIONAUX Front Classification:

1-OLHARAN....................8 points (+ 31)
2-JON TAMBOURINDEGUY........ 8 points (+ 19)
3-ERKIAGA....................8 points (-9)
4-BARANDIKA..................7 points (+ 6) 
5-GOIKOETXEA.................5 points (+ 9)
6-HORMAETXEA.................0 points (-7)
7-OLHA.......................0 puntos (-11)--out injured
8-PATXI TAMBOURINDEGUY.......0 points (-18)
9-BEASKOETXEA................0 points (-20)

Zagueros INTERNATIONAUX Qualifying:

1-LOPEZ......................15 points (+ 44)
2-LEKERIKA....................8 points (+ 19)
3-AIMAR ALDAZABAL.............5 points (-2) 
4-IBON ALDAZABAL..............4 points (+8) 
5-IHITSAGUE...................3 points (-14)
6-ETCHEVERRY..................1 point (+ 1)
7-MAYA........................0 point (+ 0)
8-ETCHETO.....................0 point (-11)--out injured
9-MILLAT......................0 point (-18)
10-T. BASQUE..................0 point (-27)

TXABI INZA and DAVID MINVIELLE missed the entire competition--out injured 


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

4. Master 3 Tournament (August 6, 11)

The Teams

Jon Tambourindeguy (substituting for Christophe Olha)-Unai Lekerika (Leke)
Inaki Goikoetxea-Ibon Aldazabal
Diego Beaskoetxea-Thibault Basque
Xabier Barandika-Aimar Aldazabal

Injury News: Christophe Olha has dropped out of the competition due to an elbow injury. (Jai Alive Facebook--French and Castilian--Use Google Translate). Ibon Aldazabal has recovered from his elbow injury (see below under Master 1).

August 11

FINAL

J. Tambourindeguy-Lekerika (Leke) 2
Goikoetxea-I. Aldazabal 0
(15-11, 15-7) (30-18)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Final Match Articles:

Baleike (Zumaia), by Juan Luis Romatet (Basque--Use Google Translate)

Jai Alai News FINAL Article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 3 information.

Jai Alai y Mas FINAL Article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 3 information.

Selected linescore (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 2-0; 2-2; 5-3; 7-7; 8-8; 9-9; 11-9; 14-9; 14-11; 15-11

Set 2: 7-2; 9-4; 9-7 15-7

Selected scoring:

Set 1

J. Tambourindeguy +6 -2 Lekerika +4 -5
Goikoetxea +3 -2 I. Aldazabal +1 -3 

Balls in Play: J. Tambourindeguy 47 (26%); Lekerika (Leke) 45 (25%); Goikoetxea 33 (18%); I. Aldazabal 53 (29%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 7-2: J. Tambourindeguy +11 -2
At 9-4: J. Tambourindeguy +13 -2
---

August 6

Semi-Final 2

J. Tambourindeguy-Lekerika (Leke) 2
Barandika-A. Aldazabal 0
(15-11, 15-12) (30-23)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Facebook Semi-Finals article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 3 information.

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook Semi-Finals article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 3 information.

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 4-4; 5-5; 6-6; 7-7; 12-7; 13-9; 14-11; 15-11

Set 2: 4-4; 5-5; 7-7; 9-7; 11-9; 13-11; 14-12; 15-12

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

J. Tambourindeguy +5 -0 Lekerika  +5 -2
Barandika +6 -2 A. Aldazabal +0 -3

No Balls in Play information was provided

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 4-1:  J. Tambourindeguy +5 -1
At 7-7:  A. Aldazabal +1 -5
At 10-8:  J. Tambourindeguy +5 -1
At 10-9:  Barandika +9 -4
At 11-9:  J. Tambourindeguy +5 -1
At 13-11:  J. Tambourindeguy +5 -2

Semi-Final 1

Goikoetxea-I. Aldazabal 2
Beaskoetxea-T. Basque 0
(15-6, 15-4) (30-10)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Facebook Semi-Finals article (Castilian) (same as above)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook Semi-Finals article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian) (same as above)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 5-3; 11-3; 15-6

Set 2: 8-0; 8-3; 15-3

Selected scoring:

Set 1

Goikoetxea +4(including 1 service ace) -3 I. Aldazabal +2 -2
Beaskoetxea +1 -4 T. Basque +0 -6

Balls in Play: Goikoetxea 17 (19%); I. Aldazabal 22 (25%); Beaskoetxea 21 (24%) T. Basque 27 (31%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 8-2: Beaskoetxea +1 -6
At 9-3: Gokoetxea +4 -3

+++

Cumulative Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of August 11 (through Master 3)

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss): Tournaments Won

Tournaments: S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament; M1=Master 1; M2=Master 2; M3=Master 3

Note: Play in Championship does not count toward final Masters points that determine participants in SLAM Tournament

Fronts (Avants)

Olharan............2-0.......4--0..1(M1)
Barandika..........4-1.....6.6--4..2(S,M2)
J. Tambourindeguy..3-1.....5.3--3..1(M3)
(Aritz) Erkiaga....2-2...4.3--4.3
Goikoetxea.........1-2.....3--3.3
Laduche............0-1.....1--1.3
Laloo..............0-1.....1--1.3
Beaskoetxea........0-1.......0--2
Hormaetxea.........0-1.......0--2
Olha...............0-1.......0--2
P. Tambourindeguy..0-1.......0--2

Note: (Aritz) Erkiaga has 2 second place finishes (M1, M2); Goikoetxea has 1 second place finish (M3)

Backs (Arrieres)

Lopez..............4-0......7.3--1..2(M1,M2)
Lekerika...........2-0........4--0..1(M3)
Maya...............2-0......3.3--1..1(S)
I. Aldazabal.......1-1........2--2
A. Aldazabal.......1-2......3--3.3
Ihitsague..........1-2....2.3--4.3
Etcheverry.........1-2....2.3--4.3
Etcheto............0-1........0--2
Millat.............0-2......1--3.3
T. Basque..........0-2........0--4

Note: Ihitsague (M1), A. Aldazabal (M2), and I. Aldazabal (M3) each have 1 second place finish

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA: EXHIBITION AND TITLE IN SAN JUAN DE LUZ
GOIKOETXEA-ALDAZABAL vs JON TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA: 11-15, 7-15

Last night the final of the third Master of the Internationaux of Donibane Lohitzune was played. Full capacity at Campos Berri (the 750 tickets were sold out in the pre-sale before the ticket offices opened). On the one hand, Iñaki Osa Goikoetxea and Ibon Aldazabal, who for some were favorites, and on the other, Jon Tambourindeguy and Unai Lekerikabeaskoa. The latter has already been "baptized" in Iparralde as the "Pitbull" of Gernika. What a season Unai is playing. But yesterday the protagonist was his forward, the youngest of the "Tambour" El pelotari de Bidarte Jon Tambourindeguy. He entered Master 3 replacing the injured Olha and ended up being the best in the final.

Tambourindeguy put difficult balls on the left wall, he bounced wonderfully, throwing his body to the ground every time he did it backhand, he finished the goal several times in that position, he threw left, sides ... he gave an exhibition. Great defense and a diverse and effective attack. He was well supported by Unai Lekerikabeaskoa. The Gernikarra could not do "as much" damage as in the semifinal. The balls weren't "that" lively and Goikoetxea sprang to his feet, partially rendering Lekerika's weapon useless. But Leke is in top shape, yesterday he hit difficult balls again, he moves on the court more than other years, he runs forward, looks for the ball, attacks and hurts. Playing with standing feet, he gives the ball great speed. He is very pelotari, has a lot of strength and is in top form. He has five wins and one loss.

With Tambo and Leke at that level, the colorados had to do everything well to win the game, but the truth is that the blues were better from the first set, although the scoreboard was close with several draws up to nine equal. At that time they grabbed a five goal lead to 9-14 and although Goiko and Aldazabal got closer, the set was already decided: 11-15 at the end.

In the second set, Goiko, positioning himself in the table eight-nine by boat, tried to turn the game around. He made three cuts and another as much back but the blues took advantage again with Tambourindeguy as the protagonist. To be the beginning of a set, the difference of six goals was a lot on the scoreboard. The Colorados were able to break the streak of the Blues and with a lower ball, Aldazabal played much more comfortable. Tambour and Leke had a harder time moving the ball. It seemed that it could have started, since they approached two goals (7-9) and Ibon even got a perfect txula. But there was Tambourindeguy to finish the goal with a great two walls (7-10) and return the game to the initial script. The blues scored six goals in a row to go directly to 15. Deserved victory for Jon Tambourindeguy and Unai Lekerikabeaskoa,

There is only one Master left before deciding who will play the Donibane Lohitzune Grand Slam. On Thursday the two semifinals of the Master 4 are played (9:00 p.m.):

BEASKOETXEA-LEKERIKA vs PATXI TAMBOURINDEGUY-MAYA
OLHARAN-ETCHEVERRY vs HORMAETXEA-ETCHETO

Master Champion 1: OLHARAN-LOPEZ
Runner-up Master 1: Erkiaga-Ihitsague
Champion Master 2: BARANDIKA-LOPEZ
Runner-up Master 2: Erkiaga-Aimar
Master 3 Champion: J. TAMBOURINDEGUY-LEKERIKA
Runner-up Master 3: Goikoetxea-Aldazabal

JAI ALAI Y MAS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES ((TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

It is well said in the Jai Alai that ... "Stolen Party, from the other side"
What an exhibition offered this afternoon by the French player Tambour, in the beautiful field of the Internationals of Saint Jean de Luz, France.

From that point on, one began to delight us with that joyful, spectacular, varied and courageous game that so many followers generated in Mexico.

He jumped onto the court "to eat the ball" and in addition to great backhand rebounds "jumping", each of them raising the exclamation of the respectable, he took all the "cuts" of the "King" Goikoetxea, he had the luxury of putting " Perfect costadillos ”, exquisite“ prompt boats ”and, as if that were not enough, two backhand rebounds to“ two walls ”that were a true marvel.

He led a Lekerica behind him who is going through a great moment and they beat a Goikoetxea “King” in the final of the third Masters of Saint Jean de Luz, who again left the forcefulness in the suitcase and an Aldazabal that was not at all fine. The partials, 15-11 and 15-7.

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS SEMI-FINALS MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

THE KING HAS RETURNED ... AND TO LEKERIKA THERE IS NO ONE WHO WILL BEAT HIM!

Semifinals of the Master 3 of the Internationaux de Donibane Lohitzune, with the presence, among others, of the Club Atlético Osasuna coach in the stands. Jagoba Arrasate, a great fan of Jai Alai, was one of the 750 people who got tickets to watch her countrymen and friends, the brothers Aimar and Ibon Aldazabal, play.
The first semifinal, before starting, was almost over. Goikoetxea was a hurricane. Ibon Aldazabal scored three goals with his backhand in the initial section of the match, Basque got a little nervous, Goikoetxea took his place on the pitch, and did not let the Blues even enter the game. The colorados were a real steamroller: 15-6 and 15-4. Beaskoetxea will have to give everything in the fourth Masters if he wants to enter the Grand Slam. It is not easy.

If in the first game the protagonist was Goikoetxea, in the second it was Unai Lekerikabeaskoa. The young Gernikarra defender is in an incredible moment of play, and yesterday, with a very live ball, he wreaked havoc. With Olha injured, Leke had to play with Jon Tambourindeguy, but they had no problems to overcome Barandika and Aimar, 11-15 and 12-15. Lekerika has won every match played so far: the two of Markina-Xemein, the semi-final of Mutriku and the semi-final yesterday in Donibane Lohitzune.

JAI ALAI Y MAS SEMI-FINALS MATCH ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

YOUR MAJESTY, THE TABLE IS SERVED

The two semifinals of the Master 3 in Saint Jean de Luz, France were played and as expected those who had to win advanced to the grand final.
"Rey" Goikoetxea and Aldazabal 15-6 and 15-4 over Beaskoetxea and Basque, while Tambour-Lekerika passed Barandika-Aimar 15-11 and 15-12.
On Tuesday the final will be played, Goikoetxea-Aldazabal vs. Tambour-Lekerika.

Does anyone doubt who will win the title?

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

3. Master 2 Tournament (July 30, August 4)

The Teams: 

Xabier Barandika----Imanol Lopez
Aritz Erkiaga----Aimar Aldazabal (substituting for David Minvielle)
Christophe Olha----Nicolas Etcheto
Alex Hormaetxea----Thibault Basque

Injury News: David Minvielle suffered a small tear to a hand tendon in a July 29 match at Hossegor (part of the Federation Francaise de Pelota Basque Cesta Punta National A Competition). He will most likely miss the rest of the St. Jean de Luz competition.

Jai Alai News Facebook Article on the Injury (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information

August 4

FINAL

Barandika-Lopez 2
(Aritz) Erkiaga-A. Aldazabal 1
(14-15, 15-9, 5-4) (34-28)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Match article: (Baleike.eus--Zumaia) (Basque--Use Google Translate)

Jai Alai News Facebook Match article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook Match article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 2-0; 2-2; 5-2; 6-3; 7-5; 8-6; 11-6; 11-9; 12-11; 13-13; 14-14; 14-15

Set 2: 5-1; 6-2; 10-5; 11-6; 14-6; 14-9; 15-9

Tie breaker: 2-1; 3-1; 3-3; 4-4; 5-4

Selected scoring:

Set 1

Barandika +4 -4 Lopez +0 -4
(Aritz) Erkiaga +5 -2 A. Aldazabal +0 -8

Balls in Play: Barandika 70 (25%); Lopez 72 (25%); (Aritz) Erkiaga 77 (27%); A. Aldazabal 61 (21%)

Set  1+2 Cumulative scoring

Barandika +7 -6 Lopez +1 -6
(Aritz) Erkiaga +9 -4 A. Aldazabal +6 -16

Set 2 Balls in Play: Barandika 46 (26%); Lopez 43 (24%); (Aritz) Erkiaga 43 (24%); A. Aldazabal 43 (24%)

There was no scoring or balls in play data provided for the Tie breaker.

---

July 30

Semi-Final 2

Barandika-Lopez 2
Hormaetxea-T. Basque 0
(15-9, 15-14) (30-23)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Facebook Semi-Finals Article (Castilian)
The article is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook Semi-Finals Article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The article is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Master 2 information.

Selected linescore (match winners always listed 1st)

Set 1: 0-2; 8-2; 10-4; 11-4; 12-9; 15-9

Set 2: 1-3; 2-4; 6-8; 10-10; 11-11; 12-12; 12-14; 15-14

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

Barandika +4(including 2 service aces) -2 Lopez +3 -2
Hormaetxea +2 -3 T. Basque +2 -4

Balls in Play: Barandika 28 (22%); Lopez 33 (26%); Hormaetxea 21 (17%); T. Basque 41 (33%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 11-10: Barandika +5(including 2 service aces) -2
At 8-6: Hormatxea +5 -4

---

Semi-Final 1

(Aritz) Erkiaga-A. Aldazabal 2
Olha-Etcheto 0
(15-9, 15-10) (30-19)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Facebook Semi-Finals Article (Castilian)
The article is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 2 information.

Jai Alai y Mas Facebook Semi-Finals Article, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Castilian)
The article is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of the Master 2 information.

Selected Linescore (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 2-5; 5-5; 7-7; 12-7; 14-8; 14-9; 15-9

Set 2: 5-5; 6-6; 7-7; 12-8; 15-10

Selected scoring

Set 1

(Aritz) Erkiaga +4 -2 A. Aldazabal +0 -1
Olha +5 -3 Etcheto +1 -8

Balls in Play: (Aritz) Erkiaga 40 (25%); A. Aldazabal 37 (23%); Olha 31 (19%); Etcheto 51 (32%)

There was no Set 2 or cumulative Set 1+2 data. There was no Set 2 balls in play data. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 6-5: (Aritz) Erkiaga +4 -4
At 9-8: Olha +7 -7

+++

Cumulative Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of August 4 (through Master 2)

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss): Tournaments Won

Tournaments: S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament; M1=Master 1; M2=Master 2

Note: Play in Championship does not count toward final Masters points that determine participants in SLAM Tournament

Fronts (Avants)

Barandika..........4-0.....6.6--2..2(S,M2)
Olharan............2-0.......4--0..1(M1)
(Aritz) Erkiaga....2-2...4.3--4.3
J. Tambourindeguy..1-1.....1.3--3
Goikoetxea.........0-1.....1--1.3
Laduche............0-1.....1--1.3
Laloo..............0-1.....1--1.3
Hormaetxea.........0-1.......0--2
Olha...............0-1.......0--2
P. Tambourindeguy..0-1.......0--2

Note: (Aritz) Erkiaga has 2 second place finishes (M1,M2)

Backs (Arrieres)

Lopez..............4-0......7.3--1..2(M1,M2)
Maya...............2-0......3.3--1..1(S)
A. Aldazabal.......1-1......3--1.3
Ihitsague..........1-2....2.3--4.3
Etchverry..........1-2....2.3--4.3
T. Basque..........0-1........0--2
Etcheto............0-1........0--2
Millat.............0-2......1--3.3

Note: Ihitsague and A. Aldazabal each have 1 second place finish.

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK ARTICLE ON THE INJURY TO DAVID MINVIELLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

LAST MINUTE: INJURED MINVIELLE, PLAY AIMAR!

The Campos Berri fronton hosts tonight (21:00) the semifinals of the MASTER 2 of the Internationaux de Donibane Lohitzune. With a last minute change. Biarritz defender David Minvielle was injured yesterday (small tear in a hand tendon) in
Hossegor. In the early afternoon he had a rehearsal but he had no choice but to suspend in Saint Jean de Luz. He will be replaced by Aimar Aldazabal.

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

BARANDIKA, LOPEZ WIN ... AND THE PUNTA BASKET!
ERKIAGA-AIMAR vs BARANDIKA-LOPEZ: 15-14, 9-15, 4-5

Grand finale last night at Campos Berri de Donibane Lohitzune in the final of the second Master of the season. A spectacular match that made spectators with their hair stand on end, both those present at the fronton and all those who followed the broadcast thanks to the organization's YouTube channel, through the Canal Plus France signal. A way of seeing professional basket-tip live, which in recent years, has already come to catch on among fans of this sport, be it in Hegoalde, Iparralde, Mexico, the USA, the Philippines or other parts of the world.

In the first game, the blue Xabi Barandika and Imanol López were always ahead ... until the final goal. It was harder for the Colorados to enter the game, Aimar committed more sticks yesterday than we are used to and Barandika and López took advantage on the scoreboard, 2-6, 4-7 and 9-13. But the colorados were getting closer, since Erkiaga managed to bring out the artist within him. Trailing, they tied at thirteen. The blues were ahead again but Erkiaga, with a beautiful side, managed to equalize the set again. Take out Ispaster's, Barandika enters air but fails in the basket. 15-14, in the last breath, for Erkiaga and Aimar.

The second set was blue. From the beginning to the end they were superior and this is shown by 9-15 on the scoreboard.

Everything was decided in the tiebreaker, which was truly vertigo. The pelotaris fought and played so many precious ones. The blues began winning 0-1, and after drawing the colorados, they were again ahead 1-3. Aritz and Aimar managed to tie at three, and then at four. Great tension in the stands and on the court. It was then that López took responsibility for the match. He played for almost the entire goal against two. He defended, attacked, came forward, ran backward, stung the ball, threw cut. The Colorados also had the opportunity to finish the goal, but in the end it was Xabi Barandika who appeared to rebound from the seven with his great right hand. The ball went wide at high speed and Aimar, although he jumped, could not score.

The pelotaris ended up exhausted lying on the ground, and the public, both in the pediment and surely in their homes, standing and applauding the pelotaris. As López said in the Canal Plus microphones, the one who won was the basket-tip. Watch the game, or at least the last goal:

Great atmosphere at Campos Berri. At this time when the frontons cannot be filled, the basket-tip continues to fill capacity. We remember that the tickets for the final of the Master Series on Friday in Mutriku (Goixerri-Lekerika vs Goikoetxea-Manci) are already sold out from the early hours of Monday.

Second Master for López in San Juan de Luz, since the first of the season he won with Olharan, against Erkiaga and Ihitsague. López has secured the first place among the defenders facing the final Grand Slam, and Aritz, with two second places, will also be in the final tournament of the season.

Tomorrow begins the third Masters. Starting at 9:00 p.m., the two semifinals are played:
GOIKOETXEA-IBON ALDAZABAL vs BEASKOETXEA-BASQUE

BARANDIKA-AIMAR vs OLHA-LEKERIKA

JAI ALAI Y MAS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES

In the first set we saw an Aritz in "Artist" and, despite being down on the scoreboard practically the entire route, he was placed a little further behind the center of the court and managed the game at will, it became something as well as the "orchestra master" and he offered us a wonderful show of playing ball well, giving us, in addition, artistic touches that remain there.

Aimar started hesitantly, but little by little he settled on the court to end up "fulfilling" in that first set.

We also saw a Barandika with few opportunities to get into the ball and, consequently, not very fine in his actions. Erkiaga and Aimar didn't let him get into the heat of the game.

And a "Champion" as we have seen very few times. Practically the entire first set with his back glued to the rebounding wall and very dominated by his rivals. We have already said on countless occasions that he is one of the most dominant pelotaris we have seen and in that first set he felt what his rivals feel, as he had no other choice but to defend himself "like a cat face up."
9-15

For the second set Barandika was a bit delayed, came into play, gave air to his defender and gave clear signs that his improvement was going to wreak havoc on his opponents.

López went from dominated to dominator and, coupled with the great difference in the score that they reached from the beginning, everything was "honey on flakes" for the blue couple.

Erkiaga no longer had the opportunity to continue being the master of the orchestra, he was not even the shadow of the "Artist" of the first set, he no longer had brushstrokes and practically focused on visualizing a last and third set where the title of this would be defined. tournament.
Aimar pushed and pushed and pushed again and missed a lot.
15-14

The third set was ... very exciting !, excellently played by the four pelotaris on the court, with so many very rallies, great plays and a last heart attack, with the public on the edge of their seats and as a worthy culmination of a match that was well deserved. finish, with all the emotion in the world.
5-4

+++

JAI ALAI NEWS SEMI-FINAL ARTICLES (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

BARANDIKA-LOPEZ AND ERKIAGA-AIMAR, FINALISTS IN SAN JUAN DE LUZ
HORMAETXEA-BASQUE vs BARANDIKA-LOPEZ: 9-15, 14-15
ERKIAGA-AIMAR vs OLHA-ETCHETO: 15-9 y 15-10

Semifinals of the second Master Internationaux of Donibane Lohitzune last night at the Campos Berri fronton. In the first match, Aimar Aldazabal replaced the injured Minvielle. The one from Berriatua (Aldazabal) returned to Campos Berri after five years of absence from that fronton, and also, playing for the first time as a defender. Something in itself delicate in the case of a 57-meter long court, but Aimar was less at hand, both Aritz Erkiaga and he played a safe and worked match, and when the ball was revived, Aldazabal was able to get the right but above all He let Aritz rebound to do some damage. It is true that Olha and Etcheto were below their level: 15-9, 15-10.

Victory for Xabi Barandika and Imanol López in the second match.  15-9 in the first set, but they suffered a lot in the second, even so, to win 15-14 with a last right to the width of "Mariscal" (Marshal) López that put the public on their feet. Great second set by Alex Hormaetxea from Bermeo and Thibault Basque from Laborer. This young defender hits the ball hard both backhand and forehand and in the short term we can see him up.

Next Tuesday the final of Master 2 will be played:
BARANDIKA-LOPEZ vs ERKIAGA-AIMAR.
The winners of Master 1 were Olharan and López.

JAI ALAI Y MAS SEMI-FINALS ARTICLE, BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES (TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY GOOGLE)

The final next Tuesday in Saint Jean de Luz
"EL ARTISTA" ERKIAGA AND ALDAZABAL
VS.
BARANDIKA AND "THE VERY CHAMPIONSHIP" LÓPEZ

The two semifinals of the Master 2 of the Internationals of Saint Jean de Luz, France were played and we already have the couples who will play the grand final next Tuesday.

In the first semifinal "El Artista" Erkiaga and Aimar Aldazabal, who entered as a substitute due to injury a day before Frenchman David Minvielle, beat the blue "Caballero" Olha and Etxeto 15-9 and 15-10 in a match that had very few shades of emotion.

"The Artist" well, without having to use himself thoroughly.

Aimar gave a great game, sober, confident, crossing and understanding from the beginning that his striker "with his back to the front" does more damage than he is pulling himself close to "the rebound wall".

Olha put in three or four of his classic "side skirts" up from the "sheet" very good, but in general it was well below its real level and Etxeto, very thin by the way, was unrecognizable, because if we remember anything about him it is his security in the basket and his "start" on the court and yesterday, neither one nor the other.

In the second semifinal Barandika and "El Campeonísimo" López had "a day out" in the first set (15-9 does not indicate how easy it was) and in the second set, quite exciting by the way, they got very complicated. things and they rescued him by a miracle after going 14-12 down on the scoreboard to end up beating the Blues Hormaetxea and the young Basque.

It is worth highlighting that backhand rebound to "two walls" by Hormaetxea for 14-12 in his favor in the second set and that it was a true poem and also, of course, the culmination of the match, in the 14 equal, where "El Champion ”surprised half the world with a right“ wide ”that was sublime.

CURIOUS DATA

The other day we mentioned that "El Duende" Olharán was serving quite low and with speed, in order to prevent "El Artista" Erkiaga from being able to enter the "rest of the serve" and in yesterday's games we saw that at times "El Caballero" Olha, Hormaetxea and Barandika also tried.

At this level and in this fronton of San Juan de Luz, you are hardly going to get "short" and that is a good option to avoid that the opposing striker subtracts you and does you a lot of damage.

SO GO THINGS

It should be remembered that the first Master of San Juan de Luz was for Olharán and López, when last Tuesday they won the final against Erkiaga and Ihitsague and when “El Campeonísimo” reached the final of this second, we can say that it is practically becoming He is the first player to secure his place for the famous Grand Slam, which will culminate the season in this beautiful fronton.

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2. Master 1 Tournament (July 23, 28)

The Teams:

Jean Olharan----Imanol Lopez
Aritz Erkiaga----Julien Ihitsague (substituting for Ibon Aldazabal)
Inaki Goikoetxea----Pierre Etcheverry (substituting for Txabi Inza)
Patxi Tabourindeguy---Yann Millat (substituting for Benoit Maya)

Master 1 was heavily influenced by the decimation due to injury of the Backs (Arrieres). The outcome was not surprising. The one team left in tact won the Tournament in straight sets. Their composite score was 60-29.

Jai Alai News Facebook article on injuries to Inza and I. Aldazabal (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 1 information

July 28

FINAL:

Olharan-Lopez 2
(Aritz) Erkiaga-Ihitsague 0
(15-8, 15-9) (30-17)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE) AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Jai Alai News Facebook FINAL Match article (Castilian)
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 1 information.

Jai Alai y Mas FINAL Match article (by Fernando Sierra Felgueres) (Castilian
The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Master 1 information.

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

Set 1: 4-1; 8-2; 10-3; 12-5; 12-6; 15-8

Set 2: 9-5; 10-5; 11-7; 14-7; 14-9; 15-9

Selected Scoring

Set 1:

Olharan +3 -1 Lopez +0 -3
(Aritz) Erkiaga +3 -7 Ihitsague +1 -4

No Set 2 or Cumulative Set 1-2 Scoring. No balls in play information. Selected cumulative scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on:

At 5-3: Olharan +4 -1
At 14-8: (Aritz) Erkiaga +7 -15

 ----

July 23

Semi-Final 2:

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Ihitsague 2
Goikoetxea-Etcheverry 1
(8-15; 15-12; 5-2) (28-29)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 2-5; 4-7; 6-9; 7-11; 7-14; 8-15

Set 2: 4-0; 5-1; 6-3; 7-4; 12-8; 12-10; 13-10; 13-12; 15-12

Tie Breaker: 4-0; 4-2; 5-2

Selected Scoring:

Set 1

(Aritz) Erkiaga +2 -3 Ihitsague +0 -5
Goikoetxea +5 -2 Etcheverry +0 -4

Balls in Play: (Aritz) Erkiaga 48 (23%); Ihitsague 53 (25%); Goikoetxea 55 (26%) Etcheverry 49 (23%)

Set 1+2 Cumulative:

Aritz (Erkiaga) +4 -6 Ihitsague +1 -8
Goikoetxea +9 -6 Etcheverry +0 -10

Set 2 Balls in Play: (Aritz) Erkiaga 60 (29%); Ihitsague 45 (22%); Goikoetxea 48 (23%); Etcheverry 50 (24%)

Tie breaker: No scoring or balls in play were given.

Canal + scoring for the first two sets added to 44 points. Actual scoring added to 50 points.

Semi-Final 1:

Olharan-Lopez 2 
P. Tambourindeguy-Millat 0
(15-4, 15-8) (30-12)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 10-1; 15-4

Set 2: 5-1; 10-5; 13-6; 15-8

Selected scoring:

Set 1

Olharan +2 -2 Lopez +0 -0
P. Tambbourindeguy +2 -7 Millat +0 -6

Balls in Play: Olharan 47 (26%); Lopez 45 (25%); P. Tambourindeguy 39 (21%); Millat 47 (26%)

Cumulative Set 1 + Set 2 (Partial, none was given at the end of the match): Selected scores were given during the 2nd set. They are not necessarily complete but do give a sense of what was going on.

at 11-5: Olharan +6 -5
at 13-6: P. Tambourindeguy +3 -10

No Set 2 or cumulative balls in play were given.

+++

Cumulative Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of July 28 (through Master 1)

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss): Tournaments Won

Tournaments: S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament; M1=Master 1

Note: Play in Championship does not count toward final Masters points that determine participants in SLAM Tournament

Fronts (Avants)

Olharan............2-0......4--0..1(M1)
Barandika..........2-0....3.3--1..1(S)
(Aritz) Erkiaga....1-1....1.3--3
J. Tambourindeguy..1-1....1.3--3
Goikoetxea.........0-1....1--1.3
Laduche............0-1....1--1.3
Laloo..............0-1....1--1.3
P. Tambourindeguy..0-1......0--2

Backs (Arrieres)

Lopez..............2-0......4--0..1(M1)
Maya...............2-0....3.3--1..1(S)
Ihitsague..........1-2..2.3..4.3
Etcheverry.........1-2..2.3--4.3
Millat.............0-2....1--3.3

JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK ARTICLE ON THE INJURIES
TO INZA AND I. ALDAZABAL (GOOGLE TRANSLATE ENGLISH)

INZA AND ALDAZABAL SUSPEND

Txabi Inza and Ibon Aldazabal have had to suspend the match they had today in San Juan de Luz, at the festival that begins at 9:00 p.m. This is the second match of the festival, semifinal of Master 1: GOIKOETXEA-INZA vs ERKIAGA-ALDAZABAL. As we say, the two defenders have had to suspend.

On the one hand, the Hendaiarra Txabi Inza has been dragging health problems for a long time, and on medical advice he is going to put the summer season aside for the moment. We wish Inza the best. The first thing is health. He will be replaced by Philippe Etcheverry. Last year Inza had his best season, winning both the Biarritz Golden Glove and the San Juan de Luz International Grand Slam, on both occasions accompanied by Iñaki Osa Goikoetxea.

As for Ibon Aldazabal, the Berriatua defender has once again felt discomfort in his elbow. In the last rehearsal he has suffered a relapse, and he will not be able to jump to the court tonight with Aritz Erkiaga. The substitute is Julien Ihitsague, a strong player who has played the Fronton Mexico season in recent years.
Therefore, semifinals of the Master 1 today at the Campos Berri de Donibane-Lohitzune (9:00 p.m., Canal Plus):
PATXI TAMBOURINDEGUY-MAYA vs OLHARAN-LOPEZ
GOIKOETXEA-ETCHEVERRY vs ERKIAGA-IHITSAGUE
The final will be played next Tuesday.

JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK FINAL MATCH ARTICLE

Final of the Master 1 of the Internationaux last night at the Campos Berri lohitzun and a clear victory for Jean Olharan -who turns 31 today- and Imanol López. The Zumaiarra dominated Julien Ihitsague at all times and Aritz Erkiaga risked forward. It was not right, especially in the early part of the game, but it was surely the only way to do something in that final. Olharan and López played a serious match and are already strong candidates for the season-ending Grand Slam. Seeing that all the games of the Masters score, finishing second is not a bad result for Erkiaga who has not been able to play with his starting defender, Ibon Aldazabal.

JAI ALAI Y MAS FINAL MATCH ARTICLE (BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES)

In Saint Jean de Luz, France
THE TITLE FOR "EL DUENDE" AND "EL CHAMPIONÍSIMO"

Practically "without disheveled", Olharán and López took the title within the Internationals of San Juan de Luz, France, after beating the blue "Artist" Erkiaga and Ihitsague in the grand final, with partials of 15-8 and 15- 9.

The best on the court, without fear of being wrong, was "El Duende" Olharán who, to begin with, served very low, crossing and with speed, which caused Erkiaga to have very little chance of "subtracting" the serve. He also made three or four colorful plays and showed his joy on the court.

"El Campeonísimo" was good, but he simply gave 3 or four "sticks in hand" that he will surely never give again in his life.

"El Artista" failed like never before and only showed glimpses of his undeniable quality, while Ihitsague suffered many problems with his basket, especially in the second set.

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1. Series Internationaux Cesta Punta 2020 (Play in Tournament) (July 16, 21)

The Teams:

Xabier-Barandika----Benoit Maya
Jon Tambourindeguy----Pierre Etcheverry
Andoni Laloo----Yann Millat
Ludovic Laduche----Julien Ihitsague

July 21

FINAL

Barandika-Maya 2
J. Tambourindeguy-Etcheverry 0
(15-9, 15-7) (30-16)

Xabier Barandika (Front-Avant) and Benoit Maya (Back-Arriere) are added to the roster for the Master Tournaments.

FULL MATCH VIDEO (Link below is to the wrong match video)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE)

MATCH COMMENTARY-Jai Alai y Mas Facebook via Jai Alai News Facebook, by Fernando Sierra Felgueres (Felgueres provided excellent commentary for last year's (2019) Fronton Mexico Tournaments.) (Castilian). The Commentary is Google translated into English below for those who don't have Facebook or don't wish to use it for this purpose. It can be found under the Standings at the bottom of  the Play In Tournament information.

Selected linescores: (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 4-4; 12-6; 15-9

Set 2: 9-3; 9-5; 14-6; 15-7

Selected scoring:

Set 1:

Barandika +4(including 1 service ace) -2 Maya +0 -4
J. Tambourindeguy +2 -5 Etcheverry +0 -5

Balls in Play: Barandika 51 (26%); Maya 48 (24%) J. Tambourindeguy 43 (21%); Etcheverry 54 (27%)

No cumulative scoring or balls in play data available.

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July 16

Second Semi-Final

Barandika-Maya 2 
Laloo-Millat 1
(15-7, 13-15, 5-3) (33-25)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 14-4; 14-6; 15-6

Set 2: 3-5; 3-7; 5-7; 5-9; 6-10; 6-12; 8-13; 13-13; 13-15

Tie Breaker: 1-1; 2-2; 3-3; 5-3

Selected Scoring:

Set 1:

Barandika +1 -1 Maya +1 -3
Laloo +0 -8 Millat +0 -4

Cumulative: Sets 1+2
Barandika +4 -6 Maya +1 -6
Laloo +3 -11 Millat +0 -8

2nd Set only

Balls in Play: Barandika 46 (21%); Maya 58 (27%); Laloo 56 (26%); Millat 51 (24%)

Canal + scoring for the first two sets added to 39 points. Actual scoring added to 50.

Cumulative Sets 1-3

Maya +1 -7 (no other cumulative scoring or balls in play data available)

First Semi-Final

J. Tambourindeguy-Etcheverry 2 
Laduche-Ihitsague 1
(15-9, 14-15, 5-2) (34-26)

SCORE, MATCH COMMENTARY (FRENCH--USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE), AND LINK TO FULL MATCH VIDEO

Selected linescores (match winners always listed first)

Set 1: 14-8; 14-9; 15-9

Set 2: 3-1; 9-10; 10-11; 11-12; 12-14; 14-14; 14-15

Tie Breaker: 2-2; 5-2

Selected Scoring:

Set 1

J. Tambourindeguy +4 (including 1 service ace) -0 Etcheverry +0 -4
Laduche +2 -4 Ihitsague +2 -5 

Balls in play: J. Tambourindeguy 46 (25%); Etcheverry 47 (25%); Laduche 48 (26%); Ihitsague 42 (22%)  Note: % does not add to 100

 Cumulative scoring for Set 1+2 with BIP for Set 2)
J. Tambourindeguy +9 (including 1 service ace) -0; Etcheverry +0 -10
Laduche +5 -6; Ihitsague +4 -7 

Balls in Play: J. Tambourindeguy 53 (25%); Etcheverry 51 (24%); Laduche 56 (26%) Ihitsague 48 (23%)

Canal +  Scoring for the 1st two sets added to 41 points; actual scoring added to 53.

No Scoring available for Tie Breaker

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Cumulative Cesta Punta Pro Tour Standings as of July 21

Key: Player; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses (Tie breaker considered as 1/3 of a win or loss); Tournaments Won

Tournaments S=Series Internationaux Cesta Punta--Play in Tournament

Fronts (Avants)

Barandika...........2-0...3.3--1..1(S)
J. Tambourindeguy...1-1...1.3--3
Laduche.............0-1...1--1.3
Laloo...............0-1...1--1.3

Backs (Arrieres)

Maya...............2-0....3.3--1..1(S)
Etcheverry.........1-1....1.3--3
Ihitsague..........0-1....1--1.3 
Millat.............0-1....1--1.3

FINAL MATCH COMMENTARY--JAI ALAI Y MAS FACEBOOK VIA JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK--BY FERNANDO SIERRA FELGUERES

BARANDIKA WAS A LOT OF PIECE!
By Fernando Sierra Felgueres
The final was played in the beautiful fronton of Saint Jean de Luz, France and the victory was for the blue Barandika and Maya over the red Tambour and Etxeverry with partials of 15-9 and 15-7.

Barandika was very master of the situation at all times and although he did not need to show off with spectacular plays, he made it clear that he is a player "of another level".

His defender, Maya, came "from less to more" and ended up offering a very good match.

As for the Reds, we have to say that in the two sets the disadvantages they had did not allow them to settle in the match, they put a lot of pressure on each other and were easy prey for some rivals who dominated them from start to finish. We liked Etxeverry, a defender who "no longer cooks at the first boil", but he has a nice backhand and we think he should use his forehand a lot more.
We had already commented that you had to be careful with "the healthy distance" and the "mouth covers" and ...

Unfortunately an image says more than a thousand words, especially in the case of the "mouth covers", and despite the fact that as of yesterday, in this countrry it was mandatory to use it in any closed stage, we saw that it was not like that.
Hopefully this is resolved quickly, for the sake of Jai Alai, of this wonderful setting, but above all for the sake of everyone.