This tournament was the 1st of 2020 and was a seeded ladder tournament with the top 6 players from the 2019 Summer Singles Tournament. It was played in 5 rounds beginning January 23 and ending with a final on February 8, 2020. With the exception of one match, all were "Star Matches" (the 2nd match of a 4 match program). Note that Group identifications refer to the two Oriamendi2010 groups the players belong to. These Groups are loosely based on talent and experience level.
Oriamendi Player Roster
Oriemendi Tournamament announcement: Note that due to an injury, Ezkurra II (Group B delantero--front) was replaced by Goikoetxea V (Group B delantero--front).
The calendar:
Quarter-finals
January 23: (Star Match): Ansa II (B-D-Delantero--front) v Azpiroz (B-Z-Zaguero--back)
January 25: (Star Match): Goikoetxea V (B-D) v Endika (A-Z)
Semi-finals:
February 1: (Star Match): Barrenetxea IV (A-Z) (seeded in) v winner of January 23 Quarter Final
February 1: (Match 3): Urriza (A-D (seeded in) v winner of the January 25 Quarter Final
FINAL
February 8 (Star Match)
Note: as with all complete tournament blog posts, to follow chronologically, read from the bottom up.
The summary section at the beginning of the post gives you a quick thumbnail with links to full match videos of the 2 semi-finals and final.
The main part of the post is a match by match breakdown of the Tournament (match articles, scoring, statistics, analysis, and links to full match videos. There is also a MY ARTICLE link to complete point by point scoring of the final.
At the bottom of the post is an individual "leader board" which recaps each players's known cumulative statistics, along with a summary of cumulative known match statistics for the entire Tournament. Below that is a history of the tournament, from its beginning in 2010 to 2019. Included are links to scores, match articles, blog posts, and selected full and partial match videos, along with how many tournaments each player has won.
I am experimenting with counting "saves," a variable that perhaps gives a bit of insight into the defensive side of BP sports. I define a save as an excellent play that keeps the point alive. It is, obviously, a subjective judgment, and yours may be different from mine. Saves specific to this modality are left wall saves (due to the nature of the implement), rebote (rebound off the back wall) saves, and apron saves near or on the netting. As a subjective experiment in judgment, I hope to get those with much more knowledge than I interested in keeping the statistic. A save is like art. It may be difficult to define, but one "knows it when one sees it." I will also provide the number of saves as a percentage of the total balls in play.
+++++
Complete listing of all scores (Source: Oriamendi2010 results database).
A. Final Tournament Summary:
Quarter Finals
January 23: Ansa II (B-D) 30 Azpiroz (B-Z) 24 (D 1-0; Z 0-1)
January 25: Endika (A-Z) 30 Goikoetxea V 14 (B-D) (A 1-0; B 0-1) (D 1-1; Z 1-1)
Semi-Finals:
February 1:
Barrenetxea IV (seeded in) (A-Z) 30 Ansa II (B-D) 25
(A 2-0; B 0-2) (Z 2-1; D 1-2)
Urriza (seeded in) (A-D) 30 Endika (A-Z) 28
(Z 2-2; D 2-2)
FULL MATCH VIDEOS, FOR BOTH MATCHES IN THE ORDER ABOVE (EITB)
FINAL
February 8
Barrenetxea IV (A-Z) 30 Urriza (A-D) 29
(Z 3-2; D 2-3)
FULL MATCH VIDEO (EITB)
Barrenetxea IV 2-0 60-54 (TXAPELDUN)
Urriza 1-1 59-58 (Sub-Campion)
Endika 1-1 58-44
Ansa II 1-1 55-54
Azpiroz 0-1 24-30
Goikoetxea V 0-1 14-30
==========
B. Match by Match coverage
FINAL
February 8, 2020
Urriza (A-D) 29 (Z 3-2; D 2-3)
(EITB: match begins at 0:00)
MY ARTICLE: A complete map of this match, point by point, including the result of the point, winners (+), errors (-), and saves.
Best points (times given are the times on the EITB video)
Point 12: 6-5--7-5 (17:21--17:53): 11 balls in play, Barrenetxea IV makes a great save and immediately returns a 2 wall winner
Point 15: 9-5--9-6 (20:37--21:33): 14 balls in play, 5 saves, the final one by Urriza, who returns a left wall shot for a winner
Point 22: 13-8--14-8 (28:55--29:19): 9 balls in play, 5 saves, Barrenetxea IV wins the point with a left wall shot
Point 28: 16-11--16-12 (36:39--36:55): 5 balls in play, One of the first of a number of tremendous apron saves in this match, Barrenetxea IV makes a diving apron save, but Urriza wins the point with a two wall shot
Point 35: 19-15--20-15 (42:54--43:19): 7 balls in play, Barrenetxea IV has 2 saves, including a rebote save. He wins the point with a 2 wall shot
Points 48-49: 25-22--25-23--25-24 (58:28--60:38): 13 and 3 balls in play:
Pt. 48--6 saves, 3 by each player, including an apron save by Barrenetxea IV and a rebote save by Urriza. Urriza wins the point with a dejada.
Pt. 49--Urriza makes a terrific apron save and then immediately wins the point with a 2 wall winner.
POINTS 58-59: 29--28; 29--29; 30--39 (72:57--77:11): 15 and 4 balls in play, the two best points of the match:
Pt. 58: 8 saves, 5 by Barrenetxea IV, including 2 apron and 1 rebote save; 3 by Urriza including a rebote save, Urriza wins the point with a dejada
Pt. 59: 3 saves, including a diving underhand Barrenetxea IV save that passes Urriza for the win. Urriza, in frustration, "heads" the pelota on the 2nd bounce after it comes off the back wall.
(EITB: match begins at 0:00)
MY ARTICLE: A complete map of this match, point by point, including the result of the point, winners (+), errors (-), and saves.
Botilleros (coach-councilor):
Barrenetxea IV: Andoni Saldias (Diario Vasco)
Urriza: Seve Arzelus (scroll to Remonte, Arzelus is discussed in the last paragraph of the Remonte update).
Best points (times given are the times on the EITB video)
Point 12: 6-5--7-5 (17:21--17:53): 11 balls in play, Barrenetxea IV makes a great save and immediately returns a 2 wall winner
Point 15: 9-5--9-6 (20:37--21:33): 14 balls in play, 5 saves, the final one by Urriza, who returns a left wall shot for a winner
Point 22: 13-8--14-8 (28:55--29:19): 9 balls in play, 5 saves, Barrenetxea IV wins the point with a left wall shot
Point 28: 16-11--16-12 (36:39--36:55): 5 balls in play, One of the first of a number of tremendous apron saves in this match, Barrenetxea IV makes a diving apron save, but Urriza wins the point with a two wall shot
Point 35: 19-15--20-15 (42:54--43:19): 7 balls in play, Barrenetxea IV has 2 saves, including a rebote save. He wins the point with a 2 wall shot
Points 48-49: 25-22--25-23--25-24 (58:28--60:38): 13 and 3 balls in play:
Pt. 48--6 saves, 3 by each player, including an apron save by Barrenetxea IV and a rebote save by Urriza. Urriza wins the point with a dejada.
Pt. 49--Urriza makes a terrific apron save and then immediately wins the point with a 2 wall winner.
POINTS 58-59: 29--28; 29--29; 30--39 (72:57--77:11): 15 and 4 balls in play, the two best points of the match:
Pt. 58: 8 saves, 5 by Barrenetxea IV, including 2 apron and 1 rebote save; 3 by Urriza including a rebote save, Urriza wins the point with a dejada
Pt. 59: 3 saves, including a diving underhand Barrenetxea IV save that passes Urriza for the win. Urriza, in frustration, "heads" the pelota on the 2nd bounce after it comes off the back wall.
Condensed linescore (winner always listed 1st)
0-2; 1-2; 1-3; 3-3; 3-4; 4-4; 4-5; 9-5; 9-6; 11-6; 11-7; 12-7; 12-8; 15-8
15-10; 16-10; 16-12; 17-12; 17-15; 20-15; 20-17; 25-17; 25-25; 26-25; 26-26; 29-26; 29-29; 30-29
15-10; 16-10; 16-12; 17-12; 17-15; 20-15; 20-17; 25-17; 25-25; 26-25; 26-26; 29-26; 29-29; 30-29
6 equal scores, 1 lead change
Scoring (my scoring, as I could find no scoring from any other source). My judgments, yours may be different.
Barrenetxea IV +26(including 8 service aces) -5(including 2 service faults)
Urriza +24(7a) -4(1f)
Pasas: (1st serve over serves, server gets a second opportunity)
Barrenetxea IV 7(including 1 fault and 1 ace); Urriza 5(0 faults)
Total scoring for the match: +50 (.847) -9 (.153)
Balls in play: 231
Barrenetxea IV 116(?); Urriza 115(?)
Non error % .961
Saves: 85
Barrenetxea IV 44(including 7 rebotes); Urriza 41(7r)
Save % (saves/bip): .368
Time of the match: 71:23
Average balls per point: 3.92
Average time per point: 1:18
Match article
Feature article on Endika Barrenetxea (Mundo Deportivo)
Barrenetxea IV +26(including 8 service aces) -5(including 2 service faults)
Urriza +24(7a) -4(1f)
Pasas: (1st serve over serves, server gets a second opportunity)
Barrenetxea IV 7(including 1 fault and 1 ace); Urriza 5(0 faults)
Total scoring for the match: +50 (.847) -9 (.153)
Balls in play: 231
Barrenetxea IV 116(?); Urriza 115(?)
Non error % .961
Saves: 85
Barrenetxea IV 44(including 7 rebotes); Urriza 41(7r)
Save % (saves/bip): .368
Time of the match: 71:23
Average balls per point: 3.92
Average time per point: 1:18
Match article
Feature article on Endika Barrenetxea (Mundo Deportivo)
Just as in last week's semi-final, Urriza was forced to make a comeback late in the match. In last week's match, he came back against Endika from 15-5, 17-7, and 25-19 deficits. In this match the deficits were 9-5, 15-8, and 25-17. And just like last week's match, he roared back to tie at 25, and 26 (last week it was 26 and 27). But this time he couldn't get "over the hump, with Barrenetxea IV winning 3 consecutive crucial points with dejada, two wall, and left wall winners (65:45--68:11 on the video). A left pass and left wall winner by Urriza cut the deficit to 1. Then came the last two points, one long (15 balls), one short (4) (72:57--77:11 on the video). The first was the best point of the match, with 8 saves, 5 by Barrentxea IV (3 in succession--2 crashing into the netting sandwiched around a rebote) and 3 saves (1 rebote) by Urriza. Urriza won the point with a perfectly placed dejada, just out of the reach of a sliding Barrenetxea IV, who lay on the ground in frustration (and exhaustion) for a long time. With this buildup, the final point was over in the blink of an eye. But the 4 balls included 3 saves and finished with another Urriza dejada that had just a bit too much on it, allowing Barrenetxea IV, barreling in again, to reach it as he was diving, and put enough on the underhand shot to pass his opponent. Urriza realized that Barrenetxea IV was going to get there and was running back before the winning shot was hit. But it was a perfect pass to the outside that Urriza could do nothing more than head like an association footballer, on the 2nd bounce off the back wall.
The fans seemed as exhausted as the players when it ended, and gave both a standing ovation. They knew they had just witnessed the best this modality has to offer. And if there is one Remonte match you want to see, this is definitely it.
+++++
Semi-Finals
February 1
Choosing of "material" for the matches
The article is interesting in that it hints at what each player is looking for in the pelotas that he chooses. Pelotas were between 127 (4.48 ounces) and 130 grams (4.59 ounces).
Match previews
1st Semi-Final (Star Match)
Barrenetxea IV (A-Z) 30
Ansa II (B-D) 25 (A 2-0; B 0-2) (Z 2-2; D 2-2)
(EITB: match begins at 0:00)
Botilleros (coach-councilor):
Barrenetxea IV: Andoni Saldias (Diario Vasco)
Ansa II: Patxi Zeberio (Oriamendi2010) Zeberio II (still an active member of the Oriamendi2010 roster) began his professional Remonte career (1995) 5 months and 6 days before Ansa II was born.
Condensed linescore (winner always listed 1st)
0-2; 1-2; 3-2; 3-5; 5-5; 5-6; 6-6; 6-7; 7-7; 7-8; 8-8; 8-10; 11-10; 11-11; 17-11; 17-12; 19-12; 19-13; 20-13; 20-14; 22-14; 22-16; 23-16; 23-17; 25-17; 25-18; 27-18; 27-25; 30-25
8 equal scores, 3 lead changes
Scoring:
EITB:
Barrenetxea IV +20(including 10 service aces, 6 deep passes); -6(including 2 service faults)
Ansa II +19(6a, 4 two walls, 3dp) -10(5f)
Pasas (1st serve over serves, server gets a second opportunity)
Barrenetxea 5 (of these he had 1 fault); Ansa II 10 (of these he had 3 faults)
Total scoring for the match: +39 (.709) -16 (.291)
Oriamendi2010:
Barrenetxea IV +24(including 10 service aces) -4(including 2 service faults)
Ansa II +21(5a) -6(5f)
Total scoring for the match: +45 (.818) -10 (.182)
Balls in Play (my count): 138
Barrenetxea IV 72(?); Ansa II 66(?)
Non-error %: .928
Saves: 40
Barrenetxea IV 19; Ansa II 21(including 2 rebote saves)
Save % (saves/bip): ,290
+++++
2nd Semi-final (Match 3)
Urriza (A-D) 30
Endika (A-Z) 28 (D 2-1; Z 1-2)
(EITB: match begins at 59:04)
Urriza: Seve Arzelus (from my archived 2016 weekly reports. Scroll to Remonte, Arzelus is discussed in the last paragraph of the Remonte update.
Endika: Aritz Zubiri (Oriamendi2010)
Best points: (times given are the times on the EITB video
Point 11: 3-7--4-7: (1:11:12--1:11:49), 11 balls in play: Urriza 5 saves, Endika 3, including one left wall backhand save.
Point 29: 11-17--12-17: (1:30:13--1:30:39), 9 balls in play: Endika 4 saves, including a falling rebote save.
Point 36: 15-20--16-20: (1:39:20--1:40:08), 20 balls in play: Urriza 4 saves, Endika 1 save, an overhead scoop.
Point 45: 19-25--20-25: (1:51:15--1:53), 12 balls in play: 7 saves, 5 by Endika, but Urriza wins the point
Point 52: 25-26--26-26: (2:00:59--2:01:25), 7 balls in play. Urriza converts a fantastic save, one which he races to the apron and climbs into the netting for, into an immediate winner. An amazing, clutch play, given the context.
POINTS 55-58: 27-27--30-28 (2:05:07--2:08:23). Final 4 points of the match, 3 brilliant winners by Urriza (dejada, service ace, deep pass) and 1 by Endika (saves the serve pinned against the left wall and returns a 2 wall winner). What a finish.
Condensed linescore: (winner always listed 1st)
0-2; 1-2; 1-3; 2-3; 2-7; 4-7; 4-13; 5-13; 5-15; 7-15; 7-17; 12-17; 12-18; 15-18; 15-20; 16-20; 16-23; 18-23; 18-24; 19-24; 19-25; 24-25; 24-26; 27-26; 27-27; 29-27; 29-28; 30-28
2 equal scores, 1 lead change
Scoring (EITB):
Urriza +23(including 5 service aces, 7 two walls, 2 dejadas, and 5 deep passes) -9
Endika +19 (4a, 5 two walls, 2 dejadas, and 4 deep passes) -7
Pasas: (1st serve over serves, server gets a second opportunity)
Urriza 2 (0 faults)
Endika 2 (1 fault)
Total scoring for the match: +42 (.724) -16 (.276)
Balls in play: 236
Urriza 119 (97 on the bounce, 22 in the air)
Endika 117 (80 on the bounce, 37 in the air)
Non error %: .932
Saves: 70
Urriza 26; Endika 44
Save %: (saves/bip) .297
Time: 67:23
Average balls per point: 4.07
Average time per point: 1:10
Scoring: (Oriamendi2010)
Urriza +28(including 5 service aces) -4
Endika +24(including 3 service aces) -2
Total scoring for the match: +52 (.897) -6 (.103)
Match article for both matches
Match article for both matches (Noticias de Navarra)
At the end of the day, it was determined that the winners will replay the Torneo Kutxabank Final held in September of 2019. But they had to survive terrific challenges to get there. Both matches were excellent, judging by the match statistics. In total the two matches yielded 97 winners and only 16 errors (Oriamendi2010 scoring (.858 winners). According to EITB it was +81 (.717) -32 (.283).
Barrenetxea IV picked mostly heavy pelotas (see above) to make his serve as lethal as possible. 1/3 of his points came via the service ace. He also tried to keep Ansa II back as much as possible (as shown by his 6 deep pass winners). But Ansa II played an excellent all around match. He held his own in the in-play scoring. Not surprisingly, the forward (who does not normally serve) had difficulty with his service game, fatally faulting 5 times, which was much of the difference in the match. At 10-10 it was anyone's match. But the experienced Barrentxea IV went on a 12-3 run, and though Ansa II fought back with a 12-8 run of his own, it was not enough.
The 2nd match was one of those "matches for the ages." Endika roared out to two 10 point leads (5-15; 7-17) and surely a place in the final. But there is a reason that Urriza is the best player in the world. He dug deep and clawed his way back into the match with a 19-9 run to finally equalize at 26. For the 38 year old delantero, this expenditure of energy may have been too much, especially when his opponent was 9 years his junior and a server by trade. But that is not what happened, as the last points of the linescore show. What a finish. After the score was tied at 27, Urriza got his last 3 points with a dejada, service ace, and a deep pass. Endika got his with a great save off the serve that he converted into a two wall winner.
Both players were "on their game", used all their weapons, and showed the fans just how well this modality can be played at this level.
And so Urriza and Barrrenetxea IV meet in a "rematch final" in the Star Match on February 8. If this match is anything like that one was, fans should be in for a great treat.
January 25
2nd Quarter-final
Match preview
Endika (A-Z) 30
Goikoetxea V (B-D) 14 (Z 1-1; D 1-1) (A 1-0; B 0-1)
Selected linescore (winner always listed 1st)
6-6; 13-9; 20-12; 30-14
No match scoring was available.
Match article
After a slow start, Endika finished with a 17-5 run to win easily. He will face Urriza in the 2nd Semi-Final on February 1.
January 23
1st Quarter-final
Ansa II (B-D) 30
Azpiroz (B-Z) 24 (D 1-0; Z 0-1)
Selected linescore: (winner always listed 1st)
9-4; 13-7; 16-10; 18-17; 20-20; 28-21; 30-24
Scoring:
Ansa II +25(including 6 service aces) -8*(including 4 service faults)
Azpiroz +16(4a) -5* (4f)
*=inferred from the other scores (service faults were available in the match article but not total errors, so far as I could decipher.
Total scoring for the match: +41 (.759) -13 (.241)
Match article
Ansa II built a big early lead with a 9-4 opening run, but then a 10-4 reply by Azpiroz equalized the match at 20. Ansa II answered that with a 7-1 run to win. He will face Barrenetxea IV in one of the semi-finals.
Full coverage of this Tournament, in the context of the Thursday and Saturday 4 match programs at Galarreta (including players' ongoing win-loss records) is available on the Oriamendi2010 recurring results page on the left side of the blog.
==========
C. Leader Board and final overall Tournament statistics:
Source is Oriamendi2010 whenever possible for consistency of scoring. Source for the Final and certain variables in the Barrenetxea IV v Ansa II semi-final: my own scoring (see below).
Leader Board:
Key: Player; Group-Position; wins-losses; +=winners; -=errors; a=service aces; s=saves
5 total matches
Barrenetxea IV (A-Z) 2-0; +50 -9; 18a; 63s
Urriza (A-D) 1-1; +52 -8; 12a; 62s
Ansa II (B-D) 1-1; +54 -18; 12a; 21s (s=1match)
Endika* (A-Z 1-1; +19 -7; 4a 44s (s=1m)
Azpiroz (B-Z) 0-1 +16 -5 4a
Goikoetxea V (B-D) 0-1 No scoring available
*Scoring available for 1 match only
Final Tournament statistics:
Total Scoring for 4 matches: +188 (.832) -38 (.168)
Average match total score: +47 (.839) -9 (.161)
Balls in play for 3 matches: 605*
Average balls in play: 202
*Ball counts for Barrenetxea IV-Ansa II Semi-final and the Final are my counts, as EITB did not provide counts for either match.
Non-Error % .937
Saves (3 matches): 195
Average saves per match: 65
Save % (saves/BIP): .322
Average number of balls per point for 3 matches: 3.52
==========
D. Previous winners:
II 2011-12: Ezkurra 30 Irrutia I 28 (video highlights--Gallareta) (match article--Oriamendi2010) (all match scores)
III 2012-13: Urriza 30 San Miguel 18 (video highlights--Gallareta) (match article--Oriamendi2010) (all match scores)
IV 2013-14: Urriza 30, San Miguel 28 (match article--elremonte blog)
All match scores: Tournament was named "Torneo Navidad".
A. 2013 (see December 28, 2013 entry)
B. 2014 (see January 11, 18, 2014 entries)
V 2014-15: Uterga 30 Endika 24 (match article--Oriamendi2010) (all match scores)
VI 2015-16: Uterga 30 Urriza 27 (full match video--EITB) (match article--Oriamendi2010)
VII 2016-17: Urriza 30 Endika 24 (full BLOG coverage of semi's and finals including match articles and full match video of final (EITB) Full coverage is also available via the Remonte "Galaretta Star Matches" recurring results archive page on the right side of the blog (December 31, 2016, January 5, 2017, and January 7, 2017 entries.).
VIII: 2018: Urriza 30 Barrenetxea IV 19 (full match video--EITB) (match article--Oriamendi2010) (all match scores)
IX: 2019: Urriza 30 Uterga 25 (full match video--EITB) (match article--Oriamendi2010) 4 Match photos (Orimandi2010 Twitter feed) Full coverage also at Remonte Galaretta archive "Star Matches" page on the right side of the blog (scroll to double bars between January 10-26, 2019). Also see the BLOG POST that covers the entire tournament
Urriza has won the most championships 5, Uterga and Ezkurra 2. San Miguel has lost 3 and Endika has lost 2.
For complete coverage of ongoing Oriamendi2010 Thursday and Saturday 4 match progams (2nd match is the "Star Match"), see the Oriamendi2010 Galarreta "Star Match" page, on the left side of the blog.
