JAI ALAI/CESTA PUNTA--FRONTON MEXICO TOURNEO BETWAY 2022--MAY 19-26, 2022

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2022 International Tournaments

Hegoalde (South Basque Country-AKA Spain)

Jai Alai Winter Series--Gernika--January 19-March 20, 2022 (9 Full Match Videos)

Jai Alai World Tour

Donostia (San Sebastian) Grand Slam (May 14-June 11, 2022) (4 Full Match Videos)

Markina-Xemien Grand Slam (June 12-July 16, 2022)

Gernika (July 24-August 16) 

Jai Alive 2.0

Hondarribia (July 22-October 8)

Lekeito (August 21, 27)

+++++++

Iparralde (North Basque Country--AKA France)

Cesta Punta Pro Tour

Cesta All Star Donibane Lohizune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) (April 19-28, 2022) (9 Full Match Videos) 

Cesta Punta Summer League (Biarritz, Pau) (May 6-June 17, 2022) (6 Full Match Videos)

Grand Slam, Espoir (Group B)  (June 22-August 25)

Donibane Lohizune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) Grand Slam (Group A) (July 5-August 25) (4 Master and 1 SLAM) (15 Full Match Videos)

Gant d'Or (Biarritz) (July 6-August 24) (4 Master and 1 SLAM)

Pau Cup (July 15-September 2 (2 Master and 1 SLAM)

Grand Chistera (Biarritz) (July 8-August 25, every Tuesday--Outdoor Cesta Punta--3 player teams, 75 meter court, no helmets)

+++++++

Fronton Mexico (Mexico City)

Tourneo Betway (May 19-26) (14 Full Match Videos)

+++++++

Dania Jai Alai (Dania Beach Florida)

Battle at the Palace (April 1-10) 14 Full Match Videos)

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Fronton Mexico, Mexico City (1--Frontons.net)(2--City--Wikipedia returned to live Jai Alai with Torneou Betway, May 19-26, 2022. It was a tournament of 8 teams, organized into two groups of 4. It opened with a Round Robin in each group. The top two teams played in the Final on May 26. The two second place teams played for 3rd place.

All Matches were 30 point partidos. 

Point System: Win= 1 point. Loss= 0 points. Ties were broken by: A) Point Differential, and B) if there was still at tie, it was broken by a partido match to 5 points.

Complete rules of the Tournament (Spanish), a complete schedule, and player pages are available at the Main Tournament Page

This blog will be organized as has been the case for all recent Partido Tournaments in the Basque Country, i.e. a Non-Spoiler section with links to full match videos that were provided by Fronton Mexico Youtube There were two matches each day. They were not available live but are available on demand. 

The Players:

GROUP A:

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ 

CHRISTOPHE OLHA--GUILLEN OYHENARD

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE

DANIEL INCLAN--JEROME PORTET

GROUP B:

*JUAN ELIZALDE HAS BEEN REPLACED BY MAURICIO ZAPATA AFTER THE FIRST MATCH DUE TO A CALF INJURY   

News article: (Fronton Mexico) (Spanish)

JON ZULAIKA--JUAN ELIZALDE* (MAURICIO ZAPATA)

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA

DAVID ITURBIDE--RUBEN BAILO

AARON GONZALEZ--TXABI INZA

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NON-SPOILER:

NOTE: WHILE THERE IS SOUND FOR THESE VIDEOS, THERE IS NO COMMENTARY

FULL MATCH VIDEOS FOR THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT ARE AVAILABLE VIA FRONTON MEXICO YOUTUBE PLAYLIST. THERE IS CONFUSION IN THE MATCH ORDER AND PLAYERS ARE NOT LISTED IN THE MATCH TITLES, SO GOOD LUCK IN TRYING TO MATCH UP THE MATCHES AS LABELED AND THE ACTUAL ORDER OF THE MATCHES IN THE TOURNAMENT.  IN ORDER TO MATCH THE TEAMS TO THE MATCHES, USE THE MAIN TOURNAMENT PAGE AND SCROLL TO "CALENDARIO"  1ST, 3RD, AND 5TH DAYS WERE GROUP A MATCHES, WHILE THE 2ND, 4TH AND 6TH WERE GROUP B MATCHES. THE 3RD PLACE AND FINAL MATCHES WERE HELD ON THE 7TH DAY. 

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SPOILERS--SCORES, RECORDS, STANDINGS, SELECTED MATCH ARTICLES

Notable: 

Group B winners Ludovic Laduche and debutant Ion Ibarluzea capped a perfect 4-0 Tournament with a 30-21 win in the Championship match, attended by around 1,700, over  Group A winners Jon Tambourindeguy and Jose Perez, but they reached the final by winning the most exciting match of the Tournament, a final League elimination match against David Iturbide and Ruben Bailo. I-B were in control of the match for much of its duration, and were ahead 29-26, needing only one more point to advance to the Final. That point never came, as L-I closed by winning the last 4 points. After that, the final was almost an anticlimax. In total, three of the league matches ended 30-29, and two more ended 30-26.  

Ibarluzea's quality of play was noted in the print accounts of the Tournament, especially as it was his first as a professional.

Group A Jokin Arbe and Theo Laborde also played very well, missing out on their chance at a berth in the finals due to a 30-29 loss to eventual Group winners J.Tambourindeguy--Perez in a League match on May 21. 

Interestingly, the runners up in both Groups were the most dominant teams in the Tournament in terms of net points, A-L winning their Group by 8 points, I-B winning theirs by 13. Unfortunately, both teams found themselves on the wrong end of the two points that counted the most. 

Official Results: 

MAY 25

DAY 7

3RD PLACE MATCH

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE 30

DAVID ITURBIDE-RUBEN BAILO 22

FULL MATCH VIDEO: (FULL MATCH VIDEO)

FINAL:

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA 30

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ 21

FULL MATCH VIDEO (FULL MATCH VIDEO)

Final Match article (Hitza) (Basque)

Final Match article (Milenio) (Spanish) (Monterrey, Mexico)

Jai Alai News Facebook article (Spanish) (For Deepl.com English Translation see below, the match links)

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FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS 

GROUP A:

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ (3-0, 3 PTS, +11)

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE (2-1, 2 PTS, +19)

CHRISTOPHE OLHA--GUILLEN OYHENARD (1-2, 1 PT, -8)

DANIEL INCLAN--JEROME PORTET (0-3, 0 PTS -22)

GROUP B:

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA (3-0, 3 PTS, +15)

DAVID ITURBIDE--RUBEN BAILO (2-1, 2 PTS, +28)

AARON GONZALEZ--TXABI INZA (1-2, 1 PT, -12)

JON ZULAIKA--JUAN ELIZALDE/MAURICIO ZAPATA (0-3, 0 PTS, -31)

++++++++++

MAY 24

GROUP B:

MATCH 11:

AARON GONZALEZ--TXABI INZA 30 (1-2, 1 PT, -12)

JON ZULAIKA--MAURICIO ZAPATA 23 (0-3, 0 PTS, -31) 

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with player introductions).

MATCH 12: 

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA 30 (3-0, 3 PTS, +15)

DAVID ITURBIDE--RUBEN BAILO 29 (2-1, +2 PTS, +28)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with player introductions).

MATCH ARTICLE FOR BOTH MATCHES (JAI ALAI Y MAS FACEBOOK) (For Deepl.com English Translation see below, the match links)

LADUCHE-IBARLUZEA WIN GROUP B

ITURBIDE-BAILO FINISH 2ND

++++++++++

MAY 23:

GROUP A:

MATCH 9: 

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ 30 (3-0, 3 PTS, +11)

DANIEL INCLAN--JEROME PORTET 24 (0-3, 0 PTS -22)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with the player introductions)

J. TAMBOURINDEGUY-PEREZ WIN GROUP A

ARBE-LABORDE FINISH 2ND

MATCH 10:

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE 30 (2-1, 2 PTS, +19)

CHRISTOPHE OLHA--GUILLEN OYHENARD 25 (1-2, 1 PT, -8)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with the player introductions)

++++++++++

MAY 22

GROUP B:

MATCH 7:

DAVID ITURBIDE--RUBEN BAILO 30 (2-0, 2 PTS, +29)

JON ZULAIKA--MAURICIO ZAPATA 16 (0-2, 0 PTS -24) 

FULL MATCH VIDEO 

ZULAIKA-ELIZALDE/ZAPATA ARE ELIMINATED

MATCH 8

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA 30 (2-0, 2 PTS, +14)

AARON GONZALEZ--TXABI INZA 26 (0-2, 0 PTS, -19)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with the player introductions)

GONZALEZ-INZA ARE ELIMINATED

++++++++++

MAY 21:

GROUP A:

MATCH 5:

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ 30 (2-0, 2 PTS, +5)

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE 29 (1-1, 1 PT, +14)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with player introductions)

MATCH 6:

CHRISTOPHE OLHA--GUILLEN OYHENARD 30 (1-1, 1 PT, -3)

DANIEL INCLAN--JEROME PORTET 29 (0-2, 0 PTS, -16)

FULL MATCH VIDEO 

INCLAN-PORTET ARE ELIMINATED

++++++++++

MAY 20:

GROUP B: 

MATCH 3:

LUDOVIC LADUCHE--ION IBARLUZEA 30 (1-0, 1 PT, +10)

JON ZULAIKA--JUAN ELIZALDE 20 (0-1, 0 PTS, -10)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with player introductions)

MATCH 4: 

DAVID ITURBIDE--RUBEN BAILO 30 (1-0, 1 PT), +15)

AARON GONZALEZ--TXABI INZA 15 (0-1, 0 PTS, -15)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with  player introductions)

++++++++++

MAY 19: 

GROUP A: 

MATCH 1:

JON TAMBOURINDEGUY--JOSE PEREZ 30 (1-0, 1 POINT, +4)

CHRISTOPHE OLHA--GUILLEN OYHENARD 26 (0-1, 0 POINTS -4)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with the player introductions, there is about 22 minutes of video before this. Note: there is no sound until 1:17:07 on the video.

MATCH 2:

JOKIN ARBE--THEO LABORDE 30 (1-0, 1 PT, +15)

DANIEL INCLAN--JEROME PORTET 15 (0-1, 0 PTS -15)

FULL MATCH VIDEO (The link begins with player introductions).

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FINAL MATCH ARTICLE (JAI ALAI NEWS FACEBOOK--TRANSLATED BY DEEPL.COM

LADUCHE-IBARLUZEA, CHAMPIONS IN MEXICO!

Laduche-Ibarluzea 30 Tambourindeguy-Perez 21

The forward from Getaria and the defender from Markina-Xemein have been the deserved champions of the International Tournament played in "el Mexico". In addition to the final, they have won the three group matches corresponding to group B:

Laduche-Ibarluzea 30-20 Zulaika-Elizalde.

Laduche-Ibarluzea 30-26 Aaron-Inza

Laduche-Ibarluzea 30-29 Iturbide-Bailo

Congratulations especially to Ion Ibarluzea, who has participated for the first time in a professional tournament, and has done it in a magnificent venue. 

The historic Fronton Mexico. Debuting in Mexico and playing in front of 1,700 fans shouting and cheering all the time is a real luxury!

In the match for third place, another markinarra, Jokin Arbe, has achieved the victory. Together with the young lohitzun (St. Jean-de-Luz) Theo Laborde, he has won 30-22 against the pair from Navarre, ex Dania, Iturbide-Bailo.

In this new historical cycle, the important tournaments, the repercussion and the social recognition of the pelotari are in the Basque Country. The summer calendar is settled and the winter one, after much work and sacrifice, has come to stay. The international tournaments, even if they are of a lower level, serve as experience for other pelotaris, and keep the fans in those countries.

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MATCH 11-12 MATCH ARTICLES (JAI ALAI Y MAS FACEBOOK--TRANSLATED BY DEEPL.COM

Laduche-Ibarluzea gave a sensational "turn".

THE PALACE VIBRATED AGAIN!

How much emotion was experienced yesterday at the Palacio de la Pelota, during the second and last match of the day and where the pair of Laduche and Ibarluzea gave a spectacular "turn" to the scoreboard to take the victory and place themselves, undefeated, in the final of the Jai Alai 2022 Open to be played this Wednesday at the Fronton Mexico.

It was a very well played match throughout the entire route and where the four pelotaris on the court offered true works of art with spikes that made the audience stand up.

In the first ten, Iturbide and Bailo took a few points of advantage, but as soon as the second ten started, Laduche began to shine more and more, always supported by a defender like Ibarluzea who was also accentuating himself in the immense court of the Palacio de la Pelota and ended up offering a great spectacle.

In the first ten minutes, Iturbide and Bailo seemed to be on their way to a clear victory. After the first half, it seemed a little tighter, but they would take the win. In the last ten, especially after that 29-26 in their favor, it seemed that no one would take away the ticket to the final, but...

Laduche and Ibarluzea, very much in the style of "Chapulin Colorado", as if to say: "They didn't count on my cunning", scored four consecutive goals, all of them charged with great emotion and encouraged by a public that just at that moment began at the top of their lungs with the cry of: "reds", "reds" that made even the most remote corner of the Palacio de la Pelota shudder.

It was a match of great quality, with spectacular goals and a movie-like ending.

In spite of the defeat, we liked very much the game of Iturbide, a happy pelotari, who lives intensely every time, with a very easy, elegant and forceful game and, of course, also "the manners" of Bailo, who in the back showed security and that "casca" tasty from both sides.

Laduche, an old acquaintance of the Mexican fans, played from less to more and ended up receiving the ovation of a public that recognized, with its applause, each and every one of the great plays he made yesterday.

Ibarlucea, for his part, is getting better every day and made it very clear that he has a very promising future in the world of pelota.

Laduche and Ibarluce will face this Wednesday the also undefeated Tambour and Perez, in the grand final of the Jai Alai Open 2022 at the Palacio de la Pelota court.

IN THE FIRST OF THE NIGHT

Zulaica and Zapata (who came in to take the place of the injured Elizalde) lost to the pair formed by Aaron and "El Sargento" Inza with a score of 30-23.

The truth is that there is little to comment on this match, where there were many more errors than successes. However, we cannot fail to mention a right rebound by Zulaica that was a true poem and the "costadillo", almost at the end of the game, which he put in "just like that". It was precise and beautiful.

Today, from 8 o'clock in the evening, the last day will be played and we will have the opportunity to enjoy two succulent matches. One for the third and fourth place of the competition and, of course, the grand final of the Jai Alai Open 2022.

The matches promise great emotions, 

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2022 International Tournaments

Hegoalde (South Basque Country-AKA Spain)

Jai Alai Winter Series--Gernika--January 19-March 20, 2022 (9 Full Match Videos)

Jai Alai World Tour

Donostia (San Sebastian) Grand Slam (May 14-June 11, 2022) (4 Full Match Videos)

Markina-Xemien Grand Slam (June 12-July 16, 2022)

Gernika (July 24-August 16)

Jai Alive 2.0

Hondarribia (July 22-October 8)

Lekeito (August 21, 27)

+++++++

Iparralde (North Basque Country--AKA France)

Cesta Punta Pro Tour

Cesta All Star Donibane Lohizune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) (April 19-28, 2022) (9 Full Match Videos) 

Cesta Punta Summer League (Biarritz, Pau) (May 6-June 17, 2022) (6 Full Match Videos)

Grand Slam, Espoir (Group B)  (June 22-August 25)

Donibane Lohizune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) Grand Slam (Group A) (July 5-August 25) (4 Master and 1 SLAM) (15 Full Match Videos)

Gant d'Or (Biarritz) (July 6-August 24) (4 Master and 1 SLAM)

Pau Cup (July 15-September 2) (2 Master and 1 SLAM)

Grand Chistera (Biarritz) (July 8-August 25, every Tuesday--Outdoor Cesta Punta--3 player teams, 75 meter court, no helmets)

+++++++

Fronton Mexico (Mexico City)

Tourneo Betway (May 19-26) (14 Full Match Videos)

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Dania Jai Alai (Dania Beach Florida)

Battle at the Palace (April 1-10) 14 Full Match Videos)

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Women's Basque Pelota Results--All Geographic Areas--through July 14

This is an upgrade to the Amateur section of the blog. It also appears as an ongoing results page on the right side of the blog.

Here will be kept a record of selected women's competitions, with an emphasis on those competitions that have match videos. For full women's coverage see Laboral Emakume Master Cup website. There will be no geographic distinction, only chronological

Hegoalde (South Basque) Paleta Cuero 

San Fermin Tournament, a 4 team, knockout Tournament, to be held in Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) July 11-12, and 14, in conjunction with men's Pala Larga Tournament (see above)

July 14

FINAL

Iraztuztabarrena-Erasun 3 Larrate-Araitztegi 1

(8-5, 7-8, 8-7, 8-7) (31-27)

Source: Diario Vasco Cartelera

July 12

2nd Semi-Final

Irazustabarrena-Erasun 3 Galdos-Huizi 1

(7-8, 8-2, 8-4, 8-5) (31-19)

Source: Diario Vasco Cartelera

July 11

1st Semi-final

Larrarte-Araiztegi 3 Isasmendi-L. Saez 1

(8-6, 6-8, 8-6, 8-6) (30-26)

Source: Diario Vasco Cartelera

+++++++++

Hegoalde (South Basque) Mano

July 6-7, 13

San Fermin 2nd Laboral Emakume Master Cup.

July 13

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1) (2)

FINALS

Both Finals (Under 18 first, Premier 2nd)(EITB)

Both Finals (Under 18 first, Premier 2nd) (EITB via Emakume Master Cup web site)

*Highlights of both matches* (EITB)

Premier

Agirre-Obregozo 22 Jaka-M. Ruiz de Larramendi21

Selected linescore (21Iguales.com) (winners always listed first)

10-7; 11-19; 20-21; 22-21

Time of the Match: 65 minutes.

A-O finished with a 10-2 run to win. After an Agirre 2 wall (left-front) winner tied the match, the final point was a magnificent 47 ball struggle with great saves by all 4 players, finally won by anothe Agirre 2 wall (left-front) winner . The players received long standing ovation.

Under-18

Bergara-Agorreta 22

Salbide-O. Ruiz de Larremendi 15

Score Source (Diario Vasco Cartelera and EITB)

Selected linescore (21Igualies.com) (winners always listed 1st)

7-0; 22-15

Match articles for both matches (21Iguales.com)

Semi-finals

Fronton Remontival, Estella-Lizarra (1)(2)

July 6-7 (unclear which matches were played when)

Premier

Jaka-M. Ruiz de Larrramendi 18

Larrate-Elizalde 10

Agirre-Obregozo 18 Aldaregia-Aldai 13

Selected linescore (winners always listed 1st)

6-0; 13-11; 14-11; 16-13; 18-13

Under-18

Bergara-Agoretta 18 Oscoz-Mendiburu 17

Salbide-O. Ruiz de Larramendi 18

Vergara-Lasa 8

Match article for all 4 matches (21Iguales.com)

+++++++

Mexico: Mexico City (Fronton Mexico) Jai Alai/Cesta Punta

Women's Jai Alai World Tour (June 14-16, 2019. Fronton Mexico): Winners: Doris-Mariona (Links to fullmatch videos of the final round robin and Championship Match. All scores of all matches, and newspaper articles). 

+++++++

Hegoalde (South Basque) Paleta Cuero

Tourneo Custom (Final Only)

June 15

Nagore-A. Murga 3 Irazustabarrena-Mendezabal 1 (EITB full match video--match begins at 0:00)

(8-1, 7-8, 8-5, 8-6) (31-20)

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta-- 2019 Women's Jai Alai World Tour

Perhaps lost in the glitz and glamour of the Fronton Mexico season was another tournament was concluded at FM:  The Women's Jai Alai World Tour. The purpose of the tournament was to promote international women's Jai Alai/Cesta Punta.  It consisted of a preliminary set of matches at 4 venues around Mexico City that determined the 3 teams that would face off against each other in a single round robin (June 14-15), leading to a Final (June 16). The teams in the round robin:

Casandra Lopez-Elisenda Perez
Doris Galindo-Mariona Canis
Chloe Hirigoyen-Marie Laugie

June 14-16

Fronton Mexico: Women's Jai Alai Tour (round robin and final)

Final table June 14-15 Round Robin

Casandra-Elisenda 2-0

Doris-Mariona 1-1

Chloe-Marie 0-2

June 16

FINAL

Doris-Mariona (Blue) 25 Casandra-Elisenda (Red) 24 (LasZestalaris Facebook full match video)

Post match ceremony (LasZestalaris Facebook)

Condensed linescore (winners always listed first) (LasZestalaris Facebook video)

1-0; 1-1 3-1; 3-2; 4-2; 4-4; 5-4; 5-5; 8-5; 8-6; 9-6; 9-8; 10-8; 10-9; 11-9; 11-10; 12-10; 12-14; 13-14; 13-16; 15-16; 15-17; 19-17; 19-18; 20-18; 20-21; 22-21; 22-23; 24-23; 24-24; 25-24

7 lead changes and 11 equal scores (linescore error, and lead change error was caused, corrected July 5, 2019)

Final tournament article (Fronton Mexico)

Final article with photos (Casandra Lopez Facebook)

Match article (El Siglo Coahuila)

Feature article (El Correo)

Feature article (quien.com)

This was about as exciting a way to end a tournament as one could want. 8 lead changes and 11 equal scores showed that there was very little to chose between these teams. Everyone played to the best of their ability, but, for me, Mariona stood out with a couple of great catches deep (past the 11) on the apron to keep points alive, obviously crucial in a match this close. The final ceremony, which awarded not only the premier players, but also the participants in a  juvenile tournament Final (see the Facebook page for these full match videos, which are also available there), included Goikoetxea and Aritz Erkiaga to aid with the medal presentations. It was a great ending to a wonderful tournament which achieved, in my opinion, the aspirations of the organizers, officials and, especially the players. 

June 15

Doris-Mariona (Blue 20 Chloe-Marie (Red) 14 (LasZestalaris Facebook full match video)

June 14

Casandra-Elisenda (Red) 20 Doris-Mariona 16 (Blue) (LasZestalaris Facebook full match video

Casandra-Elisenda (Red) 20 Chloe-Marie (Blue) 14 (LasZestalaris Facebook full match video)

Results of preliminary play at 4 venues between June 9-13 to determine participants in final Round Robin. (LasZestalaris Facebook)

For more on the comings and goings of world women's Cesta Punta, follow LasZestalaris Facebook

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Fronton Mexico Tournament 5--Premier League and National League Champion of Champions Finals--June 28-30, 2019

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF IPARRALDE (NORTH BASQUE) CESTA PUNTA FALL PRO TOUR  (INCLUDES LINKS TO 10 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF IPARRALDE (NORTH BASQUE) CESTA PUNTA SUMMER PRO TOUR (INCLUDES LINKS TO 22 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF IPARRALDE (NORTH BASQUE) CESTA PUNTA PRO TOUR/FFPB (FEDERATION FRANCAISE DE PELOTA BASQUE) SPRING TOURNAMENTS (INCLUDES LINKS TO 4 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF JAI ALAI WORLD TOUR  (HEGOALDE--SOUTH BASQUE) SUMMER SEASON (INCLUDES LINKS TO 24 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)

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Fronton Mexico's short 2019 season began on May 3 and ended on June 30. It was made up of 4 sets of two tournaments, an "A" tournament (Premier League) and a "B" tournament (National League). The 4th Premier League Tournament was abandoned due to injuries and replaced by two "Duels of  the Titans", different combinations of Goikoetxea, (Aritz) Erkiaka, Lopez, and Irastorza.

FM Roster

Each tournament was played over the course of two weekends, the first weekend a preliminary round, the second a semi-final and final. Tournaments contained either 4 or 6 pairs. After the first 4 tournaments, a 5th tournament, a tournament among the highest ranking players, was held to crown two "Champion of Champions" winners. This was held the weekend of June 28-30. The winners of the Premier League won the Copa Moises Cosio Trophy.

Parts or all of each Tournament were streamed live via Fronton Mexico Facebook.  For those who miss the live transmissions, the matches are available on demand at the Facebook site.

Note: as of July 3, 2019, all matches from Tournament 2-5 have been uploaded to the FM Youtube site. For this final Tournament, Youtube addresses will be given, as they are more easily accessible. For the previous tournaments, I will leave the Facebook addresses as they are, but add this note to the blog pages. 

Final Player rankings (and explanation of rankings)

Injury report:

June 22, 2019

Julien Ihitsague (back) was injured when hit by a throw, and further injured by an awkward fall after the first injury. The match he was in was suspended at the time of the injury. He returned for the June 28-30 matches. 

June 15, 2019

Eric Irastorza (back) appeared to suffer or aggravate a leg injury in the "Duel of the Titans" match. He missed the 2nd Premier League exhibition on June 23. He returned for the June 28-30 matches 

June 9, 2019

Txabi Inza (back) was injured and forced to retire from the Premier Final in mid-match with a leg injury. He was replaced by National League player Eduardo Cordova.  He returned for the June 28-30 matches

June 8, 2019

Jean Olharan (front) suffered a forearm injury in his Premier League match with Lopez v Olha-Irastorza (with the match at 15-14 O-L. He missed O-L's Final v Goikoetxea-Ekhi on June 9. He returned for the June 28-30 matches.

April 26, 2019

Ludovic Laduche (front) (Internationaux Cesta Punta) suffered an ankle ligament injury (Fronton Mexico) in the 2nd set of the FFPB Cesta Punta Pro-Am Final (Cesta Punta Pro Tour Youtube). He will miss the entire 2 month Fronton Mexico season. He has been replaced by Angel Egea (Fronton Mexico), ex-Miami Jai Alai player. It is unknown at this time whether Laduche will be able to play in the Summer Partidos in the Basque Country.

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Tournament 1
Tournament 2
Tournament 3
Tournament 4

Champion of Champions Tournament

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The final three days of the Fronton Mexico Season were filled to the brim with action. Goikoetxea-Lopez were called upon to play 3 matches in 3 days, and at the end of the weekend, were no worse off for wear. They won the Copa Moises Cosio Championship after two hotly contested  matches with (Aritz) Erkiaga-Irastorza (3 sets) in the semi-final and Olharan-Inza (2 sets) in the final.  Overall, Goikoetxea was 8-4 in Tournament play (with a championship with National League player Julien Del Rio in the 1st Tournament), and 9-6 overall. Lopez finished 6-5 in Tournament play (with a Championship in the 3rd Tournament with Olharan and then Olha, who replaced Olharan for the final after he suffered an injury), and 12-7 overall, including a quickly arranged 15 point partido set up after the Olharan injury where Lopez played the front with Irastorza in the back. It was a great treat for Cesta Punta fans to see so much of the great Premier League puntistas. 

On the National League side, Julian Del Rio made the greatest impression. roaring out of the chute in the first Tournament to win the Premier League title mentioned above, and then winning  the National League Final with a thrilling 3 set triumph (5-4 in the tie breaker) with Ochoa against Inclan-Ihitsague. He finished 9-3 with 3 tournament wins (T1 Premier with Goikoetxea v (Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet; T2 with Juan Leon v Ochoa-Portet). Del Rio began the season with 6 consecutive wins before he cooled off, but then came back strong at the end. Ochoa also had a very productive tournament finishing 6-5 in Tournament play (with a championship in T1 with Perez v Ortega-Ihitsague),  and 7-5 overall. On June 29, the first match was a semi-pro tournament final in which Fidel-Osorno defeated Safont (56 years old)-Nabor (64) 30-29 when Fidel and Osorno made almost impossible rebote saves back to back to keep the final point going. Their team won soon after. This was one of the greatest moments in a tournament dominated by some of the best puntistas to ever tie on a cesta. 

You can see that point here (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook).

The final point (Jai Alai Mexico Youtube--the video is cued to begin at the point).

Finally, selected "Dual of the Titans" matches were shown live on ESPN Mexico. 

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Premier League

June 30

FINAL

Goikoetxea-Lopez 2 Olharan-Inza 0  (Fronton Mexico Youtube Full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match)

(15-11, 15-13) (30-24)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

Match article (Fronton Mexico)

Match statistics (my judgments, yours may be different)

First set:

Goikoetxea +6 -2; Lopez +2 -1

Olharan +6 -2; Inza +2 -5 

Second set: 

Goikoetxea +6 -1; Lopez +3 -3

Olharan +6 -0; Inza +3 -6

Total: 

Goikoetxea +12 -3; Lopez +5 -4 

Olharan +12 -2; Inza +5 -11

Balls in Play: Set 1: 231; Set 2: 192--Total 423

Annotated complete linescore: Rather than give an impressionistic view of the overall match, I decided to try my hand at close, point by point narrative. Hopefully you will find it entertaining, and perhaps useful in helping determine what the "magic dust" that makes players great is made of. 

Key: Server G=Goikoetxea; O=Ohlaran; number of balls in play; score (winner of match--G-L always listed first); Player G, L, O, I.  (winner + or error -); comment: 

cortada=low blistering sidearm throw, usually from right to left, designed to beat the defense to the left wall and then either pass or carom back outside, splitting the defense--it is Goikoetxea's go to throw, almost impossible to defend because of the tremendous speed and low angle with which he throws it.

chic-chac=long shot that hits the floor and then back wall and angles out too low to be returned--extremely difficult on a concha (court) as long (8 meters longer than any other) as this one

chula=like a chic-chac only the pelota hits the wall first, not the floor

two wall= shot that usually banks off the left wall to the front wall, out onto the apron and into the mesh that protects the fans before the opponent can get it. But can also be thrown front wall to left wall to angle back outside, or from the front wall high and kissing the left wall deep near the back wall

passing shots=exactly what it says, an attempt to pass the opponent, can be inside, outside, high, of high off the front wall ("big bounce")

Errors usually are of two varieties: dropped catches or throws that are too low, too high, or fly off the concha. Service errors can be "over serves" (server gets one "pasa" per point where he gets a second serve) or "under serves" (too short, an immediate fault and loss of point). Serve must hit the wall and land between the 4 and 7 line. Carom serves (left to front wall) are permitted at FM.

O-I win the toss and serve:

Set 1

O; 4; 1-0; I-; dropped catch

G; 17; 2-0; I-; dropped catch

G; 20; 2-1; O+; long passing shot

O; 6; 3-1; I-; dropped catch

G; 11; 4-1; L+; left pass from the 14

G; 5; 5-1; I-; dropped catch

G; 5; 6-1; G+; cortada

G; 13; 7-1; G+; left pass

G; 9; 8-1; O-; tries two wall, throws too low

G; 10; 8-2; O+; left pass

O(pasa); 13; 8-3; O+; deep pass

O; 21; 8-4; O+; left pass (I believe the ball actually broke, G-O argued for a replay, to no avail)

O; 13; 8-5; O+;  chic-chac

O(pasa) 8; 9-5; G+; chic-chac

G; 5; 10-5; O-; cortada into the lower front pad

G; 4; 10-6; I+; outside pass

O(pasa); 4; 11-6;  L+; cortada (cortadas from a back court player are fairly rare; Lopez is one of the best at this).

G; 2; 11-7; I+; outside pass

O; 5; 11-8; G-; throws off the concha

O; 8; 12-8; G+; chic-chac (always the mark of a champion; follows an error with a brilliant winner and with a touch shot to boot, the quickest way to stop the opponents possible momentum due to the error)

G; 7; 13-8; I-; dropped catch off the left wall, not easy, but one Inza should have caught

G; 4; 13-9; L-; dropped catch at the back wall, again not easy, but Lopez, during this entire match, was catching everything in sight. It was his only error of the set. An absolute stone wall on defense.

O; 11; 13-10; O+; two wall

O; 6; 14-10; G+; deep pass

G(pasa); 4; 14-11 G-; dropped catch

O 16; 15-11; G+; cortada (quite a finisher, a long and hotly contested point, until Goikoetxea ends it with his go to throw, something to leave O-I thinking about as they leave the concha)

231 balls in play

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Set 2

Goikoetxea serves

G; 6; 0-1; I+; chula; (a magnificent throw by Inza, particularly on this concha, and especially after his difficulties in the first set; another mark of a champion, a short memory and large store of confidence)

O; INTERFERENCE--REPLAY THE POINT

O; 13; 0-2; I+; big bounce over Lopez

O; 6; 1-2; I-; goes for the winner with a long one to the outside, throws it off the concha

G; 2; 1-3; O+ 2 wall (this was a classic "quick kill", caused by... not the best serve from Goikoetxea, which did not clear the front defender). A player like Olharan's eyes will light up when opportunities like this present themselves, and, though he doesn't always convert, he did this time. Actually, at this level, this might be seen as a service "error", though not a fault. Goikoetxea, throughout the season, served magnificently and with great power. This was an anomaly.

O 12; 2-3; L+; cortada from the 13; Lopez didn't do a lot of scoring in this match. He is capable of over 10 winners in a match--which he has done on many occasions at FM in the last 3 seasons--an extraordinary amount for a back). Tonight he was fairly content to play lights out defense, but this was a back breaker. When you have just taken advantage of a not great serve from the best player in the world, and you are off to a hot start that portends a tie-breaker,  your team is riding a wave of confidence. And then, after a long struggle, Lopez pulls this arrow out of his quiver. A message sent.

G; 10; 2-4; L- dropped catch (oops?!--happens to the very best of them)

O(pasa); 7; 2-5; L- looks for the outside winner, throws off the concha

O; 5; 2-6; G-; two wall low into the front pad

O; 7; 2-7; O+; rebote (rebound off the back wall) pass (and Olharan sends a message of his own.) Frankly G-L looked pretty gassed to me at this point, perhaps all the matches had finally caught up with the veteran pair...

O; 12; 3-7; G+; cortada from the apron (and this is why Goikoetxea is the best in the business... his team down and out, and now locked in another long struggle of a point, and he pulls off a great throw to stanch the bleeding)

G; 1; 4-7; G+; a service ace

G(pasa); 11; 5-7; L+; cortada; after a Goikoetxea blistering cortada was caught and returned on a fantastic play at the left wall by Olharan. Can anything be more deflating than that?

G; 3; 6-7; G+; left pass; Gokoetxea kills this point at the first opportunity.

G; 2; 6-8; L-; dropped catch

O; 6; 7-8; I-; dropped catch (it appeared Inza lost this ball in the lights)

G; 7; 8-8; I-; dropped catch

G;5; 9-8; I-; throws into the upper pad

G; 5; 10-8; G+;cortada from the apron

G; 6; 10-9; O+; chic-chac

O; 9; 10-10; I+; big bounce left over Lopez

O; 4; 11-10; L+; long chula over Inza

G; 2; 11-11; O+; intercepts the serve, left pass past Goikoetxea

O; 11; 11-12; O+; chula

O; 6; 12-12; G+; cortada

G; 10; 12-13; O+; cortada

O; 10; 13-13; G+; cortada

G; 15; 14-13; I-; dropped catch

G; 5; 15-13;  I-; dropped catch

192 balls in play.

Note that my comments were written while I was watching the match live. This invites errors, and I should have watched the match again. But some of the FM camera angles make judgments difficult because of the quick cuts from front to back. Sometimes even the replays don't help. This probably has to do with the size of the concha. I decided to stay with my first impressions and just copy them out. Corrections are always gratefully accepted. But if this match (and especially the 2nd set) doesn't tell the story of why G-L are the best forward and back in Cesta Punta today, I can't think of what would. What a team. What a match!

June 29

Second Semi-Final

Goikoetxea-Lopez 2 (Aritz) Erkiaga-Irrastorza 1 (Fronton Mexico Youtube full match video--only match on the video--1ST TWO SETS ONLY) Tie breaker

(15-12, 12-15, 5-3) (32-30)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

Condensed linescore (winners always listed first)

Set 1:

0-1; 5-1; 5-3; 7-3; 7-5; 9-5; 9-6; 10-6; 10-10; 14-10; 14-12; 15-12

Set 2:

1-0; 2-1; 2-2; 4-2; 4-4; 5-4; 5-6; 6-6; 6-7; 7-7; 7-9; 8-9; 8-11; 9-11; 9-12; 11-12; 11-14; 12-14; 12-15

Tie breaker:

0-1; 4-1; 4-3; 5-3

Scoring (my judgments, yours may be different)

Set 1:

Goikoetxea +7 -3; Lopez +1 -0

Erkiaga +6 -3; Irastorza +3 -4

Set 2:

Erkiaga +7 -1; Irastorza +4 -2

Goikoetxea +6 -2; Lopez +3 -2

Tie breaker:

Goikoetxea +1 -0; Lopez +3 -0

Erkiaga +2 -0; Irastorza +1 -1

 Total:

Goikoetxea +14 -5; Lopez +7 -2

Erkiaga +15 -4; Irastorza  +8 -7

Balls  in play: Set 1: 145; Set 2: 181; Tie breaker: 60: Total: 386.

This match was a play in 3 acts. 1: With the exception of the first point of the match, G-L led throughout the 1st set and and almost halfway through the second set. They opened a 5-1 lead with the help of 1 Lopez and 4 Goikoetxea winners. Two winners by Erkiaga were followed by errors by Irastorza and Erkiaga. 7-3.An Erkiaga winner and Goikoetxea dropped catch were immediately followed by an Erkiaga fault (on a very close call) and Goikoetxea winner: 9-5. Irastorza had a big bounce winner followed by a missed rebote. 10-6. 4 straight winners (3 by Erkiaga) tied the set at 10. Dropped catches by Irastorza and Erkiaga were sandwiched around a Goikoetxea bullet cortada: 13-10. A Goikoetxea winner, followed by a  fault and an Irastorza winner made it 14-12. Goikoetxea then closed the set out with a very nice chic-chac. 15-12. With a liberal dose of help, G-L were able to maintain most of their early lead to win. E-I had  their chances, but their 7 errors were too much to overcome.

The second set was even until Irastorza dropped 2 consecutive catches. 4-2. An Erkiaga winner and Goikoetxea dropped catch evened the score. Goikoetxea followed a winner with a dropped catch. 5-5. A two wall big bounce by Irastorza finally gave E-I the lead. A Goikoetxea winner tied the score at 6. At 7-7 a Lopez dropped catch followed by an Erkiaga two wall at the end of a 15 ball point, the point of the match, gave E-I a 9-7 lead. An Irastorza passing shot and Erkiaga cortada gave E-I an 11-8 advantage. The teams pretty much split points after that until Erkiaga put the set away with an outside pass. Erkiaga's +7 and Irastorza's turn around from the first set contributed greatly to the win.

E-I started the tie breaker positively with an Erkiaga two wall. But then G-L took over, with Lopez scoring 3 winners sandwiched around a Goikoetxea two wall for a 4-1 lead. But winners by Erkiaga and Irastorza (the latter finishing a 15 ball point), put E-I right back in it. An Irastorza dropped catch ended E-I's hopes for a championship. It was an excellent match with a great deal of tension and excitement, though not without flaws. Irastorza got off to a slow start but really hit his stride later. The final drop seemed to really go against the flow of how he was playing when it happened. The 7-8--7-9 point in the second set was as good a point as you will see. 14 points that took 10 or more balls in play gives another indication of how hard fought the match was.

June 28

1st Semi-final

Olharan-Inza 2 Olha-Ekhi 0 (ESPN Mexico via Fronton Mexico full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match) 

(15-14, 15-11) (30-25)

For the 2nd weekend in a row ESPN Mexico picked up the FM feed and gave  the Premier League matches much wider exposure. For our purposes, it means much less muffled sound than what we have become accustomed to in these transmissions, and a better overall viewing experience. As far as the match was concerned, O-I both came back from injuries which, though the sets were closely contended, showed that they were not much worse for wear due to the injuries or the layoffs. 

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Lopez 2 Goikoetxea-Irastorza 0 (ESPN Mexico via Fronton Mexico Youtube full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match)

(15-9, 15-11) (30-20)  (Exhibition "Dual of the Titans" match).

This was ESPN's marquee match, which was unfortunate because it had no meaning (competitive or monetary) within the context of the Tournament matches that would determine the Copa Moises Cosio. All it meant was that some combination of these players would be forced to play 3 matches in 3 nights to win the tournament. There was also a risk that one or more players might be injured (Irastorza was returning from an injury in last week's final). If that happened, it could be ruinous for the Premier League matches the next 2 nights. But, of course, the show had to go on, as most sports these days bow to the demands of TV exposure. CP/JA is, of course, one of the sports that needs the exposure most. Luckily, everyone played, no one was injured, and FM dodged a large bullet. I did not watch this match. The match article praised the play of Erkiaga and Lopez, saying they completely outclassed their opponents. 

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook----Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

National League

June 30

FINAL

Ochoa-Del Rio 2 Inclan-Ihitsague 1 (Fronton Mexico Youtube full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match) 

(9-15, 15-10, 5-4) (29-29)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

Match article (Fronton Mexico)

Del-Rio had a "very bad day at the office" in the first set, making many errors. But he adjusted and was back to his excellent form in the second set. The third set went to the final point, which, unfortunately ended with a dropped catch by Ihitsague, The total points scored by each team reflected the closeness of the match through almost 60 points. 

June 29

2nd Semi-final

Ochoa-Del Rio 2 (Angel) Egea-Portet 1 (Fronton Mexico full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match) 

(15-13, 5-15, 5-2) (25-30)

O-D came back from a thrashing in the 2nd set to win the tie breaker and punch their ticket to the final. Unfortunately, the video is truncated with O-D leading 2-0 in the tie breaker after a low throw by Egea and dropped catch by Portet.  

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

June 28

1st Semi-final

Inclan-Ihitsague 2 Sierra-Perez 0 (Fronton MexicoYoutube full match video--video is cued to the beginning of the match)

(15-9, 15-11) 30-20)

 Ihitsague returned from his injury last week. He and Inclan advanced to the final with a relatively straightforward straight set win. It was the last straight set match the NL tournament would see. 
Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook----Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

Finally the match discussed above, the amateur-semi-pro final on June 29.

Fidel-Osorno 30 Nabor-Safont 29  (Fronton MexicoYoutube full match video--Note: there is no sound until 12:43 on the video)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

At the end of this match the packed crowd gave the players a prolonged standing ovation, Nabor said it best: 

google translate: 


"What more can I ask of life if at 64 I can still take a standing ovation like tonight [on the court] of the Palacio de la Pelota?"

Indeed, what more could any of us ask for than the amazing exhibition of Jai Alai/Cesta Punta presented by FM over the last two months? To the officials, judges, fans, workers behind the scenes, many thanks.  to the players, who worked as hard as possible on this mammoth concha in this iconic, resurrected, magnificent "Palacio de la Pelota", during each game, and through a sometimes very testing stretch of assignments, Muchos Gracias! Eskerrik Asko! Merci Beaucoup!

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COMPLETE COVERAGE OF JAI ALAI WORLD TOUR  (HEGOALDE--SOUTH BASQUE) SUMMER SEASON (INCLUDES LINKS TO 24 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)