NOTE: IF YOUR DEVICE/BROWSER DOESN'T RESOLVE THE VIDEO LINKS BELOW, THE EASIEST "FIX" IS TO USE THE BASE INTERNET ADDRESS OF THE OPEN DE FRANCE CESTA PUNTA FACEBOOK PAGE.
CLICK OR CUT AND PASTE
ALL MATCH VIDEOS, IN REVERSE ORDER, ARE AT THAT ADDRESS, OR CONSULT THE "VIDEOS" LINK. FOR INDIVIDUAL POINT LINKS I HAVE PROVIDED A "TIME STAMP" WHICH SHOULD HELP IF YOU HAVE TO USE THE ABOVE MAIN ADDRESS.
The
Federation Francaise de Pelota Basque has announced a new competition, the
2021 Open de France Cesta Punta, to be held at St. Jean-de-Luz (Donibane Lohizune) (
1--Frontons.net) (
2--Wikipedia) and Biarritz (
1--George Lopez Garcia--beautiful photos) (
2--Wikipedia) from February 8-March 4, 2021.
Google English Translation
Cesta Punta French Open 2021!
Following the government's recent declarations and the lack of long-term visibility on the holding of future competitions, the Federation Française de Pelote Basque, in consultation with his national coaches Fifi (Philippe) Etcheberry and Eric Irastorza, has decided to hold a French Open. Teams drawn will consist of a professional player, paired with a player from the training centre and placed on the ministerial list of high-level athletes / hopes.
Distributed into 4 Groups of 3 teams, the games will take place in a (double Round Robin) roundtrip format, respectively on the Biarritz and St-Jean-De-Luz frontons. At the end of the 1st phase, each Group 1st place team will be qualified directly for the semi-finals to take place in St-Jean-De-Luz, before competing in the final in Biarritz.
All partidos are scheduled to be broadcast live at 18 pm (6:00 pm) and 19 pm (7:00 pm--French Time (for time conversion to your Time Zone use thetimezoneconverter.com (Paris to your city), Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on Facebook Live on the official page of the Cesta Punta Open 2021 tournament (on the main page or or on the "videos" page).These matches will also be available on demand after the live stream is over. The competition began on Monday, February 8. and will end with a Final on March 4.
Each team has one professional and one promising amateur/young professional. There will be 4 groups of 3 teams each and the League phase will be a double Round Robin (corrected, February 11, 2021) within each group. Matches will be 2 sets to 15 points and a tie breaker to 5 if necessary. Over serves (pasas) are limited to 5 per match with a second serve allowed. Each pasa after the 5th pasa is an automatic fault. Under serves are automatic faults at all times. The Tournament is scheduled for 27 matches in 4 weeks. (Corrected February 11, 2021). The teams and schedules were drawn by lot.
League scoring:
Straight set win: 4 points (Corrected February 13)
Tie breaker win: 3 points (Corrected February 14)
Tie breaker loss: 1 point
Straight set loss: 0 points
========
====================
Group 1:
Group 2:
Emeric Libois (
1--X--3. Maila Aurrelariak (Front) #3) (
2--FFPB 2013 Poussin--Libois is in the white shirt on the left) (age 18-21)--
Yann Millat (B) (27)
Group 3:
Group 4:
Note: Some of these young prospects (links to full match videos) are covered in my
Up and Comers blog post. They are:
Maxime Benetrix, Iban Etcheberry, Clement Garcia, Bixente Gonzalez, Thomas Urrutia (avants--fronts); Tom Berthon, Annton de Bettelu, Hugo Ibar, Aize Ithurralde, Theo Laborde. and Guillen Oyenart (arrieres--backs).
==========
Note: all video links are to OFCP 21 Facebook videos. At present the Tournament does not have a web site, only a Facebook site. Note: these are not commercial videos. But they are very good videos, in my opinion. The scores are called out in French and selected scores are shown on a mobile phone. In French: (sounded out, not spelled out): un-1; deu-2, twa-3; cot--4, sank--5, seese--6; set--7, wheat--8, noof (like roof)--9, dees (Chicago pronunciation)--10, ownz--11, dooze--12, trayz--13, cot-orz--14, canz--15. Hope that helps :) :)
WEEK 1
WEEK 3 (Partly done--still under construction)
==========
Team table at the end of week 1 (This is offered as a simplification of the official table).
Key:
Teams; Match Wins-Losses; Set Wins-Losses; Total points for and against; League Round Robin points
*=There are points totals that do not agree with those given in the official source data (Official Tables of OFCP). Where I could not verify the discrepancies, I stuck with the official numbers. Where I could verify the discrepancies, I incorporated the correct numbers into this table. For more, see the match reports where these discrepancies occurred (Week 1).
Group 1:
Garcia-T. Basque 1-0..2-0..30-27...4
J. Tambourndeguy-Berthon 1-1..2-2..57-53...4
Etcheberry-Inza 0-1..0-2..23-30...0
Group 2:
Benetrix-Minvielle 1-0..2-0..30-23...4
Laduche-Oyenart 1-1..2-2..53-48...4
Libois-Millat 0-1..0-2..18-30...0
Group 3:
Ithurria-Laborde 1-0..2-0..30-22...4
Gonzalez-Portet 1-1..2-3..53-58*..3
P. Tambourindeguy-Ibar 0-1..1-2..28-31*..1
Group 4:
Olharan-de Bettelu 1-0..2-0..30-22...4
Laloo-Iturralde 1-0..2-1..30-27*..3
Urrutia-Ihitsague 0-2..1-4..49-60*..1
+++
Cumulative Statistics:
Cumulative Total Scores (winners +) (errors -)
+200 -231 (.464)
Cumulative Non-error percent (Balls in Play - errors / Balls in Play)
(BIP - errors 2,690--Average per match 336) / (BIP 2,921--Average 365): .921
Cumulative Serve Intercepts immediate (winners +) (errors -)
+34 (Average per match 4.25) -17 (average 2.13) (.667)
+++
Individual Player Statistics (through Week 1: 8 matches)
Fronts (Avants)
Fronts are sorted by net score (winners - errors).
Key:
Player; # of matches played; winners +; errors -; Intercept immediate winners + errors - ; Net score
J. Tambourindeguy (G1) 2...+22 -8...+6 -4...+14
Olharan (G4) 1...+12 -0...+2 -0...+12
Laduche (G2) 2...+19 -10...+6 -0....+9
Gonzalez (G3) 2...+20 -12...+5 -1....+8
Ithurria (G3) 1...+14 -8...+1 -1....+6
P. Tambourindeguy (G3) 1...+11 -6...+5 -2....+5
Laloo (G4) 1...+10 -9...+0 -1....+1
Benetrix (G2) 1....+8 -7...+2 -0....+1
Garcia (G1) 1....+9 -9...+2 -3.....0
Libois (G2 1... +3 -5...+0 -2....-2
Etcheberry (G1) 1....+6 -9...+2 -1... -3
Urrutia (G4) 2...+13 -20...+3 -2....-7
Backs (Arrieres)
Backs are sorted by number of errors (fewest to most)
Key:
Player; # of matches played; (winners +; errors -; Net score
Laborde (G3) 1....+3 -3....0
T. Basque (G1) 1....+6 -6....0
Inza (G1) 1....+4 -6...-2
Ihitsague (G4) 2....+2 -6...-4
Minvielle (G2) 1....+2 -6...-4
Millat (G2) 1....+3 -7...-4
Ibar (G3) 1....+4 -10...-6
Iturralde (G4) 1....+1 -10...-9
de Bettelu (G4) 1....+5 -12...-7
Portet (G3) 2....+6 -14...-8
Berthon (G1) 2....+5 -20..-15
Oyenart (G2) 2....+9 -22..-13
==========
To follow the Tournament in chronological order, read from the bottom up.
WEEK 1: February 8, 9, 11, 12
February 12--Day 4
Group 4
Biarritz Athletic Club
Match 2
Laloo-Iturralde (Red) 2 (1-0) 3 points
Urrutia-Ihitsague (Blue) 1 (0-2) 1 point
(15-11*, 10-15, 5-1) (30-27)
*The standings table listed this as 15-8. It was 15-11, as confirmed by the match video and announcer's call.
There was no match article
Notable:
The first week of League Round Robin play ended with an exciting but poorly played match. There were twice as many errors as winners. This was Laloo-Iturralde's 1st match, the last team to open. It was even more important to Urrutia-Ihitsague. With one straight set loss and no League points, they needed a good showing to stay in the race for the post season.
16 of the 57 points consumed 10 or more balls in play. The longest consumed 36 balls in play, the third longest Cesta Punta point I have ever seen (for the others see the "
Mammoth Points" blog post. But too often a simple error ended a great point.
Thomas Urrutia had 3 pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed) and 3 service faults (under serves). One of those faults came in the Tie Breaker.
Aize Iturralde had a nightmare 2nd set (+1 -6) After winning Set 1 convincingly, Laloo-Iturralde jumped off to a 4-0 lead in Set 2. 5 errors turned that into a 5-6 deficit, They never saw the lead again.
Of the 6 Tie breaker points, the first 4 were gifted before Andoni Laloo took matters into his own hands with a great save of a rocket cortada (sidearm "fastball") by Urrutia, which he immediately converted with a passing shot down the left wall. He then ended the match with a stylish 2 Wall winner.
In spite of all the difficulties, there were some great moments.
One was a duel between Urrutia (Front) and Iturralde (Back). Two of the best points came consecutively in Set 2 (
6-10--8-10 video) (48:00).
Iturralde won the first point with a precise 2 Wall winner thrown from the 10 line. That point (12 balls) was contested between U and I exclusively. The two other players were mere spectators.
The second point was saved by Laloo crashing into the protective mesh a la Jean Olharan, bouncing back and throwing after the catch. One ball later, Urrutia threw a point winning cortada that Iturralde caught between his legs, but couldn't untangle himself quickly enough. He ended up throwing the pelota to keep the point going, but the judge ruled he held it too long.
These points plus the 36 ball point (see video link below) showed that these players can play very good Cesta Punta,
In the end, Laloo-Iturralde got the win, but only 3 League points. As for Urrutia-Ihitsague, they managed to pick up 1 point. With a strong finish and some help...
Condensed full linescores (match winners always listed first)
Set 1
0-2; 5-2; 5-4; 6-4; 6-5; 7-5; 7-8; 11-8; 11-9; 12-9; 12-10; 13-10; 13-11; 15-11
2 equal scores, 3 lead changes, biggest run: 5 (0-2--5-2) L-It
Set 2
4-0; 4-2; 5-2; 5-6; 6-6; 6-10; 7-10; 7-11; 8-11; 8-14; 10-14; 10-15
2 equal scores, 1 lead change, biggest run: 4 (4-0) L-It; (6-6--6-10) U-Ih
Tie Breaker
2-0; 2-1; 5-1
Tie Breaker point by point:
Point number: Server, Balls in play; Score, Player +/-; comment.
coin toss determined who served first.
1. Urrutia; 6; 1-0; Urrutia -; dropped catch
2. Laloo; 7; 2-0; Ihitsague -; dropped catch
3. Laloo; 4; 2-1; Laloo -; dropped catch
4. Urrutia; 1: 3-1; Urrutia -; service fault (under serve)
5. Laloo; 5; 4-1; Laloo +; inside Pass after a great catch of a Urrutia rocket cortada (sidearm "fastball")
6. Laloo; 3; 5-1; Laloo +; 2 walls (left-front)
Each server had 1 pasa; Urrutia, Point 4, Laloo, Point 5
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Laloo +10 -9; Iturralde +1 -10
Urrutia +5 -13 (including 3 service faults--under serves); Ihitsague + 3 -6
Serve intercepts; immediate kills/errors (+/-)
Laloo 7 (+0 -1)
Urrutia 6 (+1 -2)
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed)
Laloo 4
Urrutia 3
Total match score: +19 -38 (.333)
Balls in play: 411
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (373/411): .908
BIP--Points
0-4--26
5-9--15
10-14--10
15-19--4
20-24--1
25-29--0
30+--1
Average BIP per point: 7.2
Time of the match 1:07:54 ((total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 71 seconds.
There was only 1 Time Out called: Set 2, after the 5-6 point.
+++
February 12--Day 4
Group 3
Biarritz Athletic Club
Match 1
Gonzalez-Portet (Blue) 2 (1-1) 3 points
P. Tambourindeguy-Ibar (Red) 1 (0-1) 1 point
(11-15*, 15-11, 5-1**) (31-28)
*I had this set scored 10-15, the announcer 11-15. On my score sheet there were 27 points (16-11 instead of 15-11). It means, I think, that I made a mistake somewhere, or they made a mistake somewhere. I scored this set twice and still came up with 10-15. At 3-6, the announcer said it was 3-5. The 2-4--3-4 point was an ace by Gonzalez, but the announcer (and players who were with him giving color commentary) were confused as to whether this was a Pasa or not. If it was a Pasa, then the next serve was a point for T-I. So that would not account for the extra point. The announcer called the 4-7 point 4-6. At 6-10 he called the score 5-9. This kept up until the 8-14 point, which he called 7-13. He was then corrected by a player in the booth: 8-13. So, if I am correct, the second error was discovered, but the first one was not. At 9-14, he called 9-13, at 10-14, he called 10-13. at 10-15, he called 10-14. The last two points were split, so it finished "officially" at 11-15. But I believe it actually finished at 11-16, and 2 unnecessary points were played because nobody, not players, not the judge, not the announcer, knew what the actual score was. It seems pretty outlandish, but score the match and see for yourself.. Even if you don't know any French (I know a little), the color of the server should tell you what happened on the previous point. Either I saw a phantom point, or the match was not scored correctly.
For purposes of this blog, I will credit the winner/error and balls in play for the points that perhaps should not have been played,
Any corrections to my theory on this match will be gladly welcomed.
**This score was listed as 5-2 on the End of Week table. I watched it. The losers scored only 1 point. I am sure of this. And the announcer called it 5-1.
There was no match article.
Notable:
This was the first match of the Tournament to go to a tie breaker. Until midway through Set 2 it looked like T-I would win in a route. However, G-P turned the match around with a 9 point run, turning a 4-9 deficit into a 13-9 advantage. Of the 9 points, 7 were gifted. 20 year old
Hugo Ibar (partnering with 38 year old
Patxi Tambourindeguy), who was having an excellent match until that point, gave up 4 of the points with 3 dropped or tipped catches and an errant throw to take the score from 7-9 to 10-9. His team called a time out after 8-9, but it did no good. Ibar seemed to lose confidence for a few points after that, and Tambourindeguy had to take over the lion's share of the defense, with a variety of rebotes (rebounds off the back wall), some of which Ibar seemingly could have handled. For an example see the
14 ball 13-11--14-11 point (video) (65:50). Tambourindeguy made every catch and throw during the point. On the next and final point of the set, a 19 ball marathon, Ibar finally regained his balance and participated fully.
The young players in this Tournament have the great privilege of being coached by
Eric Irastorza, one of the greatest modern back court players. They will learn and improve under his tutelage. But one of the great learning experiences about this Tournament is how humbling the modality can be. G-P found a weakness in Ibar's game and exploited it ruthlessly. Ibar will now have to adjust. He has a lot of raw talent, in my opinion, especially for a small back court man. When he is playing well, he catches everything of a certain length, is not afraid to use the rebote, and charges down the left wall like a gazelle.
The other youngster in this match, Bixente Gonzalez, played very well, a net +8. He took the match in his hands in the Tie Breaker, scoring 3 of his team's 5 points, one directly after a serve intercept, and two via beautiful dejadas (drop shots). For the match he had 12 serve intercepts, which he turned into 3 winners. His defense was very solid, and he made only 4 errors.
Condensed full linescore (match winners always listed first).
Set 1
0-1; 1-1; 1-4; 3-4; 3-6; 4-6; 4-10; 6-10; 6-11; 7-11; 7-13; 8-13; 8-14; 10-14; 10-15; 11-15; 11-16
1 equal score; 0 lead changes, biggest run: 4: (4-6--4-10) T-I
Set 2
0-3; 1-3; 1-5; 2-5; 2-6; 3-6; 3-7; 4-7; 4-9; 13-9; 13-11; 15-11
1 equal score, 1 lead change, biggest run: 9: (4-9--13-9) G-P
1-0; 1-1: 5-1
Tie Breaker point by point:
Point number: Server, Balls in play; Score, Player +/-; comment.
A coin toss determined who served first.
1. P. Tambourindeguy; 18; 1-0; Gonzalez +; cortada (sidearm "fastball") from the apron.
2. Gonzalez; 2; 1-1; P. Tambourindeguy +; serve intercept and immediate kill via a deep outside pass
3. P. Tambournideguy: 2; 2-1; Gonzalez +; serve intercept and immediate kill via reverse dejada (drop shot)
4. Gonzalez; 3; 3-1; Portet +; Chula (hits back wall on the fly and cannot be returned)
5. Gonzalez; 5; 4-1; Gonzalez +; dejada
6. Gonzalez: 1; 5-1; P. Tambourindeguy -; serve intercept and immediate error, throws 2 Walls off the court
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Gonzalez +12 (including 1 service ace) -4; Portet +3 -9
P. Tambourindeguy +11 -6 (including 1 service fault); Ibar +4 -10
Serve intercepts; immediate kills/errors (+/-)
Gonzalez 12 (+3 -0)
P. Tambourindeguy 16 (+5 -2)
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed)
Gonzalez 3
P. Tambourindeguy 2
Total match score: +30 -29 (.508)
Balls in play: 433
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (405/433): .935
BIP--points
0-4--28
5-9--14
10-14--9
15-19--5
20-24--2
25-29--0
30+--1
Average BIP per point: 7.3
Time of the match: 1:16:05 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 77 seconds
Note: There was 1 time out in Set 1: 11-15--11-16. There was 1 time out in Set 2: after 8-9.
+++
February 11--Day 3
Group 1
Biarritz Athletic Club
Match 2
Garcia-T Basque 2 (1-0) 4
J. Tambourindeguy-Berthon 0 (1-1) 4
(15-14, 15-13) (30-27)
Notable:
At one point after yet another
Tom Berthon error, the announcer said: "Quel dommage" ("What a pity"). Berthon's awful numbers (+3 -13) in no way reflected the way he played. He played some great defense, keeping his team in many points, a few of which he lost later in the point. An example of his excellent play can be seen in
Set 1 (9-9--9-10 (video) (21:32), where he made an excellent running catch to his right and a very nice short hop catch near the back corner. This 17 ball point (longest of the match) actually featured great play by all 4 players. After 2 matches, 22 year old Berthon is +5 -20, but his team is 1-1 and in the thick of the race in no small part because of the way he has played.
Jon Tambourindeguy had an excellent game (+9 -2 and +23 -10 for two matches). Again, he was all over the concha (court), including a good part of the match flat on his back or side. He appeared to injure his right knee on the Set 1
(2-2--3-2 point (video)) (6:34). There was an injury delay after that point and he seemed to be favoring his leg for some time after that, to the point of deliberately setting up for forehand rebotes (rebounds off the back wall) to stay on his feet. But when the crunch came in Set 2, he was back to his usual boxing match with the floor, throwing one falling rebote after another. He now has until next Friday to recuperate before his next match.
The winners played a perfectly even match (+15 -15) but Thibault Basque showed great power and excellent defense, while young (19) Clement Garcia was fearless in his opening match, intercepting 14 J. Tambourindeguy serves (though his kill conversion rate was a net -1).
After a see saw Set 1, finally won by G-C when Berthon made two errors at the end, the match came down to a Set 2 five point run by the winners, overcoming a 3 point deficit
(10-12--14-12 (video)) (63:39), riding a wave of 4 consecutive winners, two 2 Walls and an outside pass Garcia, followed by a monster cortada (sidearm "fastball") by Basque from between the 8 and 9 line. Tambourindeguy then gifted them a point with an intercept that he sent too far outside. The first two points of the video consumed 16 and 15 balls in play, and were among the best points played in the first week so far.
Condensed full linescores (match winners always listed first)
Set 1
0-1; 2-1; 2-2; 5-2; 5-4; 6-4; 6-5; 8-5; 8-7; 8-8; 9-8; 9-10; 10-10; 10-11; 13-11; 13-14; 15-14
7 equal scores, 5 lead changes, biggest run: 3 (2-2--5-2; 10-11--13-11) G-Ba; (13-11--13-14) T-Be
Set 2
0-2; 1-2; 1-3; 2-3; 2-6; 7-6; 7-9; 8-9; 8-10; 9-10; 9-12; 14-12; 14-13; 15-13
4 equal scores, 3 lead changes, biggest run: 5: (2-6--7-6; 9-12--14-12) G-Ba
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Garcia +9 -9; T. Basque +6 -6
J. Tambourindeguy +9 -2; Berthon +3 -13
Serve intercepts; immediate kills or errors (+/-)
Garcia 14 (+2 -3)
J. Tambourindeguy 11 (+1 -2)
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed)
Garcia 4
J. Tambourindeguy 5
Total match score: +27 -30 (.474)
Balls in play: 376
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (346/376): .920
BIP--Points
0-4--21
5-9--26
10-14--5
15+--5
Longest point: 17; Set 1: 9-9--9-10
Average BIP per point: 6.6
Time of the match: 1:12:21 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time/point: 76 seconds
No full time outs were taken. However, Set 1 had an injury delay (J.Tambourindeguy) after 2-2. Set 1 had a long delay for a pelota change after a J. Tambourindeguy Pasa after 13-13. Set 2 had a long delay for a pelota change after 8-9.
+++
Biarritz Athletic Club
Match 1
Group 2
Benetrix-Minvielle 2 (1-0) 4
Laduche-Oyenart 0 (1-1) 4
(15-9, 15-14) (30-23)
Notable:
Maxime Benetrix (age 18) and
David Minvielle (age 36), the team tied for greatest age difference, got their Tournament off to a good start in the first of 4 matches played at Biarritz (a concha [court] that appears to be about 3-5 meters shorter than Saint-Jean-de-Luz). They dominated Set 1 with a 6 point run at mid set to win easily. All 6 points were gifted to them by
Ludovic Laduche and
Guillen Oyenart, who gifted them 12 of their 15 points. In the 2nd set, L-O played much better and controlled the set throughout most of the play. However, the winners chipped away, -6, -4, -2, =, +2, =, +1. The set finished with 3 errors, including one on the final point by Laduche, who dropped an easy catch. It was enlivened by a controversy near the end. At 12-11, Oyenart threw a long left wall shot and then got entangled with Minvielle, who was trying to get it. The point ended and Oyenart told everybody that he had interfered. The judges did not agree and gave the point to L-O. On the following point Benetrix intercepted Laduche's serve and threw a long return that Oyenart couldn't handle. The end of the point was out of camera range. The score was tied.
See what you think (video) (57:53).
Condensed full linescores (match winners always listed first)
Set 1:
2-0; 2-1; 5-1; 5-2; 11-2; 11-4; 12-4; 12-5; 13-5; 13-9; 15-9
0 equal scores, 0 lead changes, biggest run: 6 (5-2--11-2) B-M
Set 2:
0-1; 1-1; 1-7; 3-7; 3-8; 5-8; 4-9; 7-9; 7-10; 8-10; 8-11; 12-11; 12-12; 14-12; 14-14; 15-14
4 equal scores, 1 lead change, biggestg run: 1-1--1-7) L-O
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different
Benetrix +8 -7 Minvielle +2 -6
Laduche +5 -10 (including 1 service fault); Oyenart +5 -10
Service intercepts; immediate kills (+/-)
Benetrix 8 (+2 -0)
Laduche 7 (+2 -0)
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed)
Benetrix 5
Laduche 0
Total match score +20 -33 (.377)
Balls in play: 361
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (328/361): .909
Bip--Points
0-4--29
5-9--13
10-14--7
15-19--1
20-24--2
25-29--0
30+--1
Longest point: 34 (Set 1; 13-6--14-6)
Average BIP per point: 6.8
Time of the match: 1:03:53 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 72 seconds
There were three time outs: Set 1: after 7-2 and 13-9; Set 2: after 2-7 (for Oyenart cesta repair).
+++
February 9--Day 2
Match 2
St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune)
Group 4
Olharan-de Bettelu (Red) 2 (1-0) 4 points
Urrutia-Ihitsague (Blue) 0 (0-1) 0 points
(15-8, 15-14) (30-22)
Notable:
Jean Olharan became the 2nd player this week to play a perfect game (see also Ludovic Laduche below),
+12 -0, as he led his team to a straight set win. He won with a Cortada (sidearm low throw), Picada (overhand throw that creates a big bounce), Chic Chac/Chula (ball that hits the floor and back wall too low to be returned/ball that hits so low on the back wall it can't be returned), and Dejada (slow drop shot). He showed his best on a rare carom serve which he adjusted to and finished Set 1
with a two wall (front-left) Dejada (video) (24:03) from the apron. He also played excellent defense. He was the only player who had a positive net score. He also helped his team win Set 2 in spite of a monumental melt down suffered by his partner,
Annton de Bettelu (+1 -8). Olharan contributed +6 -0 in the second set.
Thomas Urrutia (the 19 year old who threw the carom serve above) played aggressively (he intercepted Olharan's serve 12 times), and played excellent defense, but also committed a couple of costly service faults in Set 2. On the positive side, he executed 3 Two walls and had the only service ace of the match. One of his best
was the Two Walls he threw early in the Set 2 (28:52).
Julien Ihitsague was solid in defense and threw one of the best shots of the game, in the "clutch", when he returned a Set 2 Olharan serve and
scored with a Chula, giving his team a 13-12 lead. (50:51)
Condensed full linescores (winning team always listed first)
Set 1:
1-0; 1-1; 1-2; 2-2; 2-3; 5-3; 5-4; 7-4; 7-5; 9-5; 9-6; 14-6; 14-8; 15-8
3 equal scores, 2 lead changes, biggest run:5; O-B (9-6--14-6)
Set 2:
2-0; 2-1; 3-1; 3-2; 4-2; 4-3; 5-3; 5-5; 6-5; 6-7; 7-7; 7-8; 8-8; 8-9; 10-9; 10-10; 11-10; 11-12; 12-12; 12-13; 14-13; 14-14; 15-14
10 equal scores, 4 lead changes, biggest run: 2; 3 by each team
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Olharan +12 -0; de Bettelu +5 -12
Urruita +8 (including 1 service ace) -7 (including 2 service faults); Ihitasgue +2 -6
Total match score: +27 -25 (.519)
Serve intercepts ( direct kill (+); error (-) )
Olharan: 8 (+2 -0)
Urrutia: 12 (+2 -0)
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed)
Olharan 1
Urrutia 7 (2 were 2nd serve faults)
Balls in play: 334
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (308/334): .922
Balls in play--Points
0-4--26
5-9--13
10-14--10
15-19--1
20-24--1
25+--1
Longest point: 26 (2nd set, 3-2--4-2)
Average BIP per point: 6.4
Time of the match: 52:42 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 61 seconds. There was one time out in the match: 2nd set: 7-7
+++
February 9--Day 2
Match 1
St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune)
Group 3
Ithurria-Laborde (Red) 2 (1-0) 4 points
Gonzalez-Portet (Blue) 0 (0-1) 0 points
(15-8, 15-14) (30-22)
Notable: This was a very hard fought match, with over 400 balls in play. There were 3 points that consumed 20 or more balls, and 16 that consumed 10 or more. Kevin Ithurria played an excellent game, better than his figures showed. He scored 3 of his team's last 4 points in the first set and 47% of his team's total points. He had as many winners as the other 3 players combined. However, 3 errors in the last 8 points of Set 2 tarnished his overall figures a bit, as well as kept his opponents in the Set until the last point.
22 year old Bixente Gonzalez was aggressive and showed good shot making ability but threw 3 two wall winners off the court. He also ended both sets with errors.
Both backs played excellent Cesta Punta throughout, and were the reason for so many of the long points. Theo Laborde showed great range, especially along the left wall. Jerome Portet, who played for 3 years at Fronton Mexico, has bulked up a bit. He threw with tremendous power, as well as showing great range along the left wall, moving surprisingly well for a big man.. He also showed great dexterity in handling short hops, grabbing more than a few after they had already passed him.
The non-error percentage (balls in play minus errors divided by balls in play) for the match (.940) was very high by the standards of the modality. The match was, in my opinion, the best of the Tournament so far.
Full Condensed linescore (match winners always listed first)
Set 1:
1-0; 1-2; 3-2; 3-3; 5-3; 5-4; 7-4; 7-5; 10-5; 10-7; 13-7; 13-8; 15-8
3 equal scores, 2 lead changes, biggest run: 3: (2 times): I-L (7-5--10-5, 10-7--13-7)
Set 2:
5 equal scores, 4 lead changes, biggest run: 6 (IL: 1-4--7-4)
Full match scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Ithurria +14 -8; Laborde +3 -3
Gonzalez +8 -8; Portet +3 -5
Serve intercepts with immediate kills (+/-)
Ithurria +1 -1
Gonzalez +2 -1
Pasas (over serves, 2nd serve allowed):
Ithurria 3; Gonzalez 5
Total match score: +28 -24 (.538)
Balls in play: 406
Non-error percent: (BIP - errors / BIP) (382/406): .940
BIP--# of points
0-4--19
5-9--17
10-14--8
15-19--5
20-24--2
25+--1
Longest point: 25 (Set 1: 8-5--9-5)
Average BIP per point: 7.4
Time of the match: 1:02:59 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 73 seconds
+++
Day 1 (February 8)
St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune)
Match 2
Group 2:
Laduche-Oyenart (Red) 2 (1-0) 4 points
Libois-Millat (Blue) 0 (0-1) 0 points
(15-14, 15-4) (30-18)
Notable: Ludovic Laduche played a perfect game +14 -0. In a see-saw first set he brought his team back from the brink with two winners to win 15-14 (see video link below in the linescore.) Laduche compensated (+8 -0) for his young partner Guillen Oyenart, who had a miserable day at the office in Set 1 (+2 -10). In Set 2 L-O used a 6 point run to take the score from 3-2 to 9-2, all but sealing the verdict. Again, Laduche finished in style with 2 winners of his team's last 4 points. One was his best point of the match (see video link in linescore below), where he leapt to his right for a catch that took him on to the apron, and then fired a perfect Picada (overhand throw) big bounce winner back to the inside. Oyenart played much better in the second set, but L-M both self-destructed, gifting their opponents 7 points. Emeric Limois, who was in the 3rd Division of the major Hegoalde (South Basque) Xistera competition in 2019, showed promise, but was a little too aggressive in the Set 2, losing points on errors on two serve intercepts that he would have been better off leaving alone. Yann Millat showed excellent range, especially coming up the left wall, but had catching problems (3 of his 4 errors in Set 2), which helped cause the set to slip away early.
Full condensed linescore (match winners always listed first)
Set 1:
6 equal scores, 4 lead changes, biggest run: 4, both teams, Li-M (4-3--4-7); La-O (4-7--8-7)
Set 2:
1 equal score, 0 lead changes, biggest run: La-O 6 (3-2--9-2)
Scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Full match
Laduche +14 -0; Oyenart +4 -12
Limois +3 -5; Millat +3 -7
Serve intercepts with immediate kill +/-
Laduche +4 -0
Limois +0 -2
Pasas (over serves--2nd serve allowed): Laduche 3
Total match score: +24 -24 (.500)
Balls in Play: 233
Non-error percent (BIP - errors / BIP) (209 / 233): .897
BIP--# of points:
0-4--30
5-9--12
10-14--6
Longest point: 14: Set 1 Point 1; Set 2 Point 2
Average BIP per point: 4.9
Time of the match: 34:56 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average Time per Point: 43 seconds
+++
Day 1 (February 8)
St. Jean de Luz (Donibane Lohizune)
Match 1:
Group 1
J. Tambourindeguy-Berthon (Blue) 2 (1-0) 4 points
Etcheberry-Inza (Red) 0 (0-1) 0 points
(15-12, 15-11) (30-23)
Notable:
Jon Tambourindeguy, who played very well in the
2020 Cesta Pro Tour Fall Tournament (+33 -13 known scoring, +10 -6 in his last two games), started this one very impressively, scoring immediate kills on 5 serves and finishing with a net score of
+7 (+13 -6). His defense was also terrific, as he seemed to spend more time laying on his side for falling rebotes than on his feet. He scored his team's last 4 points in the first set on 3 falling rebotes (including 2 from the apron) and an outside pass. He was the only player with a + net score. For everyone else it was a difficult night. They all played some good points, but there were far too many dropped catches, especially in the back court.
Iban Etcheberry had several serve intercepts, but seemed content to reverse the pelota into the back court most of the time. The match was competitive throughout. Only once did a team run 4 consecutive points. However the final match score of
+25 -28 (.472) showed that the players were a little rusty after not having played competitively since December of 2020.
Best Point: 1st point of the match:
Full condensed linescores (match winners always listed first)
Set 1:
2-0; 2-2; 4-2; 4-3; 5-3; 5-4; 7-4; 7-6; 8-6; 8-8; 8-9; 9-9; 9-10; 10-10; 10-11; 13-11; 13-12; 15-12
5 equal scores, 2 lead changes, biggest run: T-B: 3
Set 2:
2-0; 2-1; 3-1; 3-2; 6-2; 6-3; 7-3; 7-4; 9-4; 9-6; 12-6; 12-7; 13-7; 13-11; 15-11
0 equal scores, 0 lead changes, biggest run: E-I: 4
Scoring (mine, yours may be different)
Full match:
J. Tambourndeguy +13 -6, Berthon +2 -7
Etcheberry +6 -9, Inza +4 -6
Serve intercepts with immediate kills (+/-)
J. Tamourindeguy +5 -2
Etcheberry +2 -1
Pasa (over serves, 2nd serve allowed):
J. Tambourindeguy 3, Etcheberry 1
Total Match Score: +25 -28 (.472)
Balls in Play: 367
Non-error Perccent (BIP - errors / BIP) (339/367): .924
BIP--# of Points:
0-4--24
5-9--14
10-14--10
15-19--3
20+--2
Longest point: 21: Set 1, Point 1
Average BIP per point: 6.9
Time of the match: 1:04:56 (total match time only, playing time was less)
Average time per point: 66 seconds.
