Donostia #Kiro Txartela Competition:
The Donostia #Kiro Txartela Competition was short court competition with all matches played at Atano III, Donostia (San Sebastian) (1) (2) beginning July 3, 2019, and ending with a Final August 16. Most of the InnPala staff played, paired with promising or veteran amateurs. There were 8 teams, divided into two groups. The competition was played as a single round robin in each group, with one match played by each group each week, for most of the League phase. The winners of the group round robin played in the final. Total jokos (sets) won determined the winners.
The Tournament was accompanied, in the later stages, by a women's paleta cuero (hard leather ball--crash helmet--paddle) (note the surface area of the implement is wider then the Pala Larga (bat--see below)) Tournament. It was a 4 team knock out tournament.
InnPala Brochure (.pdf format, 11p.) (Women's Tournament players are on P. 3)
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Women's Masters de Pala (Paleta Cuero)
August 16
FINAL
(8-4, 6-8, 6-8, 8-7, 8-6) (36-33)
Scoring: (EITB)
Irazustabarrena +14 -7; Erasun +6 -6
Galdos +13 -8; Huizi +7 -8
Balls in Play: 550; Irazustabarrena 143; Erasun 133; Galdos 94; Huizi 180
Time of the match: 62:25
Amaia Irazustabarrena, Itaxso Erasun, Leire Galdos, and Maider Huizi produced, arguably, the best and most exciting match of the entire 7 week competition with this excellently played nail biter. I-E were down 6-7 in the 4th joko before holding off 2 match points to get to the final set. If you look at the statistics you will see that only one player finished in the negative. That is rare in Paleta/Pala, which has one of the highest error rates in all of Basque Pelota, mostly because of the implement. And Huizi was, indeed, -1, but she put at least 37 more balls in play than anyone else, including several rebotes (rebound shots off the back wall), the most difficult shot in the game, with a seeming ease of effort that belied just how difficult the shot is. If Ibai Perez (the master of the shot on the InnPala professional roster (see below) was watching, he would have been impressed. Certainly the crowd was. Huizi saved many points this way. Irazustabarrena and Galdos were both terrific shot makers, not afraid to go to the outside, the two wall, or the cortada (hard sidearm shot) for their points. And Erasun, though not as adept at the rebote as Huizi, was solid and powerful in defense. The result was, after a slow start for the runners up, 3 of the best jokos you'll see anywhere. The 5th joko, while also extremely competitive, saw a few errors creep in due to fatigue. 550 balls were put in play in five 8 point jokos. The maximum number of points in this type of match is 75. These players contested 69. It was a magnificent match.
Semi-Finals
August 14
2nd Semi-final
Irazustabarrena-Erasun 3
Isasmendi-L. Saez 1
August 7
1st Semi-Final
Galdos-Huizi 3 Maiza-Araiztegi 1
(8-6, 8-3, 4-8, 8-4) (28-21) Source: Diario Vasco Cartelera
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Men's Masters de Pala (Pala Larga)
*=Amateur
Group A
Garate-Andonegi*
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia
Milhet*-Ibargarai
Luzuriaga*-Gordon
Group B
Altuna*-Ibai Perez
Necol-Benoit*
Gaubeka-Rekalde*
Ibarguren*-Vigeon*
Note: Pablo Hernan "Fusto", the greatest professional of his generation, did not participate in this competition because he was in Lima, Peru for the 2019 Pan American Games, representing Argentina in Paleta Cuero, one of the Basque Pelota sports being contested.
Fusto-Alfredo Villegas won the gold medal for Argentina without losing a set.
Aug 4. Arg. 2 Cuba 0 (15-6, 15-9) (30-15)
Aug. 5. Arg. 2 USA 0 (15-8, 15-2) (30-10)
Aug. 6. Arg. 2 Peru 0 (15-8, 15-4) (30-12)
Aug.7. Arg. 2 Mexico 0 (15-10, 15-7) (30-17)
Aug. 10. (Gold Medal) Arg. 2 Cuba 0 (15-6, 15-11) (30-17) (150-71) (Source: Pan American Games Results and scroll to "Basque Pelota")
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The tournament took place over 7 weeks and had little to no press or video coverage. It was a bit strange in that 15 of the 45 jokos in the Tournament were decided by less than 3 points. However, only 1 of the 12 matches played went to 5 jokos.
As always, for a tournament of this length, read from the bottom up to follow chronologically. Cumulative League standings are presented before each round's play.
August 16
FINAL
(10-7, 10-4, 10-6) (30-17)
Scoring (through 2 jokos only) (EITB)
Altuna +4 -1; Ibai Perez +9 -4
Garate +5 -3; Andonegi +1 -4
Balls in Play: 219; Altuna 40; Ibai Perez 74; Garate 55; Andonegi 50
InnPala had a succinct description:
La final tuvo un nombre propio, Ibai Pérez, el zaguero sestaoarra desespero a sus oponentes a base de llevar toda clase de pelotas. La victoria fue contundente debido a la gran actuación de Ibai que estuvo bien acompañado por un Altuna que fue de menos a mas a lo largo del encuentro…
Loose google translation:
The final had its own name, Ibai Pérez, the defender from Sestaoa who brought despair to his opponents based on carrying all kinds of balls. The victory was overwhelming due to the great performance of Ibai that was well accompanied by an Altuna that went from less to more throughout the match ...
EITB did not provide scoring for the 3rd joko, but they did mention late in the match the Ibai Perez had 8 service aces. He controlled the entire match. His performance was highlighted by falling rebotes on 2 consecutive points in the 3rd joko. He towered over the other players in this match.
Interestingly, the two amateurs, Ibon Altuna (age 39) and Azeari Andonegi (40) were older than the professionals, Ibon Garate (33) and Ibai Perez (29). Altuna showed great range and power. Garate and Andonegi did not have the greatest of days at the office. However, Ibai Perez, on his day, is the most dominant back in the game, and more than a hand full for anyone. Not every day is his day. This one was.
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Final Table--end of Jornada (Day) 7
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (3-0; 9-1) 9
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (2-1; 7-5) 7
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-2; 4-6) 4
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-3; 1-9) 1
Group B
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (3-0; 9-3) 9
Necol-Benoit* (2-1; 7-6) 8
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (1-2; 6-6) 6
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-3; 2-9) 2
August 14
7th Jornada
Group A
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia 3 Luzuriaga*-Gordon 1
(10-9, 10-4, 6-10, 10-4) (36-27) Source: Diario Vasco Cartelera
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 6
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (3-0; 9-1) 9
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (1-1; 4-4) 4
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-2; 4-6) 4
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-2; 0-6) 0
Group B
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (3-0; 9-3) 9
Necol-Benoit (2-1; 7-6) 7
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (1-2; 6-6) 6
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-3; 2-9) 2
Altuna*-Ibai Perez win Group B
6th Jornada
August 7
Group B
Altuna*-Ibai Perez 3 Ibarguren*-Vigeon* 1
(10-8, 10-7, 9-10, 10-4) (39-29) Source:
Diario Vasco Cartelera
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 5
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (3-0; 9-1) 9
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (1-1; 4-4) 4
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-2; 4-6) 4
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-2; 0-6) 0
Garate-Andonegi* win Group A
Group B
Necol-Benoit (2-1; 7-6) 7
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (2-0; 6-2) 6
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (1-2; 6-6) 6
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-2; 1-6) 1
July 30, 2019
5th Jornada
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* defeated Milhet-Ibargarai.
Note: There is no information about this match, or even whether it was played.
Diario Vasco Cartelera for July 31 does not mention it (see below).
Cartelera for July 30 (under Hoy Profesionales), does not list the match as scheduled. Garate-Andonegi were given the victory, which is the only way they could have gotten into the finals (see above under Final Table) (added August 15). I am going to give a 3-0 victory until I find out more information, if there ever is any.
Group B
Gaubeka-Rekalde* 3 Ibaruren*-Vigeon* 0
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 4
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (2-0; 6-1) 6
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (1-1; 4-4) 4
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-1; 4-3) 4
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-2; 0-6) 0
Group B
Necol-Benoit (2-1; 7-6) 7
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (2-0; 6-2) 6
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (0-2; 3-6) 3
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-1; 1-3) 1
July 24, 2019
4th Jornada
Group A
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia 3 Milhet*-Ibargarai 1
(10-4, 5-10, 10-9, 10-9) (35-32)
Group B
Altuna*Ibai-Perez 3 Necol-Benoit* 1
(10-8, 8-10, 10-4, 10-9) (38-31)
5 of the 8 jokos end 10-8 or 10-9.
This was the match that decided Group B. Except for one joko, it very much lived up to its billing.
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 3
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (2-0; 6-1) 6
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-0; 3-0) 3
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (0-1; 1-3) 1
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-2; 0-6) 0
Group B
Necol-Benoit (2-0; 6-3) 6
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (1-0; 3-1) 3
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (0-2; 3-6) 3
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-1; 1-3) 1
July 16, 2019
3rd Jornada
Group A
Garate-*Andonegi 3 Luzuriaga*-Gordon 0
(10-6, 10-4, 10-6) (30-16)
Group B
Necol-Benoit* 3 Gaubeka-Rekalde* 2
(10-8, 8-10, 8-10, 10-8, 10-5) (46-41)
This was the only match in the entire competition that "went the distance" .
Note: Source incorrectly has Ander Landeta, an InnPala professional, playing with Gordon. Landeta, though originally scheduled to play, missed the entire competition recovering from wrist surgery.
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 2
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (1-0; 3-1) 3
Milhet*-Ibargarai (1-0; 3-0) 3
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (0-1; 1-3) 1
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-1; 0-3) 0
Group B
Necol-Benoit* (1-0; 3-1) 3
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (1-0; 3-1) 3
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (0-1; 1-3) 1
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-1; 1-3) 1
July 10, 2019
2nd Jornada
Group A
Milhet*-Ibargarai 3 Luzuriaga*-Gordon 0
(10-7, 10-5, 10-3) (30-15)
Group B
Altuna*-Ibai Perez 3 Gaubeka-Rekalde* 1
(10-8, 9-10, 10-7, 10-4) (39-29)
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Tables--end of Jornada (Day) 1
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* (1-0; 3-1) 3
Ibarguren II*-Urrutia (0-1; 1-3) 1
Milhet*-Ibargarai (0-0; 0-0) 0
Luzuriaga*-Gordon (0-0; 0-0) 0
Group B
Necol-Benoit* (1-0; 3-1) 3
Ibarguren*-Vigeon* (0-1; 1-3) 1
Altuna*-Ibai Perez (0-0; 0-0) 0
Gaubeka-Rekalde* (0-0; 0-0) 0
July 3, 2019
1st Jornada
Group A
Garate-Andonegi* 3 Ibarguren II*-Urrutia 1
(1-10, 10-6, 10-9, 10-6) (31-31)
Group B
Necol-Benoit* 3 Ibarguren*-Vigeon* 1
(3-10, 10-5, 10-5, 10-4) (33-24)
