Basque Pelota Updates (June 2016-April 2017); 2019-

This is a current awareness blog that links to the latest sources of information on Basque Pelota matches and Tournaments. It covers all of both North and South Basque modalities: Pro and amateur. It links to match stories, statistics and video highlights and/or full match videos. !!!NEW CESTA PUNTA PRO TOUR 2024 CESTA NADAU--DECEMBER 6, 13, 20, 2024---JAI ALAI LEAGUE (EREMAN!) WINTER SERIES--OCTOBER 2024--FEBRUARY 2025!!!

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Main Nue--FFPB Championnat de France Par Equipes (Pairs)--Info About Competition--List of Winners Back to 2007--FINALS

The 2019 FFPB (Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque) Championnat de France par Equipes (pairs) Tournament began on March 10, 2019 and ended  with a final on May 5. There will be two competitions, Group A and Group B. 20 players are  involved. FFPB has provided a "dossier" (.pdf format, 9p.) explaining how the tournament worked and who the players in each group were. The competition began with a round robin League in both groups. The fifth place finishers in each group were eliminated. Then the 1st place finisher in Group B played against the 4th place finisher in Group A. The winner played in the Group A Semi-finals as the #4 team. The loser played in the Group B Semi-finals as the #2 team.  This was a twist that made the competition very interesting. A Group B team had a chance to be promoted within the space of one competition. The semi-finals were contested between the #1-#4 and #2-#3 in each group. The winners met in Finals on April 28 (Group A) and May 5 (Group B).

Player profiles at Esku Pilota
Player profiles at Pilota Ttiki

Group A:

Augusti Waltary-Peio Guichandut (defending Champions)

Peio Larralde-Bixintxo Bilbao

Mathieu Ospital-Baptiste Ducassou (runner up and Champion respectively of recently concluded FFPB Main Nue Individuel Competition)

Julien Etchegaray-Ximun Lambert

Antton Monce-Thierry Harismendy

Group B:

Phillipe Bielle-Bixentxe Cubiat

Alexis Inchauspe (winner of Group B Main Nue Individuel)-Antton Amulet

Laurent Lambert (runner up of Group B Main Nue Individuel)-Cedric Lucu

Vincent Elgart-Mickael Palomes

Mattin-Olcomendy-Ion Iturbe

Note: Elgart and Iturbe were Group A players in the Individuel competition. Harismendy and Amulet did not play in the Individuel competition. Pascal de Ezcurra, Gregory Aguirre, and Mikael Darmendrail (all Group B Indviduel) are not playing in this championship.

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NOTE: RECORD OF PREVIOUS CHAMPIONSHIPS (2007-2018) IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

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Qualification Round: Week 1; Week 2; Week 3; Week 4; Week 5 and Barrage: April 13, 2019: Group B #1 v Group A #4

Semi-Finals:

Finals: Group A; Group B

-------------------------------------

Competition preview article (Pilota Ttiki)

 FINALS:
Group A:

April 28, 2019

Trinquet Moderne, Bayonne (1) (2)

Ospital-Ducassou (#2, 4-2, -1) 37 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)

 Audiense Audiovisuel Youtube full match video (added October 22, 2019)

36 photos (FFPB)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

2-8; 8-8; 14-14; 17-26; 30-30; 31-31; 31-35; 35-35; 36-36; 40-37

There were 8 equal scores in the match.

Time of match: about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Partial scoring (FFPB)

Larralde 7 service aces, Ospital 8

Match article (FFPB)

This was a classic match between the number 1 and 2 Group A teams. It was like a heavyweight boxing classic, punch, counter punch. There were 8 equal scores and L-B came back from 6, 9, and 4 point deficits to win. D-O controlled the match throughout, but L-B finally siezed the initiative at the very end.  The struggle took an hour and 40 minutes and saved the best for last as the 4 best players (at the moment) in Main Nue battled it out, an appreciative packed house at Bayonne's Trinquet Moderne enjoying every moment. 

Group B:

May 5, 2019

Trinquet Chihar, Souraide (1) (2)

Inchauspe-Amulet (#1, 4-3 -14) 16 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)

26 photos (FFPB)

Selected linescore: (winners always listed first)

3-0; 6-2; 10-5; 16-9; 21-12; 23-14; 40-16

Partial Scoring (FFPB)

Bielle 6 service aces, Inchauspe 1

Time of the match: about 1 hour and 15 minutes

Match article (FFPB)

B-C led from start to finish, increasing their lead throughout the match, and finishing it off in style, with a 17-2 run. Cubiat was excellent in the back, as Inchauspe's service ace figures showed. His serve was a big factor in his team's success (see tournament service statistics below). However, in this match he had one ace. Cubiat was the player receiving most of Inchauspe's serves.

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

Qualification Final Table: April 8, 2019

Group A:


Larralde-Bilbao (4-0 +78)
Ospital-Ducassou (3-1 -3)
Waltary-Guichandut (2-2 +42)
Monce-Harrismendy (2-3 -16)
Etchegaray-X. Lambert (0-4 -78)*

Group B:

Inchauspe-Amulet (3-2 +6)
Bielle-Cubiat (3-1 +11)
Elgart-Palomes (2-2 +14)
Olcomendy-Iturbe (2-2 -14)
L. Lambert-Lucu (0-4 -33)*

*eliminated

Available cumulative scoring. Partial data is available for service aces. Service aces for Olcomendy and Inchauspe are provided for both A and B as they were substitutes in the A group. Source is FFPB match articles.

Final

DNP: Did Not Play
NA: Not Available

Group A:

Waltary: 8; 9; 5; 15; 8 = 37 (avg. 9)
Larralde: 10; 2; 6; 6; 9; 7= 31 (avg. 5.2)
Ospital: 8; 4; DNP; DNP; 7; 8= 27 (avg. 6.7)
Monce: NA; 2; 7; 0; 7; 7= 23 (avg. 4.6)
Etcheverry (sub for Ospital): 4
Etchegaray: DNP; 2; 1; 3= 6 (avg. 2)
Olcomendy (sub for Ospital): 3
Inchauspe: (sub for Etchegaray) NA

Group B:

Inchauspe: 8; 10; 9; 12; 6; 8; 1= 46 (avg. 6.6)
Bielle: NA; 9; 7; 6; 12; 6= 40 (avg. 8)
Olcomendy: 5; 6; 9; 4; 10= 24 (avg. 6.8)
Elgart: 12; 9; 3; 2; 5= 31 (avg. 6.2)
L. Lambert: 4; 1; 6; 8= 15 (avg. 4.75)

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

Previous Championships:

2018:

Group A:
Waltary-Guichandut 40 Larralde-Iturbe 36

Full match video (Audiense Audiovisuel via FFPB)
Match article (FFPB)
"Dossier" (FFPB--.pdf format, 9p., which contains all competition match scores).

Pilota Ttiki also covered the entire competition, with match articles and condensed match videos Their coverage begins March 19. At the bottom of the article click on "precedent" and page through articles about the competition, using the "dossier" as your guide to dates of matches. When there are match videos, Pilota Ttiki links to them from the bottom of the match articles. They are also available at Pilota Ttiki Youtube (CTRL-F Championnat elite pro par equipes 2018).

Group B:
Bielle-Palomes 40 Elgart-Cubiat 22

Full match video (condensed) (Pilota Ttiki)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)

2017: 

Group A: Larralde-Bilbao 40 Waltary-Guichandut 38

Full match video (Audiense Audiovisuel via FFPB)
Match article (FFPB)
"Dossier" (FFPB--.pdf format, 12p. ,which contains all competition match scores)
Full competition context, with final linescore graph and linescore (pelotelive.free.fr)

Group B: Inchauspe-Amulet 40 L. Lambert-Palomes 29

Competition context  (pelotelive.free.fr) (no match video available)
Match article (Pilota Ttiki)

2016: 

Group A: Waltary-Bilbao 40 Bielle-Ducassou 23

Full match video (Audiense Indivduel)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition context (pelotelive.free.fr)
Annotated linescore: (pelotelive.free.fr)

Group B: Inchauspe-Amulet 40 L. Lambert-de Ezcurra 23

Full match video (Esku Pilota)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition context: (pelotelive.free.fr)

2015:

Group A: Larralde-Bilbao 40 Etcheverry-Ducassou 10

Full match video (Bixintxo Bilbao Youtube)
Match article (FFPB)
Competition Context (pelotelive.free.fr)

Group B: Inchauspe-Saldubehere 40 Elgart-Bonetbelche 37 (no match video)

Match article (FFPB)
Competition context (pelotelive.free.fr)

2014: Larrechea-Harismendy 40 Sorhuet-Ducassou (substituting for T. Etxeto) 19 (no match video)

Match article (FFPB)

2013: Waltary-Harismendy 40 Larrechea-X. Lambert 25 (no match video)

Match article (FFPB)

2012: Ibarola-Harismendy 40 Bielle-Ocafrain 37 (no match video) Source: FFPB 2013 Assemblee Generale Ordinaire Exercice 2012 (P. 9)

2011: Waltary-X. Lambert 40 Ibarola-Jeannots 21 (no match video) Source: FFPB 2012 Assemblee Generale Ordinaire Exercice 2011 (P. 9) Match article (Naiz--Basque--note: Naiz has score 40-20.

2010: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Waltary-Etxeto 39 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)

2009: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Etxeto 34 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)

2008: Ibarola-Ocafrain 40 Sorhuet-Ezkurra 32 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque)

2007: Waltary-Etxeto 40 Sorhuet-Ocafrain 19 (no match video) Match article (Naiz--Basque). Agusti Waltary becomes the first non-native Basque to win this competition.

Since 2007: (avant-front; arriere-back)

Waltary (av) has played in 7 Finals and has won 5. 

Ibarola (av) played in 5 finals and won 4 (3 consecutive wins from 2008-2010). Ocafrain (ar) played in 5 Finals and won 3. 
Sorhuet (av) played in 4 Finals without a win. 
Harismendy (ar) won 3 consecutive Finals (2012-2014).
Larralde (av) has played in 3 Finals and won 2.
Etxeto (ar) played in 3 Finals and won 1.  
Ducassou (ar) has played in 3 Finals without a win.     
Bilbao (ar) has won 2 Finals. 
Larrechea (av) played in 2 Finals and won 1.
X. Lambert (ar) has played in 2 Finals and won 1. 
Guichandut (ar) has played in 2 Finals and won 1
Bielle (av) has played in 2 Finals without a win.

Iturbe (av), Etcheverry (av), and Jeannots (ar) have all played in 1 Final without a win
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Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Cesta Punta Pro Tour Begins its Season with Two Tournaments


COMPLETE COVERAGE OF FRONTON MEXICO SUMMER SEASON  (INCLUDES LINKS TO 63 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)

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Cesta Punta Pro Tour, the organizer of Tournaments in the North Basque Country, including the Internationaux Cesta Punta tournaments held in July and August in St. Jean-de-Luz, recently completed its first two tournaments of 2019. The first was held in conjunction with FFPB (Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque)--FFPB Championnat de France National A (which featured Cesta Punta Pro Teams on both teams in the final. It was played in Pau. The second was the Trophee Landes Atlantique Sud, played in Hossegor. 

 1. Trophee Landes Atlantique Sud

 FINAL
May 17, 2019

Hossigor (1) (2)

Arbe-(Manex) Urtasun 0 (Canel + via Cesta Punta Pro Tour Youtube)
(15-8, 15-14) (30-22)

I was unable to find a match story about this match. But the match video is of commercial quality and you can write your own story after watching. The tournament was set up as an Ipparlde (North Basque) v Hegoalde (South Basque) faceoff, with Ipparalde teams P. Tambourindeguy-Minvielle and Hormatxea-Etxeba, against, Hegoalde teams Jokin (Arbe)-(Manex) Urtasun (both of whom have recently played at Dania Jai Alai) and Moremau-Etxeto. The semi-finals placed one team from each area in the final. Ippralde won, but not without a second set fight from Hegoalde. Ipparalde 1, Hegoalde 0. Hopefully, Hegoalde will have a chance to even the ledger next year. 

Semi-Finals

May 10

Arbe-(Manex) Urtasun 2 Hormaetxea-Etxeba 0
(15-8, 15-8) (30-16) 

May 3

P. Tamourindeguy-Minvielle 2 Moremau-Etxeto 1
(15-9, 13-15, 5-1) (33-25)

Scores for both Semi-finals: Jai Alai News Facebook)

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

 2. FFPB Championnat de France National A

 Competition Context (FFPB database)

 FINAL
April 26, 2019

Pau (1) (2)

Luzean 2 (St. Jean de Luz) (Olha-Inza) 2
Olharroa (Guethary) Laduche (Etchegarray)-Etcheto 0
(15-8; 15-9) (30-17) (Canal + Cesta Punta Pro Tour Youtube)

 Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)

 Semi-Finals:

April 19, 2019

Pau (1) (2)

(15-9; 12-15; 10-7) (37-31) (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)
Score Source: FFPB Database

(15-14; 11-15; 10-9) (36-38) (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)
Score Source: FFPB Database

Match articles  for both matches   (Section Paloise--Raymond Cadazebat)

The competition began on March 9 with preliminary rounds followed by a Quarter-final League. The survivors of that played in a tournament over two weekends at Pau, the first weekend the Semi-Finals, the second weekend the finals, which were part of a set of FFPB finals in multiple modalites. The two semi-finals were streamed by Olivier Simon. The final was televised by Canal +, the French TV network. The Semi-finals were very competitive, both going to tie-breaker sets. 4 points total separated the winners from the losers when it was over. The final was won with a dominant performance by veterans Christophe Olha and Txabi Inza over Ludovic Laduche and Nicolas Etcheto. Unfortunately, Laduche suffered a severe ankle tendon injury in the 2nd set and was replaced by 19 year old  Theo Etchegarry, who showed some promise but was a little bit out of his depth being "thrown into the pool at the deep end." Laduche will miss the entire May-June season of Fronton Mexico. It is unkown at this time whether he will be back for the St. Jean-de-Luz summer partidos.

---------------------------------

CPPT Table through 2 tournaments (only FFPP semis and finals are included in this table.

Player, match record, set record points for and against, Tourmaments won

A=FFPB Championnat de France National A
B=Trophee Landes Atlantique Sud

 Delanteros (Fronts)

Olha...............2-0....4-1....73-55....1(A)
P. Tambourindeguy..2-1....5-3....94-78....1(B)
Arbe...............1-1....2-2....52-46
Ladutxe............1-1....2-3....54-61
Olharan............0-1....1-2....36-38
Moremau............0-1....1-2....25-33
Hormaetxea.........0-1....0-2....16-30

 Zagueros (Backs)

 Minvielle..........2-0....4-1....63-47....1(A)
Inza...............2-0....4-1....66-55....1(B)
Etcheto............1-1....2-3....54-61
Urtasun............2-3....3-4....83-83
Portet.............0-1....1-2....36-38
Etxeto.............0-1....1-2....25-33
Etxeba.............0-1....0-2....16-30

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

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF FRONTON MEXICO SUMMER SEASON  (INCLUDES LINKS TO 63 FULL MATCH VIDEOS)
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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Mano: Eskuz Banakako Txapelketa-Campeonato Manomanista De Lep.M 2019--1/8 Round

Eskuz Banakako Txapelketa-Campeonato Manomanista De Lep.M, the premier professional Mano singles championship competition, began  on April 14, 2019 with two play-in matches. It will end on June 2, 2019 with a final. It is a seeded ladder knockout tournament consisting of 4 1/16 round play in matches, followed by seeded 1/8 and Quarter-finals. Quarter final winners will play a Semi-final and Semi-final winners will play in the final. There will also be a third place match.

The competition will be in four Groups (A-D). The seeding works as follows:

Seeds: (D/F) =delantero/front; (Z/B) = zaguero/back

Group A: 1/8: Irribarria (D/F); 1/4: Altuna III (D/F)
Group B: 1/8: Rezusta (Z/B); 1/4: Elezkano II (D/F)
Group C: 1/8: Bengoetxea VI (D/F); 1/4: Urrutikoetxea (D/F)
Group D: 1/8: Jaka (D/F); 1/4: Ezkurdia (D/F)

2019 schedule (Baiko Pilota--formerly Asegarce) Note: this also links to full results of all Manonista Tournaments back to 1999.

List of previous winners going back to 1940 (Baiko Pilota)

Available Final match videos

1948 (Gallestegi 22 Atano III 6--highlights only) ;

(1991 Galarza III 22 Retegi II 15--added April 17, 2019)  ; (1992 (Galarza III 22 Retegi II 12--added April 27, 2017) ; 1993 (Retegi II 22 Galarza III 19) ; 1995 (Beloki 22 Errandonea 15) ; 1997 (Arretxe 22 Elkoro 18)

2000 (Eugi 22 Beloki 13) ; 2001 (Beloki 22 Eugi 8) ; 2002 (Barriola 22 Beloki 3) ; 2003 (Patxi Ruiz 22 Olaizola II 7) ;  2004 (Mtz. de Irujo 22 Xala 12) : 2005 (Olaizola II 22 Mtz. de Irujo 18) ; 2006  (Mtz. de Irujo 22 Olaizola II 17) ; 2007 (Olaizola II 22 Barriola 10) ; 2008 (Bengoetxea VI 22 Barriola 11) ; 2009 (Mtz. de Irujo 22 Olaizola II 12)

2010 (Mtz. de Irujo 22 Xala 13--1:18:45) 2011 (Xala 22 Olaizola II 19--1:27:27) ; 2012 (Olaizola II 22 Mtz. de Irujo 7) ;  2013 (Olaizola II 22 Mtz. de Irujo 7--1:17:25) ; 2014 (Mtz. de Irujo 22 Retegi BI 9--1:21:40) ;  2015 (Urrutikoetxea 22 Olaizola II 19) ; 2016 (Irribarria 22 Urrutikoetxea 13) ; 2017 (Bengoetxea VI 22-Irribarria 18--added April 17, 2019) ; 2018 (Altuna III 22 Oliazola II 14--added April 17, 2019)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Play-ins ; 1/16 Round ; 1/8 Round ; 1/4 Round; Semi-Finals; 3rd Place Match--cancelled

FINAL  

---------------------------------------------------------------------

1/8 Round

April 29, 2019

Aitzuri, Zumaia (1) (2)

Group B

P. Etxeberria 22 Rezusta (seeded in) 10 (there is no full match video for this match)

*Highlights* (EITB)

Condensed linescore (winner always listed first) (21Iguales)

0-1; 8-1; 8-5; 9-5; 9-7; 14-7; 14-8; 15-8; 15-9; 17-9; 17-10; 22-10

Scoring (21Iguales)

P. Etxeberria +12 (including 6 service aces) -4
Rezusta +6 (1a) -10

Balls in play: 203

Time of the match: 45:00

Match article (21Iguales)

P. Etxeberria used an early run of 8 consecutive points and a late run of 5 to easily defeat the only back court player in the Tournament. According to the match article, he consistently moved Rezusta around the court and finished points quickly. Rezusta had no answers and 10 errors did not help his cause.

April 28, 2019

Astelena, Eibar (1) (2)

Group A

Irribarria (seeded in) 22 Victor 20 (EITB--match begins at: 1:03:06

Highlights (EITB)

Condensed linescore (winner always listed first) (21iguales)

2-0; 2-1; 3-1; 3-4; 5-4; 5-7; 6-7; 6-8; 10-8; 10-12; 16-12; 16-13; 17-13; 17-17; 18-17; 18-19; 21-19; 21-20; 22-20

8 lead changes

Scoring:

Irribarria +11 (including 2 service aces) -9
Victor +11 (4a) -11

Balls in play: 258

Irribarria 130 Victor 128

Time of match: 60:09

Match article (21Iguales)

In an error filled (+22 -20) but scintillating match in which no one was able to accumulate more than a 6 point lead, and which contained 8 lead changes, Irribarria had the final say, barely eking out the win. At 16-12, it looked like he had the match under control, but then Victor answered with 7-2 run. But then Irribarria won 4 of the last 5 points to move on to the Quarter-finals.

April 27, 2019

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

Group C

Bengoetxea VI 22 Retegi BI 16 (EITB--match begins at 1:13:00)

Highlights (EITB)

Condensed linescore (winner always listed first) (21Iguales)

9-0; 9-1; 13-1; 13-2; 14-2; 14-4; 16-4; 16-7; 19-7; 19-14; 21-14; 21-16; 22-16

Scoring: (EITB)

Bengoetxea VI +15 (including 4 service aces) -5
Retegi BI +11 (including 4 service aces) -7

Balls in play: 285

Bengoetxea VI 145 Retgegi BI 140

Time of the match: 53:28

April 26, 2019

Group D

Bengoetxea VI built a huge 16-4 lead and and then Retegi BI made a furious 12-6 comeback, but it was not enough as Bengoetxea VI, using his various offensive skills, put a +15 on the scoreboard and moves on the the next round.

Beotibar, Tolosa (1) (2)

Jaka (seeded in) 22 Artola 20 (EITB--match begins at: 43:02)

FrontonTV Youtube (Castilian)

Condensed linescore (21iguales) (winner always listed first)


7-0; 7-1; 8-1; 8-2; 13-2; 13-3; 15-3; 15-6; 16-7; 19-7; 20-9; 20-20; 22-20

Scoring (EITB)

Jaka +15 (including 4 service aces) -10
Artola +10 (3a) -7

Balls in play: 233

Jaka 116 Artola 117

Time of the match 52:21

Match article (21Iguales)

 This was the match of the week and one of the greatest comebacks in the history of this tournament as Artola came back from 20-9 deficit to tie the match, before falling to Jaka. The 11-0 run almost counteracted Jaka's early 13-2 run. Neither player helped themselves (17 errors), but Jaka had just enough left to survive a major scare at the end. 
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Main Nue/Remonte/Laxoa/Pala--Two recent obituaries

Main Nue: Patrick Ocafrain, May 12, 2019, age 44. 

Won World Championship in Mexico City in 1998, 3 consecutive pairs FFPB Championnat du Monde (2008-2010), among many other championships. One of the best arrieres (back court players) of his time. Played as an amateur and coached after retiring at the end of 2013.

Obituary: Sud-Ouest
Obituary: Naiz

 Basque Pelota/Remonte/Laxoa/: Mikel Eizagirre, Circa 2019. Age 83.

Patron of Remonte and its ancestor sport, Laxoa, was co-Executive Director of Gipuzkoa Pelota Federation, was Director and one of the Founders of Pilotarien Batzarra, in his day an excellent amateur Remonista.


Obituary: Diario Vasco
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Remonte: Aritz Etxeberria (Etxeberria IV Retires from Oriamendi2010

Aritz Etxeberria (Etxeberria IV) (delantero--front), retired at age 31 after 13 years as a professional. (Oriamendi2010 announcement).Though limited by injuries, he played over 600 matches, 431 with Oriamendi2010 since 2010. He won the Sagardoeren Txapelketa (Torneo Sidra/Cider Tournament) in 2014 (Oriamendi2010 match article which links, at the bottom, to video of the 36-24--40-34 points--he is in blue). Though these points do not show him at his best, he was the star of this match with 12 two wall winners. It was one of his best career matches and he starred throughout the tournament. He also won the Euskal Jai Berri San Fermin Tournament that year. (Viva el Remonte blog match article). Entering that Tournament midway through as a substitute for the injured Koteto Ezkurra, he and Ion (his partner in the other win as well), did not "miss a beat". Etxeberria IV outscored Uterga +21 +20 in his team's 40-35 win.



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Saturday, May 18, 2019

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Fronton Mexico Tournament 1--Premier and National League--May 3-12, 2019

Fronton Mexico's short 2019 season began on May 3 and will end on June 30, 2019. It is made up of 4 sets of two tournaments, an "A" tournament (Premier League) and a "B" tournament (National League).

FM Roster

Each tournament will be  played over the course of two weekends, the first weekend a preliminary round, the second a semi-final and final. At present each tournament will contain either 4 or 6 pairs. After the first 4 tournaments, a 5th tournament, a tournament among the highest ranking players, will be held to crown two "Champion of Champions" winners. The winners of the Premier League will win the Copa Moises Cosio Trophy.

 Parts or all of each Tournament will be streamed live via Fronton Mexico Facebook. (Consult FM website, Facebook or Twitter for times (Twitter is the quickest way to get the times, consult it the day of the matches). For those who miss the live transmissions, the matches are available on demand at the Facebook site. Selected matches may also be available at the FM Youtube site.

Player rankings (and explanation of rankings)

Injury report: 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.

Note: the matches are presented in reverse chronological order.

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

Tournament 1
Tournament 2
Tournament 3
Tournament 4

Champion of Champions Tournaments
=================

Tourmanment 1: May 3-May 12, 2019

T1 Information (Fronton Mexico)

Premier League

FINAL

 May 12, 2019

Goikoetxea-Del Rio 2 (Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet 1 (Fronton Mexico Facebook full match video--match begins at -1:10:35--slide back from the end to -1:10:35) (15-5; 12-15; 5-3) (32-23)

 Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article (MNI Noticias)

 Discounting the 1st set of the Premier League final, when young zaguero (back court) Jerome Portet had a very difficult time, the 4 sets were decided by 7 points. Inaki Goikoetxea, in his late 30s and still arguably the best player in the world, put on a clinic that didn't rely as much on his usual un-returnable cortadas (hard side arm shots at which Goiko is the best and most powerful in the world, usually throwing the pelota through cestas), as on long high and hard chic-chacs and chulas (chic-chac is a ball the hits the floor and then back wall too low to be returned), tremendously powerful serves that put his opponents on the back foot, and beautiful two wall carom shots. Del Rio was steady on defense and showed much promise with his overhand returns. Aritz Erkiaga is a master of the "ezker hornan" (left wall shot, which he executes from straight on or from a rebote). It is a shot that has earned him the nickname "Artiste" at FM ,and if you watch this match you'll see why. Alas, Portet struggled with dropped catches, but righted the ship enough to show that he has tremendous potential as a back court player. Note that FM is the longest indoor court in the world, probably a good 8 to 10 meters longer than the usual 54 meter (about 60 yard) court. It is not easy for a back courter to adjust to that, especially a young back under the brightest of spotlights. After the first set E-P could have closed up shop. They didn't gain a lead in the match until 6-5 in the second set. They lost that lead but then fought back hard to win the set. And they fought back from 3-0 in the tie breaker to 3-3 before finally falling to two Del Rio winners. 

May 11, 2019: 

Friendly:

Olharan-Lopez 2 Olharan-Irastorza 1 (15-10, 8-15, 5-3) (28-28)

Semi-finals

May 10, 2019:

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet 2 Olha-Ekhi 0 (Fronton Mexico Facebook--no sound) 
(15-6; 15-9) (30-15)

Goikoetxea-Del Rio 2 Olharan-Inza 0 (Fronton Mexico Facebook with sound)(15-8; 15-13) (30-21)

Match articles for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)

Neither match was particularly competitive. Erkiaga led his team with +10 and Portet had an excellent match. Olha and Ekhi, according to the match article, had a "bad day at the office." After an easy first set win, Olharan-Inza put up much better resistance in the second set, but it was still not enough. 

League Round Robin

 Final League Round Robin Table

 Group A

 Olharan-Inza 2-0
Olha-Ekhi 1-1
(Angel) Egea-Irastorza 0-2

Group B

 (Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet 2-0
Goikoetxea-Del Rio 1-1
Inclan-Lopez 0-2

None of these matches were streamed

May 5, 2019

 Group A: Olharan-Inza (2-0) 2 (Angel) Egea-Irastorza (0-2) 0 (15-5; 15-6) (30-11) (30-11)

 (Angel) Egea-Irastorza are eliminated

 Group B:

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet (2-0) 2 Goikoetxea-Del Rio (1-1) 1 (12-15; 15-12; 5-1) (32-28)

Match articles for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)

May 4, 2019

 Group A: Olharan-Inza (1-0) 2 Olha-Ekhi (1-1) 0 (15-14; 15-8) (30-22)

Group B: Goikoetxea-Del Rio (1-0) 2 Inclan-Lopez (0-2) 0 (15-10; 15-14) (30-24)

 Inclan-Lopez are eliminated

Match articles for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)

 May 3, 2019

 Group A: Olha-Ekhi (1-0) 2 (Angel) Egea-Irastorza (0-1) 0 (15-6; 15-12) (30-18)

 Group B: (Aritz) Erkiaga-Portet (1-0) 2 Inclan-Lopez (0-1) 1 (11-15; 15-14; 5-2) (31-31) 

Match articles for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)

--------------------------------------

National League Final:

Ochoa-Perez 2 Ortega-Ihitsague 0 (Fronton Mexico Facebook: match begins at 0:00)(15-14;15-14) (30-28)

Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)
Match article (MNI Noticias)

 The National League match was tremendously exciting if not technically as proficient. What stuck in my mind was journeyman zaguero (back court) Julien Ihitsague even attempting, much less executing two wall carom shots from behind the 10 line, a "Lopezian" (Imanol Lopez, arguably the best back court player in the world, who has executed more than one two wall shot from behind the 12 line at FM) shot if ever there was one. Also the great disappointment of 42 year old Adrian Ortega upon dropping a difficult catch for the final point of the match. His disappointment was palpable, but he was consoled by his teammate and opponents. He has one of the sweetest looping dejadas I have seen. It is wonderful that such a "lazy" looking shot can be so lethal.
Semi-Finals

May 11, 2019

Ochoa-Perez 2 Polanco-Echenique 1 (11-15; 15-14; 5-4) (31-33) (Fronton Mexico Twitter)

*Selected highlights and interview with Adrian Ortega * (TV Azteca Deportes via Fronton Mexico Twitter)

 Ortega-Ihitsague 2 Sierra-Cordova 1 (11-15; 15-11; 5-3) (31-29) (Fronton Mexico Twitter)

In a friendly, it was Lopez-Olha 2 Olharan-Irastorza 1 (15-10, 8-15, 5-3) (Fronton Mexico Twitter)

Match articles for all three  matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)
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Sunday, May 5, 2019

Remonte--Sagardoaren Txapelketa (Tourneo Sidra) FINAL

The Sagardoaren Txapelketa/El Torneo de la Sidra/Cider Tournament began February 28, 2019 and will end with a final on May 4, 2019. 

The Sagardoaren Txapelketa IX features 8 Oriamendi2010 roster pairs (7 players from the A Group and 9 from the B Group). The tournament will be contested in two 4 team groups (A and B). Each team corresponds to a cider house sponsor. Letters following the players' names correspond to their Oriamendi2010 groups.

Remonte Player Pages at Oriamendi2010

Group A

Bereziartua (Uterga-Labaka) (A-B)
Gaztañaga (Urriza-Zaldua) (A-B)
Larre-Gain (Juanenea-Azpiroz) (B-B)
Petritegi (Segurola-Endika) (B-A)

Group B

Altzueta (Etxarri-Ion) (A-A)
Gurutzeta (Ezkurra II-Garces) (B-B)
Oialume Zar (Goikoetxea V-Barrenetxea IV) (B-A)
Setien (Ansa II-Agirrezabala) (B-A)

Of these pairs, only Segurola-Endika have ever won the Tournament. There are five players who did not play (except as substitutes) last year. They are Ansa II, Etxarri, and Goikoetxea V in the front; Labaka and Zaldua in the back.

The tournament will consist of a League phase, a single round robin in each group. There will be a change in how the Semi-finals are contested this year. The first and second place teams in each group will advance to a Semi-final League, a single round robin. At the end of the Semi-final League the top two teams will play in the Final on May 4. This format makes the League play more important. Under the old format, all teams advanced, but were seeded so that the teams that finished lower had to play more matches to get to the Final.

Scoring for the League phase will be as follows.

Match winner (40 point matches): 4pts.
36-39: 2pts.
31-35: 1pt
26-30: 0pts.
0-25: -1pt

--------------------------

NOTE: HISTORY OF THE SAGADOAREN TOURNAMENT FROM 2011-2018 HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. IT INCLUDES SCORES OF ALL FINALS, ALL FINAL MATCH ARTICLES, LINKS TO ALL MATCH SCORES AND ARTICLES, AND LINKS TO PARTIAL OR FULL MATCH VIDEOS WHEN AVAILABLE.

--------------------------

Preview article (Oriamendi 2010)
Preview article (Diario Vasco)
Preview article (Kronika) (Basque)

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

Round 1--Week 1: February 28-March 2, 2019 ;  Round 1--Week 2: March 7, 9, 2019 ;  Round 2--Week 1: March 14, 16, 2019 ; Round 2--Week 2: March 21, 23, 2019 ; Round 3--Week 1 March 28, 30, 2019 ; Round 3--Week 2 April 4, 6, 2019

Semi-Final League:
Round 1 ; Round 2 ; Round 3;

Final

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

FINAL

 May 4, 2019

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

15-5; 20-15; 38-28; 40-31

Scoring:

Segurola +10 -2 Endika +19 (including 3 service aces) -4
Ezkurra II +21 -4 Garces +4 (2a) -7*

*Inferred from the other scores (Oriamendi2010 listed his error as -10)

Match preview article (Oriamendi2010)
Match article (Oriamendi2010)

Endika Urrutia became the first Oriamendi2010 player to win the Sagardoeren Txapelketa (Torneo Sidra/Cider Tournament) 3 times and the first to win with the same partner (Benat Segurola) twice as he led his Petritegi team to perfect 7-0 Tournament record with a decisive 40-31 win  over Gurutzeta (Ezkurra II-Garces). Though positioned in the back, he "led from the front" with +19 (including only 3 service aces) -4, an almost unbelievable total for winners in play from a back court player. It was not the first time he played dominating offense. Here are his numbers for the 6 matches we have Oriamendi2010 statistics for:

League play (2 matches) +23 -4
Semi-final League play (3 matches) +46 -19
Final: +19 -4
Total: +88 -27 (avg: +14.4 -4.5)

And he saved his best for the most important matches, in the Semi-final League and Final: +10 -4; +18 -10; +18 -5; +19 -4

 S-E opened with a 15-5 run, which was countered somewhat, with the excellent play of Joseto Ezkurra, by a 10-5 response. But an 18-13 spurt in mid-match put them in control, and they cruised to a fairly easy victory. S-E completely dominated the Tournament, finishing with a 7-0 record. They won by big scores  in the League phase (average score for the 3 League matches was 40-27, including a big 40-24 win over Urriza-Zaldua (Gaztanaga). In the Semi-final League, they showed that they could also "win the close ones", winning the three matches by an average of 40-37, and beating Urriza-Zaldua again, this time 40-38. They needed to score only 26 points in their final Semi-final match. They scored 40 and eked out another victory when they had absolutely nothing to play for during most of the 2nd half. E-G had a fine tournament, finishing 4-3 (two of the defeats coming at the hands of S-E). Their highlight was a great upset win over Urriza-Zaldua in the 3rd Semi-final match, knocking them out of the Final. They had many close matches: (League phase: 39-40; 40-38; 40-37; Semi-final League: 40-34; 36-40; 40-36; 31-40). Ezkurra II was excellent throughout, +66-9 in the League phase, +60 -18 in the Semi-final League. Adding his Final (+21 -4) he averaged +21 -4 for the Tournament. Garces was a little more inconsistent, but his great play in the crucial semi-final against U-Z helped knock his last year's Championship partner out of contention. Quite an impressive performance for a player who began his career at Oriamendi2010 when he was already over 30.

The way the team point scoring was set up (see above) Oriamendi2010 considered 36 or more points a close match. Of the 19 matches, 10 were close. 1 was decided by the minimum, 4 by 40-38, 3 by 4-37, and 2 by 40-36.

Finally, in a Tournament which pitted A players with and against B players, the B players held their own very well. Here is a breakdown of matches where there were uneven pairings.

A-A 1-1 A-B 1-1
A-A 1-0 B-B 0-1
B-B 5-3 A-B 3-5  

If I were to pick a "Most Valuable Player," in this tournament, Endika would be my choice. Ezkurra II would be a close second.

----------------------

Available known Semi-final League Individual Scoring: Where data is for less than the total number of matches, it was due to lack of source data (Source for all unless otherwise specifically stated: Oriamendi2010 match reports).

Delanteros (Fronts)

Urriza (Gaztanga) + 24 -2 (O); +16 -0 (EITB); +18 -1(O)
Segurola (Petritegi) + 23 -4 (O); +8 -6 (EITB); +12 -1(O)
Ezkurra II (Gurutzeta) + 23 -5(O); +17 -9 (EITB); +20 -4(O)
Goikoetxea V (Oialume Zar)?; +18 -5 (EITB); +9 -9(O)

Zagueros (Backs)

Barrenetxea IV (Oialume Zar) +16 (O); +12 -7 (EITB); +23 -1(O)
Endika (Petritegi) +10 -4 (O); +18 -10 (EITB); +18 -55(O)
Zaldua (Gaztanaga) +6 -5 (O); +12 -2 (EITB); +11 -6(O)
Garces (Gurutzeta) ?, +4 -5 (EITB); +13 -1(O)
----------------------

Qualification League: 

Group A Table: FINAL

Teams-wins-losses +or- Tournament points

Petritegi (Segurola-Endika B-A) (3-0 +12)
Gaztanaga (Urriza- Zaldua A-B) (2-1 +7)
Larre Gain (Juanenea-Apiroz B-B) (1-2 +7)*
Bereziartua (Uterga-Laaka A-B) (0-3 -2)*

*Eliminated

Available League Individual Scoring: Where data is for less than 3 matches, it was due to lack of source data (Source for all: Oriamendi2010 match reports)

Delantero-Front (avg. numbers are rounded)

Urriza (Gaztanaga) +64 -10 (3 matches) avg. +21 -3
Segurola (Petritegi) +38 -1 (2 matches) avg.+19 -1
Juanenea (Larre Gain) +30 -5 (2 matches) avg. +15 -2
Uterga (Bereziartua) +25 -8 (2 matches) avg. +13 -4

Zagueros (backs)

Endika (Petritegi) +23 -4 (2 matches) avg. +12 -2
Azpiroz (Larre Gain) +24 -5 (2 matches) avg. +12 -3
Labaka (Bereziartua) + 10 -4 (1 match) avg. +10 -4
Zaldua (Gaztanaga) +20 -13 (2 matches) avg. +10 -7
Group B Table: FINAL

Gurutzeta (Ezkurra II-Garces B-B) 2-1 +10
Oialume Zar (Goikoetxea V-Barrenetxea IV B-A) 1-2 +8
Altzueta (Etxarri-Ion A-A) 2-1 +8*
Setien (Ansa II-Agirrezabala B-A) 1-2 +8*

* Eliminated

Oialume Zar qualifies for the second Semi-final League position based on an overall point differntial advantage (114-108); Altzueta (118-116); Setien (115-117)

Available League Individual Scoring: Where data is for less than 3 matches it was due to lack of source data. Source for all: Oriamend2010 match reports:

Delanteros (front)

Ezkurra II +66(3 matches) -9(3)
Ansa II +62 (3) -4 (1)
Etxarri +41 (3) -9 (2)
Goikoetxea V +24 (2) -11(2)

Zagueros (back)

Barrenetxea IV +38(3) -10(3)
Ion +22(2) -3(1)
Garces +12 -4(1)
Agirrezabala +6 -1(1)

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

Note: This Tournament can also be followed in its larger context of the twice weekly 4 match sessions (on Thursdays and Saturdays) at Galarreta. There, in addition to following this tournament, you can see how the participants in the ST are doing in their other weekly matches, what their monthly win-loss records are, and other information on the comings and goings of Oriamendi2010 Remonte. See the "Galarreta Star Match" recurring Page on the right side of the blog.

Also, these professional Remonte players don't play all their matches at Galarreta. They also play in an annual set of mostly short court (36-38 meters, as opposed to Galarreta's 56 meter court) tournaments sponsored by Fundacion Remonte Euskal Jai (Euskal Jai Berri). Those competitions are covered on a separate Page on the right side of the blog: Euskal Jai Berri Match results. Match scores, articles, and separate player win-loss records are available. 

================================
Previous winners (Source: Oriamendi 2010 Emaitzak/Resultados database)

Note: for all results and match articles for all previous tournaments, I will link to the results. Finals match articles will be linked to directly. To match the results to the match articles for all other matches, I will link to all match articles for that year. Simply match the articles to the result dates. It is a bit cumbersome, but, I think, the easiest way to find non-Final Tournament match stories given the structure of the Oriamendi2010 databases. All match articles, unless otherwise specifically stated, are from Oriamendi2010 or the Viva El Remonte blog via Oriamendi2010. I have yet to find any tournament history in any modality covered as well and as powerfully from the standpoint of easy retrieval of information from one place, as the Oriamendi2010 website. High Cestas to all involved. Esterrik Asko.

2011--Juaristi-Olazar 40 Endika-Urrutia I 36 (match article) (complete match results)--(individual match articles)


2013--Matxin III-Etxeberria III 40 Jauristi-Agirrezabala 33 (match article) (video highlights 36-28--40-33) (complete  tournament match results)--(individual match articles)

2014--Etxeberria IV-Ion 40 Matxin III-Etxeberria III 34 (match article)(video highlights 36-24--39-34) (full tournament match results)--(individual match articles)


2016--Segurola-Endika 40 Uterga-Aizpuru III 38 (match article) (Full match video--EITB) (complete tournament match results)--(individual match articles) (BLOG POST--scroll to the Remonte section))


Endika has won this tournament 3 times and Segurola 2. Juaristi, Olazar, Endika and Uterga have played in 3 finals. Matxin III, Etxteberria III,  Urriza, Garces, and Segurola have played in 2 finals. Segurola-Endika are the only team who have won 2 STs.
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