Remonte--June Rankings

The June 2016 monthly rankings for the Oriamendi2010 roster at the beginning of July. For full rankings and explanation see the rankings page on the right side of the blog.

Leaders were

Group A: Ion: 36.88
Group B: Erburu: 39

Maximum ranking is 40.

Remonte--Tourneo de San Fermin

The Tourneo de San Fermin was played at the Euskal Jai Berri Fronton, Huarte on July 6, 7, and 9, 2016. Source for all scores and statistics, unless otherwise noted: Oriamendi2010.

Tournament Announcement 

July 9:

Final:

Urriza-Etxeberria III defeated Zeberio II-Barrenetxea IV 40-24

Full match video (final followed by 3rd place match) (Source: EITB)

Match article:

Selected linescore:

11-10; 18-10; 31-23; 40-24

Scoring: (Source: EITB)

Urriza--+22 -2; Etxeberria III--+9 -6
Zeberio II--+13 -5; Barrenetxea IV--+3 -4

Other match statistics available at the end of the video (1 hour, 3 minutes, 37 seconds on the recording).

Third place match:

Matxin III-Ion defeated Uterga-Endika 40-35

Scoring: (Source: EITB)

Matxin III--+20 -4; Ion--+7 -7
Uterga--+11 -3; Endika--+13 -10

Other match statistics available at the end of the video (2 hours, 6 minutes, 35 seconds on the recording).

July 7 Semi-Final

Urriza-Etxeberria III defeated Uterga-Endika 40-30

Match article:

Selected linescore (winners listed first).

6-6; 10-15; 20-20; 26-21; 31-25; 40-30

Scoring:

Urriza--+21 -2; Etxeberria III--+7 (including 4 service aces) -5
Uterga--+15 -5; Endika +8 (including 2 service aces) -6

July 6 Semi-final

Zeberio II-Barrenetxea IV defeated Matxin III-Ion 40-36.

Match article:

Selected linescore (winners listed first).

10-10; 18-12; 26-21; 32-26; 32-31; 37-32; 40-36

Scoring:

Zeberio II--+22 -1;  Barrenetxea IV--+11 (including 1 service ace) -(?)
Maxtin III--+19 -3; Ion--+12 (including 5 service aces) -4

Remonte--Tournaments or Star Matches--The Fascinating Matchups of Urriza v Uterga

As the career of the great Ezkurra (see more on him and all players on the players pages linked to on the right side of the blog) winds down, two great front courters, Urriza and Uterga, compete to be his heir. And they compete against each other often. This theme continues this summer in both tournaments all over the South Basque and weekly matches at the Galarreta Fronton (Hernani).

Since May 28, 2016, they have faced each other in 4 short court (36 meter mur a gauche) tournament finals, each winning two.  The story of their matches on short courts has been summarized in two Oriamendi2010 articles that dealt with their latest meeting on July 14. The first article announced the scheduling of their latest final and summarized their previous results. The second article chronicled the outcome of their latest match.

Of these 4 matches, we have full video of one.

Uterga-Aizpuru III defeated Urriza-Zaldua 35-25 at Beloki Fronton (1) (2), Zumarraga, in the final of the Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa.

Match article (Source: Oriamendi2010):

MY ARTICLE: Enhanced linescore, basic statistics, and analysis of the match

Full match video: Match begins at 1 hour, 6 minutes, 30 seconds of the recording. (Source: EITB)

Also, the Galarreta "Star" match of June 25, 2016 featured a matchup of the two on the big court:

Urriza-Barrenetxea IV defeated Uterga-Maxtin III-Etxeberria III 40-33.

Match article (Source: Oriamendi2010)

Full match video: (Source: EITB) Note: this video also includes full match video of the match that followed it (Zeberio II-Aizpuru III v Ansa II-Ion). Watching the entire video will give you a taste of a day at Galarrata. The question to ask about the Urriza v Uterga match is "Does an extra player give a team an advantage?"

MY ARTICLE: Links to other Urriza-Uterga matches.

Remonte--Summer Comings and Goings

As with the other modalities, Summer for Remonte means tournaments. Print coverage for most of Remonte emanates from the Oriamendi2010 web site and its ancillary Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube sites. Links to all things Oriamendi2010 (especially player and rankings pages) are available in the sources page on the right side of the blog. The Oriamendi2010 website is completely bilingual (Euskaren/Castillano). We point to the Castillano site but will apply labels for both languages.

In addition to tournaments, Oriamendi2010, the entity that manages the sport in the South Basque, provides the staple of the sport, four matches every Thursday and Saturday. One of these matches is the marquee or "Star" match. It is covered with a detailed match report. Selected matches are also broadcast on the EITB TV network and then made available for viewing on demand. We will begin coverage of the Star matches July 16, 2016 except for a unique Star match that was held on June 25, 2016 and was broadcast on EITB. Since the "Star" matches are a recurrring feature, they will be kept at the "Remonte--"Star Match" page on the right side of the blog. Tournament coverage will begin with the two tournament finals that were broadcast on EITB in June and July respectively.

Grand Chistera--Minor Modality--Update

The purpose of this update is more to introduce a modality than to update a competition. In this case we have an opportunity to link to video of Grand Chistera. Grand Chistera, for those who don't know, is Jai Alai (or Cesta Punta) played on a fronton place libre (explained on the modalities page on the right side of the blog). These courts are usually about 80 meters long, far larger than any of the indoor courts you will see in these updates. So large that a crash helmet sport is played without headgear. It is amazing to watch and we happen to have access to some very nice video.

From Championnat de France 2016 National B Grand Chistera Competition:

A round of 16 match played on July 10, 2016

White (Eyheagary-Pierrou-J. Portet) defeated Blue (Guignard-Hernandez-Medina) 40-13. Source for score and competition information: Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque.

Match site

For the competition site, simply hit the "retour" key at the match site. This will give you an idea of the size and context of the competition.

Selected match video (Source: Olivier Simon via Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube site). 7 minutes 39 seconds. This video is taken from behind the players.

We also have access to another Grand Chistera match video, taken from last year's Championnat de France Pro-Am 2015 competition.

A poul match.

White (J.Olharan-L.Alliez-S.Itoiz) defeated Green (C.Pierrou-A.Alliez-J.Portet)  40-34.

Selected match video (Source: Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube site.) 23 minutes, 14 seconds. This video is taken from in front of the players.

There are three interesting things to look for. One is the comparison between back and front views. The second is that these matches are contested among teams of three. The third, which you will easily see, is the difference in talent between National Class B and Professional players.

Note also that Jerome Portet played in both matches. He was also involved in CdF Championnat de France Junior and Senior Level Cesta Punta championships in March of 2016. He is the back man in white in the B match and the back man in Green in the Pro/Am match.

Arnaud Alliez and Jean Olharan are professional players that we will spend quite some time with later in this blog.

Paleta--Paleta Cuir--Paleta Tour 2016

Paleta Tour 2016, a  "haute niveau" level men's tournament sponsored by Section Paloise Pelote Basque was a 12 team, four "poule" round robin doubles competition followed by quarter finals, semi-finals, and a final that ran from May 13-July 2, 2016. Paleta Cuir is explained in the modalities page on the right side of the blog. This tournament was played on a 36 meter mur a gauche court. Cuir, for those who do not know, means leather, a very hard leather ball. And that means crash helmets and an entirely different sound when ball hits paleta or wall. Note the difference in striking area between the short bat here and the paleta used for the rubber ball. The game moves at an incredible pace, as you'll see. Source for all information, pelotelive.free.fr. Video source: Olivier Simon via Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube site. The videos (full, condensed and selected parts of matches) are all linked from their match pages at pelotelive.free.fr. Make sure to "disactiver" the auto-refresh before watching.

Final:

Dardenne-Chatellier defeated Clain-Lagarde 3-1 (8-10, 10-8, 10-3, 10-4)

Competition site

Final Match video

In addition to the final match video, there are match videos for seven other matches. 8 of 19 matches are covered. Look for the video icon as you scroll through the competition site. For beginners, there is no better introduction to this modality. For experienced fans, it is, quite simply, a feast.

Paleta--Paleta Gomme Cruese--Championnat de France Women's and Men's Final

On June 18, 2016, the Championnat de France Paleta Gomme Cruese National A championships, the highest level of amateur play that The Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque sponsores, contested both men's and women's finals at Trinquet de Paris (Chiquito)..

Source for all on both finals is pelotelive.free.fr

Note that while the videos are available at the below listed sites, the quality of the feed may be much smoother at Ustream, (click on "videos" to reveal all 6 videos) where they were originally live streamed and have been made available on demand.

Women's final:

Leiza-Graciet defeated Halsouet-Comet 2-1 (14-15, 15-10, 10-7)

Competition site: All players and results

Match Final site: (Match linescores, charts, statistics, and video selections from the first and final sets. Make sure to "disactiver" the refresh feature of pelotelive.free.fr before viewing).

Men's Final:

Laxalde-Guillenteguy defeated Lissar-Bidegain 2-1 (10-15, 15-11, 10-8).

Competition site:

Match Final Site: Same as above but with basically the full match video. Make sure to "disactiver" the refresh feature of pelotelive.free.fr before viewing).

MY ARTICLE on first impressions of Paleta Gomme Cruese on both trinquet and mur a gauche courts (with example of video of mur a gauche).

Pala--Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament--Players--Tournament Regulations--Schedule--Day 1, 2 (Round 1) Results

The Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament  at the Atano III Fronton, Donastia (San Sebastian) began on July 6, 2016.  It will end with a final on August 17, 2016. The Tournament link above explains the nature of the tournament and how it is to be contested. The same information is also available in less graphic form at InnPala. Basically it is an 8 team doubles tournament, consisting of the entire 10 man InnPala roster along with 6 invited amateurs. The teams are split into two 4 team groups. This is a short court tournament. Each match will be contested to a best three out of five 10 point jokos (sets). Table points are determined entirely by number of  jokos won. The league phase will consist of a single round robin in each group, with each player playing every other week. Matches will take place every Wednesday evening. At the end of the league phase there will be a final. Source for all match scores: InnPala Twitter feed. For more information on professional players see the player pages linked to on the right side of the blog.

Note: *=Amateur

First Day: July 6, 2016. 

Group A: Landeta--Ibai-Perez defeated Necol-Andueza* 3-1 (9-10, 10-4, 10-5, 10-6)

Group B:  Arozena*-Ibargarai defeated Fusto-J. Irigoyen* 3-0 (10-9, 10-7, 10-7)

Second Day: July 13, 2016

Group A: Navarro*-Brefel defeated Gaubeka-Irigoyen* 3-0 (10-7, 10-6, 10-9)

Group B:  Zubiri-Ayerbe defeated Ibarguren*-Imanol 3-2 (5-10, 10-7, 7-10, 10-5, 10-8)

Group A Table:

Navarro*-Brefel (1-0) (3-0)--3 points
Landeta--Ibai-Perez (1-0) (3-1)--3 points
Necol-Andueza* (0-1) (1-3)--1 point
Gaubeka-Irigoyen* (0-1) (0-3)--0 points

Group B Table:

Arozena*-Ibargarai (1-0) (3-0)--3 points
Zubiri-Ayerbe (1-0) (3-2)--3 points
Ibarguren*-Imanol (0-1) (2-3)--2 points
Fusto-J. Irigoyen* (0-1) (0-3)--0 points

MY ARTICLE: Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament cumulative scores and tables

In an independent match at Armintza Fronton (Lemoiz) contested on July 15, 2016 

Zubiri-Gaubeka defeated Ayerbe-Imanol 3-2 (9-10, 10-8, 8-10, 10-8, 10-6). The match had 89 total points (out of a possible maximum of 95). It took 1 hour and 55 minutes to play.

Pala--San Fermin Tournament

The San Fermin Tournament was contested at Labrit Fronton, Iruna (Pamplona) on July 8-10, 2016. Note that * indicates amateur player. For more information on professional players see the player pages linked to on the right side of the blog page. Source for all scores: InnPala Twitter feed.

July 8:

Preliminaries:

Mikel Sanz*-Ibargari defeated Laskoiti*-Imanol 3-0 (10-6, 10-3, 10-6).

Necol--Ibai Perez defeated Zubiri-Ayerbe 3-0 (10-9, 10-4, 10-7).

July 9:

Semi-Finals:

Mikel Sanz*-Ibargari defeated Gaubeka-Echavarren* 3-1 (10-8, 10-6, 6-10, 10-5). In the third joko, G-E came back from a 6-1 deficit to win.

Necol--Ibai-Perez defeated Fusto-Anso* 3-0 (10-7, 10-6, 10-7).

July 10:

Finals:

In the third place match Fusto-Anso* defeated Gaubeka-Echavarren* 3-2 (no scores available).

Mikel Sanz*-Ibargari defeated Necol-Ibai Perez 3-? (10-8, ?-10, 10-5, ? ?) to win the tournament.

Pala--Tourneo Ayuntamiento de Sopelana

The Pala Tour 2016 began with the Tourneo Ayuntamiento de Sopelana at the Sopelana Fronton, Sopelana on July 2, 2016.

Semi-Finals (Score source: InnPala Twitter feed)

Gaubeka-Ibai Perez defeated Landeta-Imanol 3-1 (10-9, 7-10, 10-4, 10-2)

Zubiri-Ibargari defeated Fusto-Ayerbe 3-1 (7-10, 10-4, 10-6, 10-3)

The final will be contested at Sopelana on September 10, 2016