Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Dania Jai Alai team Jai Alai draft

Related Article (Source: southflorida.com, May 11, 2016)

In an attempt to provide something new for fans to see, Dania Jai Alai is introducing team Jai Alai into its Fall 2016 season. The matches will still be the same Quinella format but "on selected weekend nights the pairings will all be team related." Points will be accumulated based on performance and a cash prize will go to the winning team at the end of the season. All the matches will be at Dania Jai Alai. The teams represent cities but don't play in those cities.

Here are the results of the Dania player draft. The numbers to the left of the player names indicate the number of the draft pick.

(Source: Tiger's Jai-Alai Chalk Talk Discussion Forum)

Team 1 (Dania Beach)

Capt. - Zulaika
1 - Barandika
6 - Beitia
9 - Israel
10- Garita
15- Elgezabal
17- Ithurria
20- Xabat
22- Leke
27- Zabala
28- Yeche

Team 2 (Hollywood)

Capt. - Diego
2 - Arrieta
5 - Aimar
7 - Ibon
12- Chasio
13- Urtaran
18- Arbe
19- Iturbide
23- Salegi
26- Anndy
29- Larrea

Team 3 (Fort Lauderdale)

Capt. - Erik
3 - Foronda
4 - Jairo
8 - Manex
11- Amigorena
14- Urbieta
16- Goitia
21- Arta
24- Minte
25- Bailo
30- Elizalde

Main Nue--Player Rankings--September 19, 2016

Main Nue complete player rankings are available on the player rankings page (Under "Main Nue") on the right side of the main blog page. You can also find how these rankings are calculated there.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 19, 2016. Current through Tournoi de Mendionde. (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Larralde
Ducassou
de Ezcurra
Ospital
Bilbao

Baptiste Ducassou's top ranking lasted 29 days. In the last two tournamnents (Sare and Mendione) he failed to advance past the semi-finals while Peio Larralde (paired with Pascal de Ezcurra) won both tournaments. Larralde reclaimed the top rank. de Ezcurra, since August 1, 2016, has moved from 9th to 3rd. Bixintxo Bilbao moved back into the top 5 for the first time since August 10. Peio Guichandut fell to 6th.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 14, 2016.  (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
de Ezcurra
Ospital

Main Nue--Tournoi de Mendionde

Tournoi de Mendionde (Lekorne) (1) (2), an EP 1000 tournament, was played on September 16 and 19, 2016

Source for match scores and article, Esku Pilota web site. Source for match video, Esku Pilota Web site and Youtube site.

September 16, 2016:

Semi finals (Esku Pilota Results Page) Scroll to the date.

Bielle-Bilbao defeated Ospital-Amulet 40-17

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Lambert-Ducassou 40-28

September 19, 2016:

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Bielle-Bilbao 40-39

Match article

Match video: final three points of the match. 

The video joins the match early in the 77th point. From here, the rest of the match consumed 89 balls in play!

A few words must be said about the fitness and resiliency of Larralde, de Ezcurra, and Bilbao in the last week. They played back to back tournaments (Sare, Mendionde) on Aug. 12, 14, 16, and 19. In the four matches, Larralde-de Ezcurra played 289 points. Bilbao (with different partners), played 283. At the very end of that workload, to play a final 3 points with the intensity these were played with is phenomenal.

Pala/Paleta--Final Summary of selected major summer tournaments South and North

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Pala and Paleta summer tournaments in the North and South Basque Country. (Sources: InnPala Website, InnPala Twitter feed, InnPala Fronton Facebook page, Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza (EEPF), GMGZ Events Facebook Page, Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque(FFPB), and pelotelive.free.fr.) Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Pala" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles.

Grosse Pala/Pala Larga

Innpala:

**Plentzia--Gaubeka-Brefel Note: Plentzia was played on a long (54 meter) court. I am assuming that this was a Pala Larga tournament, though I have no proof of that (see the below listed GMGZ tournament which, though played on the long court at Mungia, was a Pala Motza tournament). Corrections on either one or both of these assumptions will be gratefully accepted.

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Batz-Brocas  (Soustons) (Source: PilotariP Youtube site via Pelotelive.free.fr). Note: make sure to click on "desactiver" under the match to turn off PFF's auto-refresh. The video will stop if you don't.

Pala Corta/Pala Motza

InnPala: * means amateur player.

**San Fermin (Iruna)--Sanz*-Ibargari

**Donastia Kirol Txartela Masters--Navarro*-Brefel (final begins at 52:02 on the video (Source: EITB)

**Asta Nagusia--Necol-Imanol (Bilbo) (Source: EITB)

**Sopelana--Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez

EEPF:

**Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa): Gastiez (Ordizia) (final begins at 42:42 on the video) (Source: EITB)

GMGZ Events

GMGZ "La Bolsa" Saria Kiniela: Beriain-Labiano (Mungia) (final begins at 1:18:22 on the video) (Source: EITB)

Paleta Cuir 

EEPF:

**Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa): Gastiez (Ordizia) (Source: EITB)

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Dardenne-Basterot

Paleta Pelote Gomme Pleine

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A": Mensan-Bareyre

Paleta Pelote Gomme Creuse

**FFPB "Grand Semaine" National "A" Women: Etchelecu--Chapelet-Housset

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Xistera Kluba amateur competition circuit--Mutriku Tournament Finals

Note that all print articles on the Xistera Kluba website are completely bilingual. I have used Castilian links. Click on the top right side of the page to switch to Basque.

Euskal Herriko Xistera Kluben Kirol Kluba (Basque Country Xistera Sports Club) together with EEUP (Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza) has recently started an amateur Jai Alai tournament circuit. The Club has three aims: to reintroduce the game to children, to strengthen the game at the club level, and to create a competition circuit to help encourage new and young fans to follow the game. The full mission statement is here.

The Mutriku tournament finals were played on September 17, 2016. Three finals were played, including a girls final. They were played in order of age and ability with the girls match being the first match. Use the match article (reading from the end of the article to the beginning) below to identify players and locate the beginning of each match.

Preview article (Source: Xistera.eus)

Match articles for all three matches (Source: Xistera.eus)

Full match videos of all three matches (Source: Xistera.eus Youtube site)

Full match videos for all available Xistera Kluba Tourmaments so far this year (Source: Xistera Kluba Youtube site and EITB).

The next Xistera Kluba tournament is scheduled for September 24, 29, at Noain. See Xistera Kluba Calendario for details on future tournaments.

See the Xistera Kluba home page above or USstream page for details on notification of live streaming. Live and on demand streaming is available for finals only at this tme.

Main Nue--Player Rankings--September 14, 2016

Main Nue complete player rankings are available on the player rankings page (Under "Main Nue") on the right side of the main blog page. You can also find how these rankings are calculated there.

Complete Player Rankings as of September 14, 2016. Current through Trophee Paries (Sare). (Source: Esku Pilota)

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
de Ezcurra
Ospital

Complete Player Rankings as of August 29, 2016.

Top 5:
Ducassou
Larralde
Guichandut
Ospital
de Ezcurra

Main Nue--Trophee Paries--Sare

Trophee Paries, an EP 1000 competition, was played at Trinquet Pleka (Sare) on September 12 and 14, 2016.

Full match videos for all three matches are available in two places.

1. Esku Pilota Youtube

2. Pelotelive.free.fr (click on the film icon under each match). Click on  "desactiver" under the video in order to disable PFF's auto-refresh before viewing. The video will not work if you don't.

Two of the matches are also linked to match articles at the Esku Pilota website. I will use EP Youtube for individual links.

September 12, 2016:

Semi-Finals

Source for all match articles: Esku Pilota web site.

Match articles for both matches (including an audio interview with Mathieu Ospital.

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Bielle-Guichandut 40-25

Note that the only way to keep track of the score for any of these matches is to listen very closely to the judge (who calls them out in Basque and French) or to keep track yourself. No scoreboard (if there was one) was ever shown on these videos.

Full match video

Ospital-Bilbao defeated Lambert-Ducassou 40-30

Full match video

September 14, 2016:

Final

Larralde-de Ezcurra defeated Ospital-Bilbao 40-37

Match article, along with an audio interview with Peio Larralde

Esku Pilota TVPI Highlights (Note: these highlights include the last two points of the match--also linked to below).

Full match video

The two semi-finals were easy victories, according to the match article. The final was a great match which went down to the final points before L-E won. Unfortunately there were some technical difficulties with the match video. Some points are missing and the sound was out of synch late in the match. So any kind of exact statistics are unavailable at this time.

However, the last 5 points of match are available and should be watched, even with the sound distraction.

37-36, 37-37, 38-37, 39-37, 40-37. (single link to all five points).

The 37-36 point is particularly interesting. It can be seen almost as a microcosm of what a battle this match was. It consumed 53 balls in play from serve to end, had countless great saves, and was a showcase for all four players. When it ended on a beautiful Bilbao filet shot, a long climb toward equality (L-E held the lead for most of match) was almost to the summit. And when Ospital served an ace and equality was reached, it seemed all the momentum was with O-B. But in the last three points, an error by Bilbao opened the door a crack, and Peio Larralde, as he often does in crucial situations, made emphatic plays (a service ace and a perfect right passing shot) to close out the match in the next 6 balls in play. All four players were superb, and were rewarded with a long ovation when the match ended. The unsung hero was Pascal de Ezcurra, who played magnificent defense throughout. Along with that defense, he also scored perhaps the most elegant point of the match, a two wall filet shot that gave his team a 26-20 lead. Watch and enjoy!

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Final Summary of 2016 Summer Partido Season

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Jai Alai/Cesta Punta summer partido tournaments in the North and South Basque Country. (Sources: International Cesta Punta, Jai Alai World Tour, Biarritz Athletic Club,  Jai Alai News Facebook Page, and  Jai Alive Facebook Page). Links to full match videos of final matches (when available) are provided for your convenience. ** next to the match means part or all of the competition was covered in this blog. Search by title of competition or title of the final, or click on the label "Jai Alai/Cesta Punta" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which contain other full match videos and articles.

Internationaux Cesta Punta (Source: ICP Youtube site)

** Coupe de France: Curveur-Ihitsague

** Master 1: Olharan-Minvielle

** Master 2: Olha-Minvielle

** Master 3: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika

** Master 4: Hormaetxea-Eyheragaray

** SLAM: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Jai Alai World Tour (Source: EITB)

** Hondarribia: Beaskoetxea-Lekerika

** Gernika I: Egiguren-Etcheto

** Zumaia: Goikoetxea-Enbil (match begins at 1:10:09 on video)

** Mutriku-Markina: Beaskoetxea-Amigorena (match begins at 58:13 on video)

** Gernika II: Hormaetxea-Aldazabal (match begins at 1:18:56 on video)

** Lekeitio: Goikoetxea-Erkiaga

Jai Alai World Tour CTO MBP (Source: EITB)

** CTO Parejas MBP : Egiguren-Enbil

** CTO Individual MBP: Goikoetxea (match begins at 32:51 on video)

Biarritz (Source: Audiense Audiovisuel Youtube site)

International Open: J. Tambourindeguy-Lekerika

** Gant d'Or: Beaskoetxea-Irastorza

Open d'Aguilera: Unai Albero-Assier Albero

** Masters Biarritz Pro Tour: Olha-Toucoullet

Other tournaments:

Hondarribia: August 26, 2016: Jagoba-Enbil

Gernika August 13, 2016: Egiguren-Goikoetxea

Hondarribia: Hirusta Challenge:  August 12, 2016:  Olharan-Erkiaga II

Hossegor: August 11, 2012: Goikoetxea-Alliez

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Jai Alai World Tour--CTO. Individual MPB Semi-Finals and Finals reschedule

The Jai Alai World Tour finished the final part of the second phase of its summer competition on September 17, 2016. The CTO Individual MPB championship final and 3rd place match were played at Bizkaia Fronton (Bilbo (Bilbao)).  The entire competition was played on a short (38 meter) court, the first time this championship has been played this way. Matches were played in jokos (sets),  2 jokos to 12 points, with a tie-breaker to 5 points if necessary.

Final:

Goikoetxea defeated Olharan 2-0 (12-5, 12-11)

Full match video (match begins at 32 minutes, 51 seconds on the video. It is preceded by the 3rd place match (see below)). (Source: EITB)

Third place match:

Hormaetxea defeated Egiguren 2-0 (12-9, 12-6)

Final: Match article (Deia)

Final: Match article (JAWT)

Final: Background match article (Diario Vasco). This article also covers the semi-final results (see below).

Goikoetxea won the first joko easily. Olharan, who had been injured in the Masters Biarritz Pro Tour on September 14, but who played and won in the semi-finals of this tournament the next day, fought hard in the second joko. The scores were even at 7-7 and 11-11 before an Olharan error ended his chance at a tie-breaker. Goikoetxea thus won his 11th singles championship, equaling him with Julien Retegi (Mano) and Koteto Ezkurra (Remonte) for most career singles pelota championships.

September 15, 2016:

Semi-Finals

Olharan defeated Egiguren 2-0 (12-9, 12-6)

Goikoetxea defeated Hormaetxea 2-0 (12-7, 12-11)

Match article for both matches (JAWT)

Originally the semi-finals and finals of this tournament were to be held the last week in August. Due to injuries to Goikoetxea and Egiguren, a match was played between Hormaetxea and Olharan. That match, along with the results and match articles for the quarter finals that preceded it, was covered in the blog here.

True to their word, JAWT did reschedule the semi-finals and finals after the end of the CTO Parejas MBP finals. The originally scheduled semi-finals were played, Egiguren and Goikoetxea having recovered from their injuries.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Masters Biarritz Pro Tour

The Masters Biaritz (1) (2) Pro tour took place from September 7-14, 2016.

September 14, 2016:

Final

Olha-Toucoullet defeated Olharan-Minvielle 2-1 (15-14, 8-15, 10-5). Tie-breakers in this tournament were played to 10 points.

Full match video (Source: Audiense Audiovisuel Youtube site).

For complete tournament results click on "SHOW MORE" under the description.