Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Erik Mendizabal's amazing week at Dania Jai Alai

About 3 weeks ago Aritz Erkiaga had an amazing week at Miami Jai Alai. See that post for further explanation and a video example of Quinela Jai Alai and how it works.

To refresh your memory

August 29-September 5, 2016

Player----Games Played----Wins----Places (2nd place)----Shows (3rd Place). Selected winning percentages and "in the money" percentage

Aritz----39----16----5----5 .410 winning %, .667 "in the money" %

This was over double the number of wins of the second highest winners.

At the time, and especially after looking at other sets of weekly statistics at Miami kindly provided to me by Tiger's Jai Alai Chalk Talk Discussion Forum, I thought it was unique. After all, for the entirety of the recent Winter 2016 season at Miami, the most wins any weekly wins leader had was 14 (Eric Irastorza--last season's triple crown winner--twice). Within the first two months of the new season, Aritz smashed through that barrier. Aritz' week was thoroughly analyzed, day by day, because it was felt I wouldn't have to do that again for a long time. :)

A "long time" turned out to be a little less than three weeks. For the week ending September 24, 2016 (Sep. 19-24) at Dania Jai Alai, Erik Mendizabal put up the following numbers.

Erik----41----17----8----2 .415 winning %, .659 "in the money"%.

The second highest winner, Ibon, had 10 wins.

Rather than go through Erik's week day by day (which you can do yourself from this link), I thought it would be interesting to compare the statistical nuts and bolts of the two great weeks.

Wins and starts from post positions: A=Aritz, E=Erik

Post 1: A:  6 of 8: E:  6 of 11
Post 2: A:  3 of 5, E:  2 of 4
Post 3: A:  3 of 4, E:  3 of 5
Post 4: A:  0 of 2, E:  2 of 3
Post 5: A:  0 of 2, E:  1 of 5
Post 6: A:  2 of 6, E:  1 of 6
Post 7: A:  1 of 5, E:  2 of 4
Post 8: A:  1 of 7, E:  0 of 3

Singles Matches A: 4 of 6, E: 5 of 8

Early games: A: 3 of 10, E: 4 of 7

Aritz won with 10 different partners. Erik won with 9.

While no direct comparisons can be made because Aritz and Erik play on different rosters, the recipe for success seems very similar. Dominate from early post positions. Dominate when you don't have to worry about a partner. Dominate early games. In the last of these, Erik seems to have an advantage, but we must factor in the strength of each early game roster.

We can only compare them to their competition. It's hard to imagine two more dominating weeks. But then 3 weeks ago it was hard for me to imagine one.

Oh, and one more thing. You cannot watch Aritz play without pay per view. But Erik is another story. You can see him 8 performances, between 30 and 40 games a week at Dania. You can link to free (live only) performances at Dania Jai Alai from the Dania Weekly Leaders page (live streaming and schedule--times are US Eastern Time) on the right side of this blog (under recurring results), where you can also follow week by week roster statistics. Tiger's Chalk Talk Forum (see above) also links to the live streaming, and contains a wealth of statistical information, as well as a lively forum of Jai Alai fans who know much about the history, strategy, and tactics of the Quinela game.

Remonte--September 2016 Rankings

The September 2016 monthly rankings for the Oriamendi2010 roster were released at the beginning of October.

Oriamendi2010 Roster

Full September Rankings with ranking explanation

Historical monthly rankings back to July 2011

Leaders were

Group A: Uterga: 36.83
Group B: Martirena: 38.00

Maximum ranking is 40.

Last month's story was the fabulously successful return of Ezkurra from injury. This month's story is the return to form of Uterga. For the month he was 5-1 at the Galarreta, including 4 consecutive "Star" match victories. For the story of those victories see the "Galarreta 'Star' match results" under the recurring results pages on the right side of the blog. In those results I also began to make a monthly account of individual player match win and loss records. This will hopefully complement the Oriamendi2010 rankings and be of interest.

Remonte (Galarreta matches only) monthly tables (wins-losses) (d-Delantro--Front z-Zaguero--Back *-d+z)--record will be kept by position). Tables will be kept by winning percentage. Point differential will be the tie breaker.

September, 2016

Group A

Urriza(d)...................3-0.........110-83 (1-0 Tourneo Kuxtabank)
Endika*(d)................1-0...........40-10
Uterga(d).................5-1..........268-185
Matxin III (d)............1-3..........121-136
Ezkurra*(d)..............1-3..........122-159


Ezkurra*(z)................1-0..........40-28
Ion(z).........................4-3..........244-220..(0-1 TK)
Etxeberria III(z).........2-5..........232-264
Barrenetxea IV(z)......1-3..........111-123..(1-1 TK)
Endika*(z)..................0-2.............65-80

Group B

Goikoetxea V(d)........5-1..........181-154
Ansa II(d)..................4-2...........211-190
Otaegi(d)...................3-3...........195-180
Ezkurra II(d)..............4-5..........281-310
Barricart(d)................2-3..........128-141
Benat(d).....................2-4..........177-188
Segurola(d)................2-5..........229-246
Eburu(d)....................1-3..........104-135

Martirena(z)..............5-1..........195-133
Larranaga(z).............5-2..........242-241
Azpiroz(z).................4-2..........189-173
Zubiri(z)....................4-2..........217-208
Garces(z)..................2-2...........117-113
Labaka(z)..................3-3..........164-191
Otano(z)....................2-5..........189-198
Zaldua(z)..................2-5...........195-219
Aizpuru III.................0-1...........17-35

Mano--Final Summary of Summer Tournaments

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Mano summer tournaments in the South Basque Country. (Sources: Asegarce, 21iguales.com (roll mouse over "Campionatos), and  Euskadiko Pilota Federakundea (Federación Vasca de Pelota). Selected other tournaments are also included. 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 "Mano" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles. Source for all match video, unless otherwise specifically stated, is EITB.

Asegarce/ASPE

Highlights of the Summer Tournaments: Altuna--King of the Summer (Source: EITB)

**Tourneo San Fermin Lau eta Erdiko (Quatro y Medio--4 1/2)--Urrutikoetxea (Iruna (Pamplona)) (Match begins at 57:28 on the video)

**San Fermin--Oliazola II-Albisu (Iruna (Pamplona)) (Source: Fronton.tv). Scroll to 14/07/2016. It is on P. 2 of the videos at the moment. Pages will change, always scroll to the date, title of tournament, and players.

**Torneo Bizkaia de Parejas Dentro del Cinqo Y Medio--Altuna III-Barriola (Bilbo (Bilbao)) (Match begins at 1:08:14 on the video)

**Virgen Blanca--Altuna III-Zabaleta (Vitoria-Gasteiz) (Match begins at 55:43 on the video)

**Villa de Ezcaray--Berasaluze II-Rezusta (Source: 21igaules.com Youtube site). 15 selected points, including the winning point.

**Labastida Rioja Alavesa--Berasaluze II-Albisu (Match begins at 1:03:14 on the video)

**Villa de Zaurautz--Oliazola II-Untoria (Match begins at 1:03:17 on the video)

**Ciudad de Bilbao (Aste Nagusa)--Elezkano II-Zabaleta (Source: Fronton.tv) Scroll to 27/08/2016. It is still on P. 1 at this time. Soon it will drop to P. 2.  Pages will change, always scroll to the date, title of tournament, and players.

**Torneo San Sebastian--Altuna III-Zabaleta (Match begins at 46:58 on the video)

**Sanantolines de Lekeitio--Altuna III-Rezusta (Match begins at 1:00:06 on the video)

**Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M--Ezkurdia-Rezusta (Match begins at 47:42 on the video)

**Torneo San Saturio-Ciudad de Soria Altuna III-Untoria (Match begins at 1:05:05 on the video) (added Oct 4, 2016)

EEPF:

Euskadiko Elite Txapelketako (Zumarraga) Elezkano-Erasun

**Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa)  (Zarautz): Azpetia v Doneztebe (Cadete: Azpetia; Juvenil: Doneztebe; Senior: Doneztebe (Cadet match is 1st: 47 minutes; Juvenil 2nd: 33 minutes; Senior 3rd: 60 minutes)

Other tournaments:

LEP-ETB Torneoa (Iruna (Pamplona)) Bakaikoa-Erasun

Zornotzako Masters (Amorevieta) Lau eta Erdiko (Quatro y Medio--4 1/2) Zubizarreta (red), Larranaga (blue) (1st match: 0:00-38:44; 2nd match 43:15-1:38:30).

**Antiguoako Pilota Txapleketa finals (Donastia (San Sebastian) Labaka  (red), Zubizarreta-Salaverry (red), Santxo-Aldusin (red)  (Matches: 0:00-30:04; 32:01-1:22:14; 1:26:10-2:20:37)

Mano--Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M

Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M was played at Adarraga Fronton, Logrono from September 18-25, 2016.

Asegarce tournament page

This was a week long tournament played in 2 groups of  3 teams each, a single round robin in both groups. The two group winners played in a final.

Match articles for all matches  (21iguales.com)

September 25, 2016:

Final

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Altuna III-Albisu 22-21

Match article

In a titanic struggle (750 balls in play, an hour and 15 minutes) that was dramatic but error filled (19+, 24-), A-A almost, but not quite overcame 15 errors. At 15-9, E-R were cruising. Then came a 7-0 run by A-A to give them the lead. From there it was a complete nail biter, going down to the last point before E-R denied Altuna III his 5th victory in 6 finals, including what would have been his third in a row.

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube Page)

Full match video  (Match begins at 48 minutes 4 seconds on the video)(Source: EITB)

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

Group A:

September 18, 2016:

Altuna III-Albisu defeated Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe 22-12

Match article

Altuna III outscored Urrutikoetxea 11-2

Full match video (Match begins at 1:09:45 on the video) (Source: EITB)

September 20:

Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe defeated Irribarria-Untoria 22-17

Match article

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 22:

Altuna III-Albisu defeated Irribarria-Untoria 22-14

Match article

Altuna III outscored Irribarria 12-4

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

Altuna III-Albisu 2-0
Urrutikoetxea-Larunbe 1-1
Irribarria-Untoria 0-2

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

Group B:

September 19, 2016

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Victor-Zabaleta 22-20

Match article

E-R began this match down 0-6 before coming back to win.

Match highlights (Source: EITB)

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 21, 2016

Oliazola II-Merino II defeated Victor-Zabaleta 22-5

Match article

An 18-1 start led to an easy win.

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

September 23, 2016

Ezkurdia-Rezusta defeated Oliazola II-Merino II 22-17

Match article

After O-M went on a 9-0 run to erase a 15-8 E-R lead, E-R scored the last 7 points to win.

Match highlights (Source: 21iguales.com Youtube page)

Full match video (Source: Fronton.tv) Scroll to T. San Mateo (23/09/2016). Always find Fronton.tv matches by scrolling to date.

Ezkurdia-Rezusta 2-0
Oliazola II-Merino II 1-1
Victor-Zabaleta 0-2

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

Recap of Summer tournament winners:

Highlights of the Summer Tournaments: Altuna--King of the Summer (Source: EITB)

Tourneo San Fermin Lau eta Erdiko (Quatro y Medio--4 1/2)--Urrutikoetxea

San Fermin--Oliazola II-Albisu
Torneo Bizkaia de Parejas Dentro del Cinqo Y Medio-Altuna III-Barriola
Virgen Blanca--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Villa de Ezcaray--Berasaluze II-Rezusta
Labastida Rioja Alavesa--Berasaluze II-Albisu
Villa de Zaurautz--Oliazola II-Untoria
Ciudad de Bilbao--Elezkano II-Zabaleta
Torneo San Sebastian--Altuna III-Zabaleta
Sanantolines de Lekeitio--Altuna III-Rezusta
Torneo Parejas San Mateo 2016 Lep. M--Ezkurdia-Rezusta

Main Nue--Final Summary of spring and summer tournaments

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Main Nue late spring and summer tournaments in the North Basque Country. (Sources: Esku Pilota and  Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque) 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 "Main Nue" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles. Source for all match video, unless otherwise specifically stated, is Esku Pilota Youtube site.

* Players not listed on the Esku Pilota roster at present

Esku Pilota EP 2000

**Masters de Bayonne: Larralde-Guichandut

Esku Pilota EP 1000

Trophee Atharri (Itxassou): Larralde-Guichandut

**Challenge Elhina (Amendaritz): Larralde-Harismendy

**Tournoi Hoberenak (Arcangues) Waltary-Bilbao v Larralde-Ducassou  (W-B lead 16-13 when Larralde suffered an ankle injury that forced him to retire. The entire match will be replayed in October.

**Tournoi de Cambo les Bains: Ospital-Ducassou

**Tournoi Chilhar de Souraide: Larralde-Ducassou 

**Turnois de Larrau--Trophee Betzula: Ospital-Ducassou (note: at 1:09:26 move the slider bar to 1:22:39 for full sound replay)

**Trophee Puyodebat (Larressore): Ospital-de Ezcurra

**Trophee Paries (Sare): Larralde-de Ezcurra

**Tournoi de Mendionde: Larralde-de Ezcurra (final 3 points only)

**Tournoi de Garindein: Ospital-Ducassou

Esku Pilota EP 500:

**Trophee de la Rune (Ascain): Ducassou

**Trophee Intersports-(Saint-Jean-de-Luz): Monce-Guichandut

**Tournoi Intermarche Pays Basque (Medionde): Inchauspe-Bennesse*

**Tournoi De La Magdeleine (Saint Palais): Ospital-de Ezcurra

**Tournoi Espela d'Espelette: Elgart-Guichandut

**Tournoi d'Ascain: Inchauspé-de Ezcurra

Esku Pilota:

Trophee de Cize (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port): Larralde-de Ezcurra

**Tournee de Commercants de Bayonne: Aguirre-Iturbe* (match joined early in progress)

**Meste du Marcat (Peyrehorade) Ospital  (1st 7 points and final 5 points of the match only)  (Source: Daniel du Peyrehorade Sport Facebook page via pelotelive.free.fr) Remember to click on "desactiver" below the video before viewing to turn off pfp's auto refresh feature.

Esku Pilota (Fronton Place Libre):

**Trophee Esku Pilota (Sare) Etxeto*-Cubiat*

FFPB:

**Grand Semaine: (Fronton Place Libre) National A Seniors Final--Irisartarrak--Irissarry (Red)

A selection of Mammoth points--through Feb. 22, 2017

Note: this page is now also available with the recurring results pages on the right side of the blog.

The  recent Tournoi de Garindein Main Nue final was amazing in the ferocity of the fight for points in the latter stage of the match that led to points with 43, 68, and 98 balls in play. Some may say that long points are boring, lets get on with it, etc. In my opinion these long points are one of the best things about Basque Pelota. That these players are able to keep a point going for so long is a testament to their talent, fitness, strength, and psychological toughness. Watching such points is like watching a match within a match.

In that spirit, I would like to present the longest points I have seen in the short time I have been watching these sports. These, of course, are not the longest points ever played. They are just the longest ones I have seen and counted. Note: for the EITB points below (Mano, Pala, Remonte, and Partido Jai Alai), you must use the slider bar below the video to move to the time given for the beginning of the point. For the other points, in theory, you should be taken directly to the point. If that doesn't work, use the times to move the slider bar to the beginning of  the points.

Some of the Youtube links in this post may return a "Youtube Page can't be found--reload message." If you hit the reload button, the video should resolve.

Main Nue:  Tournois de Garindein Final in September 2016. Ospital-Ducassou v Larralde-Amulet 35-34. 98 balls in play. (1:09:12-1:13:24). 36-34. O-D won 40-37.  (Source: Esku Pilota Youtube site).

Mano: Antiguako Pilota Txapleketa Amateur Finals played at Donastia (San Sebastian) in August 2016. Zubizarreta-Salaverry (red) v Salaberria-Eskiroz (blue). 1st point of the match. 91 balls in play. Z-S 1-0. (32:01-36:06 on the video) Z-S won 22-15. (Source: EITB).

1. Pala: The below listed longest point was surpassed twice in the same match, In the final of La Liga Kutzabank, played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in January 2017. (Added February 11, 2017).

A. Joko 1: Point beginning 4-3 Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez. 50 balls in play (11:42-13:50). 5-3 G--I-P. G--I-P won 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

B. Joko 2: Point beginning 0-0. 68 balls in play (20:22-23:16). 1-0 G--I-P (Source for both points: EITB) G--I-P won the match 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

2. Pala: Bizkaia Open Final played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in June of 2016. Necol--Ibai-Perez v Zubiri-Imanol. 3rd Joko (set). Point beginning at 2-0 N-I. 49 balls in play (1:36:14-1:38:20). 3-0 N-I. N-I won the match 3-1 (10-6, 5-10, 10-8, 10-9). (Source: EITB).

Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet): Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque 2017 Championnat de France National A Final, February 2017. Luzean (Saint Jean de Luz) (Ramuntcho Amestoy-Stéphane Suzanne--red) v Section Paloise (Pau) (Olivier Laberdesque-Baptiste Hourçourigaray--white). Point beginning 15-20 Pau. 61 balls in play (16:12-18:33). 15-21. Luzean won the match, 40-37. (Source: Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube). (Added February 22, 2017).

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Quinella): Dania Jai/Alai, June 2016. Final point of an 8 team doubles match. Erik-Urbieta (white) v Iturbide-Leke (red). 39 balls in play (11:18-13:54). E-U won the point and match.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Partido): Internationaux Cesta Punta SLAM final, played at Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Donibane Lohizune) in August 2016. Beaskoetxea-Irastorza v Olharan-Lekerika. 1st point of the match. 35 balls in play. (3:22-5:38) 1-0 B-I. B-I won the match 2-1 (15-7, 12-15, 5-3). (Source: ICP Youtube page).

Remonte:

1. I recently re-discovered a video of the winning point of the 2016 Casco Viejo de Pamplona tournament final in April 2016. Uterga-Barrenetxea IV v Urriza-Etxeberria III. Point beginning at 34-32 U-B. 32 balls in play. (0:02--1:14). U-B win 35-32. (Source: Youtube site of one of the spectators who recorded it) (Added October 2, 2016)

2. Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa, played at Zumarraga in June 2016. Uterga-Aizpuru III v Urriza-Zaldua. Point beginning at 20-17 U-A. 22 balls in play. (1:36:44-1:37:33). 20-18. U-A won 35-25. (Source: EITB)

Pasaka (Glove): LPPB (Ligue Pelote Pays Basque) Premier Series Quarter-final, played at Urrugne in January 2017. Urrugne (Urrunarrak) (Ourquia-Ussaralde--white) v Saint Pierre d'Irube (Hiriburuko Ainhara 2) (Lapergue-Latxague--red). Point beginning at 0-15 Game 4. 22 balls in play.  (10:38--11:36) if your device doesn't parse this segment. 0-30. (Added January 20, 2017).

One interesting thing to notice is the time it took to play these points:

49 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the 2nd Remonte match (short court).

58 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the Pasaka (glove) match.

72 seconds (1:12) for the 32 balls in play in the 1st Remonte match (short court).

125 seconds (2:05) for 50 balls in play in the 1st Joko of he 1st Pala match (short court)

126 seconds (2:06) for the 49 balls in play in the 2nd Pala match (short court).

136 seconds (2:16) for the 35 balls in play in the Jai Alai Partido match.

141 seconds (2:21) for the 61 balls in play in the Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet) match.

156 seconds (2:36) for the 39 balls in play in the Jai Alai Quinella match.

174 seconds (2:54) for the 68 balls in play in the 2nd Joko of the 2nd Pala match.

245 seconds (4:05) for the 91 balls in play amateur Mano match.

252 seconds (4:12) for the 98 balls in play in the Main Nue match.

Main Nue--Tournoi de Garindein

Tournoi de Garindein, (1) (2), an EP 1000 tournament, was played September 23, 25, 2016.

Source for semi-final Scores: Esku Pilota Results page. Scroll to date. Match article source: Esku Pilota. Match video source: Esku Pilota Youtube page.

September 23:

Semi Finals

Ospital-Ducassou defeated Etchegaray-Guichandut 40-23

Larralde-Amulet defeated Waltary-Bilbao 40-32

September 25:

Final

Ospital-Ducassou defeated Larralde-Amulet 40-37.

Match article, including audio interviews with Ducassou and Amulet

Full match video

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

6-6; 7-7; 8-8; 9-9; 11-11; 14-14; 32-20; 35-34; 36-34; 40-37

For the third time in less than 2 weeks, the final of an EP 1000 tournament was decided within the last 3 points of the match. As the selected linescore shows, the early part of the match was very competive before O-D took command. The first turning point came at the 31-20 to 32-20 point (48:39--49:02)

At the end of the point Amulet painfully turned his ankle (his response is clearly audible). He was off the trinquet receiving treatment for 10 minutes before he came back. His return coincided with a tremendous comeback by L-A, a 14-3 run that brought his team to within one point of equality.

What followed was not only the second turning point of the match, but the longest Basque Pelota point I have seen (1:09:12-1:13:24). The point beginning at 35-34 consumed 98 balls in play. In the course of the point, the following excellent plays were made to keep the point going,

21st ball--Amulet
30--Ospital
43--Larralde
51--Amulet
53--Larralde
62--Ospital--a diving play that was probably the best play of the point
65--Larralde
72--Ospital
90--Ospital

98--Ospital shoots a cross court winner

A point like that should have broken the backs of the team that lost it. Not so with L-A. From that point they fought back to 38-37. The next point consumed 68 balls and over 3 minutes (1:18:24-1:21:38). Interestingly, it was fairly routine until the latter stages when the following great plays saved the point

51st ball--Amulet
59--Larralde
66--Ducassou
67--Amulet

68--Ducassou shoots a perfect low shot to the right side for the winner that did finally settle the match.

But not before a final point that consumed 43 balls (1:22:15-1:24:23) and was concluded by a great long filet shot by Ducassou.

Those three points (70, 76, 77) alone consumed 209 balls in play. All of them were won by D-O.

Remonte--Final Summary of selected major spring and summer tournaments

Below you will find a summary of the winners of the major 2016 Remonte late spring and summer tournaments in the South Basque Country. (Sources: Oriamendi2010 and Euskal Jai Berri Erremonte Fundazioa/La Fundacion Remonte Euskal Jai Berri,) 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 "Remonte" on the right side of the blog page to find relevant blog posts, which may contain other full match videos and articles.

II Torneo de Pelota San Isidro 2016: Urriza-Ion (Madrid)

**Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa: Uterga-Aizpuru III (Zumarraga) (Match begins at 1:06:30 on the video). (Source: EITB)

**Tourneo de San Fermin: Urriza-Etxeberria III (Huarte). (Source: EITB)

** Tourneo Kutxabank: Urriza (Hernani) (Source: EITB via Oriamendi2010)

** XI Torneo Comunidad Foral de Navarra de Remonte-Gran Premio Magna 2016: Endika-Ion (Zubiri )

Remonte--XI Torneo Comunidad Foral de Navarra de Remonte-Gran Premio Magna 2016

This short court competition, organized by Euskal Jai Berri Erremonte Fundazioa/La Fundacion Remonte Euskal Jai Berri, was played from July 23 to September 25, 2016. The venues, with the exception of one match at Labrit Fronton, (Pamplona (Iruna)), were towns and villages in Navarra (populations given below and in the complete rundown for the tournament--see the link below--next to town or village name). The competition consisted of two tournaments, both made up of players from the Oriamendi2010 roster. The players were split into two four team divisions. The A Tournament consisted of a single round robin league phase. The second and third place team played in a semi-final. The winner played the first place team in the final. The B Tournament consisted of two semi-finals and a final.

Sources for all match scores, articles, and tables: Euskal Jai Berri and Oriamendi2010 unless otherwise specifically stated. I used Oriemendi2010 because it maintained current tables for the A Tournament league phase.

A Tournament league phase final

Endika-Ion....3-0
Uterga-Etxeberria III....2-1
Ezkurra II-Barrenetxea IV....1-2
Urriza-Aizpuru III....0-3

Note that Endika, a back courter, played this entire tournament in the front court.

In addition to the players listed, Ansa II, Segurola, Zubiri, and Garces played as substitutes.

B Tournament:

Goikoetxea V-Asproz
Eburu-Otano
Barricart-Zaldua
Benat-Martirena

In addition to the players listed, Rodriguez and Labaka played as substitutes.

September 25, 2016 at Zubiri (1)(2) (435)

A Tournament final

Endika-Ion defeated Uterga-Etxeberria III 35-25

The experiment with Endika in the front court worked from beginning to end as E-I were undefeated in the tournament with four wins. The match article praises Endika's performance. He is known as a shot maker in the back court and this was transferred to the front court for this tournament. He executed several types of shots that yielded points for his team. Ion played excellent Remonte in the back court. The result was a surprisingly easy victory over last year's champions.

Correction:  The match article noted Endika's great play in the front court in the Navarra Tournament. This indicated my ignorance about Endika's career. In researching the history of the Sagardoaren Txapelketa for the 2017 edition I discovered that Endika had played in the inaugural final (2011) in the front court. Some research in the Oriamendi2010 database showed that records of Endika's matches (going as far back as April 29, 2010) had him in the front court from April of 2010 until October 3, 2013. So his being in the front court in the Navarra tournament was no "experiment." (Added March 3, 2017).

B Tournament final:

Goikoetxea V-Azpiroz defeated Eburu-Otano 35-32

Match articles for both matches (Euskal Jai Berri)

September 23, 2016 at Fronton Toki Alai, Huarte (Uharte) (6776)

A Tournament semi-final

Uterga-Etxeberria III defeated Ezkurra II-Barrenetxea IV 30-23

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

19-8; 20-15; 24-18; 30-23

Match article (Euskal Jai Berri)

E-B started tentatively and the vastly experienced U-E took advantage for a big lead. E-B played hard during a 7-1 run that got them back in the game, but they never were able to overcome their poor start.

MY ARTICLE--The tournament from start to finish.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Open Villa de Madrid

(Added to this post October 3, 2016). Note: In late September, FIPV (see below) released some summary highlight video of the tournament. The quality of the video (produced by Gol.tv) is much higher than the Periscope TV video below.

A. Tournament Summary (18 minutes 37 seconds) (FIPV Youtube site).

B. Highlights of final: (3:56)

C. Highlights of semi-finals (3:44)

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The multi-sponsored Open Villa de Madrid was played at Universidad Complutense Fronton, Madrid on September 23-24, 2016.

Source for sponsors of the tournament: Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca website (scroll to the bottom of the page for the sponsors).

Source for match articles and photos; Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca website and Flickr,  and as.com. Source for match video, FIPV Periscope, LaLiga4Sports Facebook page.

The significance of the tournament becomes immediately evident when you notice who played in it.

A note about the full match videos. FIPV presented this tournament live via Periscope.tv All of  the full match videos can be linked to individually from the FIPV Twitter feed. I have also linked to the matches directly from Periscope for convenience.

Periscope is not commercial quality TV. This is basically raw video of the matches. There is no commentary and no way to know the score except to keep score yourself as the matches proceed. There is also no way to know how long these matches may be available on demand. With all these caveats, this is still full match video and FIPV has provided it.

Full match video of all four matches (via FIPV Twitter feed). Scroll to where the matches begin. Note that as time goes by, you will have to scroll further down to find them. This is the nature of any Twitter feed. The March 23 semi-fnals are labeled "Presentation Jugadores Torneo Internacional".

Full match video of all four matches (via Periscope). Click on the blue "x" at the bottom of the screen to widen the picture. I have not found a way to remove the label from the match as it progresses.

On the 3rd place match, Erkiaga's injury happens at 22:09 on the video, out of camera range. There are two 3rd place matches listed because after Erkiaga retired hurt, Egiguren continued playing against Olha.

September 24:

Final

Olharan-Lopez defeated Goikoetxea-Inza 2-0 (15-9, 15-9)

Video of final point of the match (source: LaLiga4Sports Facebook page).

Photos (including both days)

Third place match:

Egiguren-Enbil defeated Olha-Erkiaga after Erkiaga was forced to retire as a result of being hit on the elbow by a ball.

Background article on the final matchup (Source: as.com)

Match articles for both matches (Source: Federacion Internacional de Pelota Vasca)

Match articles for both matches (Source: as.com)

September 23:

Semi-finals:

Goikoetxea-Inza defeated Egiguren-Enbil 2-0 (15-5, 15-5).

Olharan-Lopez defeated Olha-Erkiaga 2-1 (8-15, 15-11, 10-9)

Match articles for both matches (Source: Federacion Internacional de Pelota Vasca)