Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--Fronton Mexico Tournament 2--Premier and National League--May 24-June 2, 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.

Note: as of July 3, 2019, all matches from Tournament 2-5 have been uploaded to the FM Youtube site. For this final Tournament, Youtube addresses will be given, as they are more easily accessible. For the previous tournaments, I will leave the Facebook addresses as they are, but add this note to the blog pages. 

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 He has been replaced by Angel Egea (Fronton Mexico), ex-Miami Jai Alai player.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

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

Tournament 2: May 17-26, 2019

Player Rankings through 2 Tournaments (Fronton Mexico)

Tournament 2: May 17-26 2019

Premier League and National League Tournaments

T2 Information (Fronton Mexico Facebook)

The Premier League will consist of 4 pairs:

Olha-Lopez; (Aritz) Erkiaga-Inza; Goikoetxea*-Ekhi; and Olharan-Irastorza

* Winner of Tourmament 1

There will be a Round Robin May 17-19. Semi-finals and Final will be May 24-26.

National League will be a 6 team competition.
There will be two groups:

Group A: Inclan-Mauricio; Polanco-Ihitsague; Ochoa**-Portet

Group B: (Angel) Egea-Echenique; Sierra-Perez*; Juan-Leon-Del Rio+

*Winner of 1st Premier Tournament; +Winner of 1st Premier Tournament

There will be a Group Round Robin May 17-25. The top two finishers will advance to the Final, which will be on May 26.

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

Premier League

Week 2

May 26, 2019

FINAL

Olharan-Irastorza (3-1) 2 (Aritz) Erkiaga-Inza (2-2) 1 (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at -1:27:50 (move the slider bar from the RIGHT TO -1:27:50) (15-14; 14-15; 5-2)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres

The linescore says it all about this match. The maximum number of points in a set based match like this is 67. The match ups were fantastic, the electric athleticism and "joi de vivre" of Olharan v the precision of Erkiaga; the power of Irastorza (even now, at over 40 years old) v Inza's strategy to hit the ball deep (and on the FM court, the longest in the world, not an easy assignment) and keep Irastorza from using his lethal overhand and forehand throws. It was not, from a technical perspective, the best of matches (the tie breaker was decided by errors). But for sheer spectacle and fun (FM leaves no stone un-turned in those departments), if you have never seen a CP/Jai Alai match, this would be a great place to start. And if you've seen hundreds, this would be an excellent choice for your next one.

One of the major themes of this Tournament was the "coming of age" of Jean Olharan. He will be 30 in July 2019 and has been playing professionally since 2011, but there has been, among some fans, a nagging sense that we have yet to see his full potential. He is a playmaker extraordinaire, a walking highlight reel, if you please, including this famous play But the results have never quite matched the talent, it seems. In this tournament, with wins over Goikoetxea and (Aritz) Erkiaga, perhaps that will change. It is always a joy to watch him play, and hopefully he will begin to win consistently, both in Mexico City and in the North and South Basque Country. 

May 25, 2019

Olha-Lopez (1-2) 2 Olharan-Irastorza (2-1) 1 (15-8, 11-15, 5-2) (31-25) (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at: -1:04:56 (move slider bar from RIGHT to -1:04:56)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

In a match that meant nothing in the table (O-H were eliminated in the first round, it was still good to see Lopez get his first win of the tournament. Beating the eventual champions was a bonus. 

May 24, 2019

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Inza (2-1) 2 Goikoetxea-Ekhi (1-2) 0 (15-14, 15-13) (30-27) (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at -2:22:52) (move slider bar from the RIGHT to -2:22:52)

This was an intense match, basically an elimination match. Aritz played extremely well and, in the end, his team had just barely enough to get through to the final. 

Match article (Jai Alai y mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Fegueres)

Week 1

May 19, 2019

Goikoetxea-Ekhi (1-1) 2; Olha-Lopez (0-2) 1 (14-15, 15-12, 5-2) (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at -1:23:08 from the RIGHT side of the slider bar. Track back from there to -1:23:08)

Olha-Lopez were eliminated in a very tight match that Goikoetxea took over at the end of the tie-breaker. After O-L came back from 2-0 down, Olha made an error that opened the door to the win. 

Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

May 18

Olharan-Irastorza (2-0) 2 (Aritz) Erkiaga-Inza (1-1) 0(Fronton Mexico 
Facebook--match begins at -55:25 from the RIGHT side of the slider bar. Track back from there to -55:25. (15-14, 15-8) (30-22)

Match article (Jai Alai Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

May 17

Olharan-Irastorza (1-0) 2 Goikoetxea-Ekhi (0-1) 0 (15-13, 15-14) (30-27)

(Aritz) Erkiaga-Inza (1-0) 2 Olha-Lopez (0-1) 0 (15-12; 15-12) (30-24)

Full match videos of both matches (FM Facebook) (matches begin at: -2:36:14 from the RIGHT side of the slider bar. Track back to -2:36:14 to get the beginning of the first match. Second match follows the first.

Match article for both matches (Jai Alai News Facebook)

National League

With all the glitter of Fronton Mexico, the star studded lineup of the best puntistas on the planet, it would be easy to miss the revelation that is Julien Del Rio. At age 22, he has taken FM by storm. Among all the Goikos, Olharans, Lopez', and Irastorzas, Del Rio is the only player who has won both tournaments played so far. He won Tournament 1 (see link above) with Goikoetxea in the Premier League. He won this National League Tournament with ageless 40 year old veteran Juan Leon Garcia. Not a bad start to this season. He is 6-1 going into Tournament 3, where he will partner with 42 year old Adrian Ortega, a professional with 24 years of experience, who started his career before Del Rio was born. Including Goikoetxea (38), Del Rio's partners are, on average, 18 years his senior. It doesn't seem to bother him, or them. This is one of those subtexts to a sports season that is easy miss, with all the glitz, "showbiz", and, frankly, flat out fun that is FM. If he keeps playing like he has been so far, he won't be "a secret" for long. 

Week 2

May 26, 2019

FINAL

Juan Leon-Del Rio (Group B (3-0)) 2 Ochoa-Portet (Group A (1-2) 0 (15-
10; 15-11) (30-21) (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at 0:00)

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

May 25, 2019

Group A:

Final Group A League Table

Ochoa-Portet (1-1) 66 points

Inclan-Mauricio 1-1) 60

Polanco-Ihitsague (1-1) 49

Inclan-Mauricio (1-1) 2 Polanco-Ihitsague (1-1) 0 (15-10, 15-11) (30-21) (Fronton Mexico Facebook--match begins at 0:00

Match article (Jai Alai y Mas-Fernando Sierra Felgueres

May 24, 2019

Group A

Polanco-Ihitsague (1-0) 2 Ochoa-Portet (1-1)1 (15-14; 8-15; 5-4) (28-33)

Group B

Final Group B League Table

Juan-Leon-Del Rio 2-0

(Angel) Echea-Echinique (1-1)

Sierra-Perez 0-2

Juan Leon-Del Rio (2-0) 2 Sierra-Perez (0-2)0 (15-13; 15-6) (30-19)

Both matches are available via Fronton Mexico Facebook. The Group A match is joined in progress, 13-11 P-I in the first set. Begins at 0:00. Group B match begins at -56:20 from the RIGHT side of the slider bar. Move the slider bar from the RIGHT to -56:20)

Match article for both matches (Jai Alai y Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

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

League Table Week 1

Group A

Ochoa-Portet (1-0)

Polanco-Ihitsague (0-0)

Inclan-Mauricio (0-1)

Group B

Juan Leon-Del Rio (1-0)

(Angel) Echea-Echinique (1-1)

Sierra-Perez (0-1)

May 19

Group A

Ochoa-Portet (1-0) 2 Inclan-Mauricio (0-1) 1 (Fronton Mexico Facebook: match begins at 0:00--4-3 O-P) (15-9, 13-15, 5-4) (33-30)

Match article (Jai Alai Mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

May 18

Group B

(Angel) Egea-Echenique (1-1) 2 Sierra-Perez (0-1) 0 (Fronton Mexico Facebook video--match begins at 0:00) (15-3, 15-10) (30-13)

Match article (Jai Alai y mas Facebook--Fernando Sierra Felgueres)

May 17

Group B:

Juan-Leon-Del Rio (1-0) 2 (Angel) Echea-Echenique (0-1) 1(Fronton Mexico Facebook --match begins at 0:00) (15-14, 13-15, 5-4) (33-33)

Match article (Jai Alai News Facebook)

UPCOMING: (FRONTON MEXICO FACEBOOK EVENTS)

TOURNAMENT 3:

May 31-June 9

PREMIER LEAGUE

FOUR TEAMS WILL BE INVOLVED IN A ROUND ROBIN. THE TOP TWO TEAMS WILL PLAY IN A FINAL

GOIKOETXEA*-INZA; (ARITZ-ERKIAGA-EKHI; OLHA-IRASTORZA**; OLHARAN**-LOPEZ

*=WON T1

**=WON T2

MAY 31

(ARITZ) ERKIAGA-EKHI v OLHA-IRASTORZA

GOIKOETXEA-INZA v OLHARAN-LOPEZ

JUNE 1ST

(ARITZ) ERKIAGA-EKHI v OLHARAN-LOPEZ

JUNE 2ND

GOIKOETXEA-INZA v OLHA-IRASTORZA

JUNE 7

GOIKOETXEA-INZA v (ARITZ) ERKIAGA-EKHI

JUNE 8

OLHARAN-LOPEZ v OLHA-IRASTORZA

JUNE 9

FINAL

NATIONAL LEAGUE WILL HAVE TWO GROUPS, EACH PLAYING A 

ROUND ROBIN. WINNERS OF EACH GROUP WILL PLAY IN THE 
FINAL. 

Group A:

Inclan**-Mauricio; Polanco-Perez*; Ochoa*-Echinique;

Group B:

Ortega-Del Rio+ **; Juan Leon**-Portet; Sierra-Ihitsague

*=WON T2

**=WON T2

+=WON PREMIER T1

MAY 31

GROUP A

INCLAN-MAURICIO v POLANCO-PEREZ

JUNE 1

GROUP B

ORTEGA-DEL RIO v JUAN LEON-PORTET

JUNE 2

GROUP A

POLANCO PEREZ v OCHOA-ECHENIQUE

JUNE 7

GROUP A

INCLAN-MAURICIO v OCHOA-ECHENIQUE

GROUP B

SIERRA-IHITSAGUE v ORTEGA-DEL RIO

JUNE 8

GROUP B

JUAN LEON- PORTET v SIERRA-IHITSAGUE

JUNE 9

FINAL

Main Nue: Esku Pilota Tournois Pilotarienak--Anglet

Tournois Pilotarienak was an Esku Pilota Group A Circuit Elite Pro Tourmanemt that took place on May 24 and May 29, 2019.

Esku Pilota Roster

 It consisted of four pairs:

Peio Larrald-Agusti Waltary
Julien Etchegaray-Thierry Harismendy
Mathieu Ospital-Peio Guchandut
Enaut Echeverria*-Baptiste Ducassou

* Not on Esku Pilota roster at this time.

The tournament had a couple of interesting "quirks." Waltary played in the back court, He is a long timer front court player who has one of the most lethal services in the sport, but for this tournament, he was a "supporting actor" for Larralde. On the other hand, Etchegaray, an accomplished front court player, is playing another tournament while this one took place. In the Challenge de Cize, a 50 point Tournament at Le Garat that has unfolded for the last month, Etchegaray is playing the back court with Gregory Aguirre. Outside of that this small tournament had a surfeit of excellent players. Larralde, Waltary, Ospital, Guichandu, and Ducassou have been among the top 10 Esku Pilota players for some time.

In the end the experiment worked well for L-W. They dominated the Tournament, outscoring their two opponents by 80-51.

Trinquet Haitz Pean, Anglet (1) (2)

FINAL

May 29, 2019

P. Larralde-Waltary 40

Ospital-Guichandut 23 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

8-1; 10-5; 15-6; 20-6; 31-13; 31-21; 40-23

Partial scoring: Larralde 15 service aces Ospital 4

Match article, along with an audio interview with Larralde and video of the last few points (Esku Pilota)

Match article: (Pilota Ttiki) 

Waltary is the man with the devastating serve. But he played an excellent supporting role in this tournament. In the May 29 Final, Larralde had 15 service aces and Waltary played solid defense, more than holding his own against Peio Guichandut, for an easy 40-23 win. 7 of their first 10 points were Larralde aces. Guichandut was slightly "off color" for the entire tournament, suffering with a sore hand. If you watch closely you can see that it was bothering him. To have a sore hand battered by Larralde rockets can't be much fun.  And a strategy (according to the PT match article) that demanded keeping the pelota away from Larralde as much as possible couldn't have helped. Later in the match Ospital found a bit of a weakness in Waltary's service return, but it was far too little and much too late. 

Lever de Rideau (curtain raiser--friendly)

*=Not on Esku Pilota Roster

Alcasena*-Palomes 40 Maiz*-Garat* 17

(Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Semi-finals

May 24, 2019

* Not on Esku Pilota roster at present

P. Larralde-Waltary 40 Etchegaray-Harismendy 28 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (Esku Pilota)

2-2; 3-3; 5-5; 8-8; 19-16; 30-16; 39-21; 39-28; 40-28

The grand experiment (for both teams) looked extremely intriguing through the first half. But then L-W blew the match open with an 11-0 run, which more than negated E-H's valiant but futile 7-0 run at the end. 

Ospital-Guichandut 40 Etcheverria*-Ducassou 29 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (Esku Pilota)

3-10; 13-13; 16-15; 21-20; 22-21; 22-22; 22-23; 23-23; 40-29

Partial scoring:

Ospital 10 service aces Echeverria 8

Ducassou had played a 1 v 2 match the week before this tournament began, and he might have thought he was in another, but his team got off to a great start. Then they came back to earth as O-G caught them with a 10-3 run. Still E-E stayed in contention until almost the middle of the 3rd decade. At that point, Echeverria's inexperience began to be exploited (according to the match articles) and the result was a 17-6 run and easy victory for O-G. But overall, Echeverria played well and almost matched Ospital ace for ace. Echeverria also had a good match in the Tournois D'Itxassou, although his team lost that match as well. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future.

Match article for both matches (Esku Pilota)

Match article for both matches (Pilota Ttiki)

Pala/Pala Larga/Pala Corta--2 Recent Independent Matches--Iparralde v Hegoalde

Two non-InPala independent matches which featured an Iparralde (North Basque) v Hegoalde (South Basque) rivalry (although one of the participants in both matches, Pablo Fusto, is an Argentinian who plays virtually all of his Pala in Hegoalde) were played recently. Last year, in the FIPV (Federacion International de Pelota Vasa) World Championships, the Pala Corta final (FIPV via Toute de la Pelota Basque Youtube) was won by Iparralde (Dan Necol-Sylvain Brefel) against Hegoalde's Esteban Gaubeka-Emiliano Skufca). Hegoalde was looking to "even the score" and even "take the lead" in these matches, but it was not to be, as Necol-Brefel put up a wall to stop them. Not even a single joko (set) could breach that wall.

May 10, 2019. 

Champions du Monde Challenge--Pala Corta v Pala Larga)

Plaza Berri, Biarritz (1) (2)

Necol-Brefel (PC) 2 Fusto-Ibargarai (PL) 0

(15-10, 15-8) (30-18)

(France 3 Aquitaine TV Facebook full match video)

Promotion Poster (Innpala Twitter)

Player information and differences between the implements (Dan Necol Twitter)

The elegant, "retro" Plaza Berri hosted this special match between the 2018 Pala Corta World Champions (see match linked in the introduction) and 2018 Pala Larga World Champions (Mundo Parejas--Mungia (1) (2).

(Full match video--EITB). This match was interesting for two reasons: 

1. The Iparralde-Hegoalde subtext.

2. The implements. The difference between Pala Corta and Pala Larga is in the implements and pelota. The Pala Corta bat weighs between 780-800 grams (27.5-28.2 ounces). The Pala Larga bat weighs between 920-940 grams (32.4-33.2 ounces). The extra weight in the Pala Larga bat can be seen in its slightly thicker hitting surface. The lengths of the two bats are about the same, around 46 centimeters (18 inches). The Larga ball weighs 10 grams more: 100 to 90 grams (3.5-3.2 ounces). The circumference of the pelota is about the same (around 3.5 inches). Pala Corta is played on a short (30 or 36 meter--98'5" or 118 feet) court in both Iparralde and Hegoalde. Pala Larga is played on 36 and 54 (177'2") courts exclusively by professionals in Hegoalde (Mundo Parejas is a the last of the long court tournaments). 

Given this data, and the fact that most Pala Larga is played on short courts, the court was no stranger to either of these teams. Which pelota was used (or if they were rotated) is unknown. With either of the bats, the pelotas are consistently struck with a "launch velocity" (term taken from a new American baseball "metric") of 90-95 mph (150 kph) by players carrying the bats, and hitting on the run off the front or back foot, as well as from a set position as a baseball, cricket, or pessipallo player would. Except these palistas hit the ball with one hand, and are ambidextrous. Think about that the next time you watch your favorite baseball, cricket, or pessipallo player bat. Pala is not as fast as Remonte or Cesta Punta/Jai Alai, to my knowledge, but it is much more difficult to control shots, since the the hitting area is very narrow. 

As for the match, the Pala Corta champions won, again in 2 jokos (the standard length of a Pala Corta match). Interestingly, Pala Larga is always played to 3 jokos with, obviously, no tie breaker. This may have had more of an effect on F-I than any pelota or implement difference. The maximum PC match of this duration is 72 or 67 points depending on whether the tie breaker is to 10 or 5. The maximum PL match duration is 95 points. The shortness of the PC game might have inhibited F-Ib, just as it might have inhibited F-Im in the match above. Of course the PC players might have something to say about that, particularly when they rejoin their colleagues on the PL circuit. :) And, in the end, in the last 8 months, geographically speaking, the tally is now Iparralde 3 and Hegoalde 0 (7 jokos to 2). For Hegoalde, there is always next year. 

April 27, 2019

Portet-sur-Garonne (1) (2)

Pala Corta Pro Tour Final

Necol-Brefel 2 Fusto-Imanol 0 (Pascal Bru Youtube)

(15-8; 15-12) (30-20)

Promotion Poster (Stade Toulousian Pelota Twitter)

Pala Corta Pro Tour Competition Context (Pala Corta Pro Tour Facebook Events)

The third edition of the Pala Corta Pro Tour included 6 present or recently--within the last three years--retired InnPala pros: Dan Necol, Sylvain Brefel (retired), Pablo Hernan "Fusto", Xabier Ibargai, Erik Zubiri (retired), and Imanol Ibanez (retired), along with 6 promising amateurs. The players were organized in two Groups, and each played a "League" round robin: 2 sets to 10 with a tie breaker to 5. The 3rd place match and Final played 2 sets to 15 points with a tie breaker to 5. I have found no information about the results of the round robins or third place match. The final was won comfortably by N-B, although the second joko (set) was more competitive than the first, in which N-B opened the joko with the first 6 points and cruised from there. There was a bit of controversy with the 13-12--14-12 point of the 2nd joko and the decision went the way of N-B. On the day, 8 matches were played in 6 hours on the short court, all for an admission price of 5 euros. (5.60 US dollars). 

2018 Pala Corta Pro Tour Final and selected preliminary matches

*=amateur

April 15, 2018

Necol-Brefel 2 Zubiri-Brian*-Ibargari 1 (Ligue Occitaine de Pelota Basque via Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube extended highlights)
(12-15, 15-6, 10-6) (37-27)

Note: Erik Zubiri was had to retire after being hit in the face with a pelota hit by his team mate Xabier Ibargarai (3-5--19:50 on the video) in the second joko. He was replaced by Simon Brian.

Other matches: Highlights (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube)

Brian*-Figeac* 2 Fusto-Firpo* 1 (Toute sur la Pelote Basque highlights)
(10-7, 6-10, 5-3) (21-19) 

Necol-Brefel 2 Dordenne*-Hourmat* 0 (Toute sur la Pelote Basque highlights)
(10-7, 10-1) (20-8) 15:50

Zubiri-Ibargarai 2- Brian*-Figeac* 0 (Toute sur la Pelote Basque highlights)

(10-2, 10-9) (20-11) 

Zubiri-Ibargarai 2 Fusto-Firpo* 0 (Toute sur la Pelote Basque highlights)
(10-7; 10-8) (20-15) 

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--A NEW PAGE--DANIA JAI ALAI GAME 10 (FLORIDA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP)--DAY BY DAY

NOTE: SEE G10 6/12 EVENING PERFORMANCE REPORT: A GREAT GAME: 

Dania Jai Alai plays 12 games in 7 performances every week during its season. The 10th game, the Florida Singles Championship, is the late game front court singles match (8 players, occasionally there is one back court player and/or an early game player in the game). The Dania Spring-Summer Season runs from May 1-June 30. That's about 9 weeks, about 63 games do determine a Florida Singles Champion. Most wins is the determining factor. The FSC is one leg of the Dania Triple Crown of  Late Game Singles, Late Game Doubles (Game 12), and all game championships that are determined by number of wins. Erik Mendezabal (late-front) won all three legs of the Triple Crown in the recently completed Dania Fall-Winter Season (January 2-April 14, 2019).

For this season, beginning with the third week of the season, a special lens will be focused on Game 10. As often as I can, I will watch the game, do a point by point "map" of it (quiniela Jai Alai is complex in that it is played in single point increments where the winner keeps playing and the loser "goes to the back of the line.") In addition I will provide commentary and keep a running Table of the leaders. I'm not planning to dedicate my life to this game, and as I have no recording capability, I will miss some games. The daily table will always be updated. This is an experiment to see if I can find any patterns in this game over time. It is also a great incentive for me to watch the game (which rarely takes more than 15 minutes) closely. Game 10 analysis will be added also to the weekly Dania Page, which tracks daily and weekly player performance. I hope you find it entertaining and, perhaps educational. The page is located on the right side of the blog, below the current results.

Dania Jai Alai: The Florida Singles Championship 

Mano: Eskuz Banakako Txapelketa-Campeonato Manomanista De Lep.M 2019--Semi-Finals

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.

2019 ASPE Schedule 

21Iguales.com complete tournament coverage

21iguales Twitter feed live scoring page

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)

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

FINAL

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Semi-Finals

May 19, 2019

Astelena, Eibar (1) (2)

Irribarria (Group A 1/8 seed) 22

Elezkano II (Group B 1/4 seed) 12 (EITB--match begins at 1:01:15)

Highlights (EITB)

Condensed linescore (winners always listed first) (21Iguales Twitter)

0-2; 3-2; 3-3; 9-3; 9-5; 11-5; 11-7; 16-7; 16-10; 18-10; 18-11; 20-11; 20-12; 22-12

Scoring (EITB)

Irribarria +16 (including 3 service aces and 8 high and deep shots) -2

Elezkano II +10 (3a) -7

Balls in play: 148; I 79 E 69

Time of the match 35:14

Match article (21Iguales)

May 18, 2019

Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao) (1) (2)

The only survivor of the 1/8 seeded players in the Banakako Txapelketa/Campionato Manomanista (Singles) championship advanced to the Final when he demolished the man who beat him in the recently concluded Binakako Txapelketa/Mundo Parejas (Pairs) championship, Danel Elezkano, 22-12. Irribarria did it with dominant figures: +16 (including 3 service aces) - 2. Of his 13 non service ace points, 8 came on high and deep shots. Astelena (Eibar) is one of the smaller conchas (courts) that professionals play on. Still it was remarkable that one of Irribarria's "steam shovel" bombs actually hit the back wall, a site seldom seen in Mano. Several other deep shots put Elezkano in such a poor position that Irribarria was able to win points with easy kill shots. Elezkano's precision short offense and tremendous defense in the front court was useless against Irribaria's bombs. It is always impressive to see him get his left hand under the ball and crash it high off the wall. "Meet Irribarria's hand, see the Basque Country," the pelotas say when they talk to each other. He also played very well with his right hand in this match, which is more "bad news" for his opponents. This match propelled him into the Final on June 2 at Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao), against Mikel Urrutikoetxea. Urrutikoetxea is a big, strong, converted back court player, so he may have the tools to counter Irribarria's power. But Irribarria is riding a wave of momentum. This will be the second time in the last four years the two have met in this final. In the first, in 2016, when both had recently burst on the scene, Irribarria won 22-13. Full match video of that match is available via EITB.

Urrutikoetxea (Group C 1/4 seed) 22

Ezkurdia (Group D 1/4 seed) 14 (EITB--match begins at 1:23:45)

Fronton TV (Castilian)

Highlights (EITB)

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

1-0; 1-1; 3-1; 3-3; 4-3; 4-4; 14-4; 14-7; 15-7; 15-10; 16-10; 16-12; 20-12; 20-14; 22-14

Scoring (EITB)

Urrutikoetxea +17 (including 4 service aces) -7

Ezkurdia +7(2a) -5

Balls in play: 251; U-129 E 122

Time of the match 60:49

Match article (21Iguales)

Urrutikoetxea punched his ticket to the final, using a 10 point run that gave him a 14-4 lead, as the springboard to victory. The match was fairly even before and after that. Urrutikoetxea jumped off to 9-3 lead, but Ezkurdia cut that to 4. After the big run, Ezkurdia outscored Urrutikoetxea by 2, too little, too late. Urrutkoetxea did not have the best day (-7), but his +17 neutralized the errors. Ezkurdia simply couldn't get his offense going (+7) and his 5 errors pretty much nullified that. 

Main Nue: Esku Pilota begins its 2019 Tournament Season--and an Interesting one v two match

Esku Pilota, the organization that manages most 2019 Elite Pro Tournaments (as well as other "Open" Tournaments, recently completed its first EP Tournament of the year. 

Tournois d'Itxassou (source for all TdI scores: Esku Pilota Resultats)

*Not on Esku Pilota Player Page

All matches were played at Atharri Fronton, Itxassou (1) (2)

Note that Tournois d'Itxassou was played on a "hybrid" concha (court). It is a standard mur a gauche (3 wall) with a "drop in" side and back dugout. So there are trinquet elements, but there is no right wall, making for an interesting combination of possibilities. 

FINAL:

May 11, 2019

Etcheverry-Ducassou 40 Ospital-Xala 29 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first) (Esku Pilota)

2-2; 3-3; 4-4; 7-7; 8-8; 9-9; 10-10; 17-12; 26-26 28-26; 40-29

*Match article, with audio interview with Baptiste Ducassou and video of the last few points* (Esku Pilota)

This was a hard fought match until almost the 4th decade. Ducassou was interesting to watch in the way he exploited the possibilities of two wall winners to the left side which would go off the court. Equal at 26, Xala gifted E-D two points which sent them on their way to a 14-3 run that turned a "nail biter" into a rout.

Semi-finals

May 7, 2019

Ospital-Xala* 40 P. Larralde-B. Larralde (seeded in) 24 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Condensed linescore: (winners always listed first

1-0; 1-1; 2-1; 2-2; 2-3; 9-3; 9-4; 11-4; 11-6; 14-6; 14-8; 16-8; 16-11; 17-11; 17-12; 20-12; 20-16; 22-16; 22-18; 25-18; 25-19; 28-19; 28-20; 32-20; 32-24; 40-24

As expected, O-X used a strategy of keeping the ball away from P. Larralde as much as possible to create maximum pressure on the other EP debutant in this tournament, brother Bixente Larralde. The strategy worked to perfection, though in the end P. Larralde actually had more balls in play the B. (129-100 by my count). Ospital also had 9 service aces. 

Etcheverry-Ducassou 40 Bielle-Harismendy (seeded in) 31 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

8-11; 10-12; 13-13; 21-14; 37-28; 37-31; 40-31

Match article for both matches (Esku Pilota)

A 7 point run in early to mid match paved the way for E-D's comfortable win.

Quarter-finals

May 3, 2019

Etcheverry-Ducassou 40 Monce-X. Lambert 27 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video)

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

6-6; 7-7; 8-8; 40-27

This was Maxime Etcheverry's first match as an Esku Pilota Elite Pro. He got off to a bit of a nervous start with several errors, but Ducassou was able to steady the ship, playing excellent defense, and finally helping his team pull away to a relatively easy win. 

Ospital-Xala* 40 Etcheverria*-Guichandut 35 (Pilota Ttiki condensed full video)

Selected Linescore (winners always listed first)

0-7; 10-18; 20-21; 26-26; 28-28; 29-29; 30-30; 34-34; 40-35

Time of match: about 1 and a half hours

Match article for both matches (Esku Pilota)

This turned out to be the most competitive match of the entire tournament, with amateur Enaut Etchererria playing a very strong match, helping his team gain the initiative. But Ospital played a steady, effective match and helped his team to a 10-3 run that put them back in contention. The match was even int the 3rd decade and well into the fourth, before O-X were able to put together a 6-1 run at the end. 

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Independent Matches

May 17, 2019

Trinquet Barria, Hasparren--Trinquet (old and new (1) (2) Hasparren

Etcheverry-B. Larralde (both 1st year Esku Pilota and FFPB Championat de France winners) 40

Ducassou (arriere and FFPB Championnat de France Elite Pro Individual Champion) 26

(Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

11-5; 12-12; 40-26

A fascinating concept, to pit the singles Elite Pro World Champion against two amateur champions (Pilota Ttiki condensed full match video) who gained experience in the FFPB Elite Pro par Equipes competition. In the end, E-B.L were able to force Ducassou to move enough to take advantage of his increasing fatigue and win comfortably. The trinquet was a little too big for one to beat two on this occasion, but Ducassou made it interesting. 

Lever de rideau (curtain raiser)

Cigarroa*-Benesse* (blue) 40 Alcasena*-Garat* (green) 16 (Pilota Ttiki Youtube condensed full match video)

*Not on the Esku Pilota roster at present.

Selected linescore (winners always listed first)

2-2; 17-2; 30-11; 40-16

Match article for both matches (Esku Pilota)

Promotion Poster (Esku Pilota)

The beginning of this "lever de rideau" tells the story as C-B took a huge lead and then continually increased it to win in a rout.

UPCOMING:

TOURNOIS PILOTARIENAK--ANGLET--MAY 24-29, 2019

SEMI-FINALS

MAY 24

P. LARRALDE-WALTARY v ETCHEGARAY-HARISMENDY

OSPITAL-GUICHANDUT v ECHEVERRIA*-DUCASSOU

MAY 29

FINAL