Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Saturday 29^th October, Bilbao

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO beat OLAIZOLA II 22-20

This encounter been the old foes Olaizola II and Martinez de Irujo was so hotly anticipated that all 3000 seats in Bilbao’s Bizkaia fronton sold out, producing an atmosphere more usually found at a final. The mind games had already begun before the pair took to the field of battle, when Aimar objected vehemently to Irujo’s choice of balls. His selections stood, and his rival accepted his situation, but the venom overflowed into their style of play, which was faster and more furious than anything seen in the competition so far.

Aimar took the game to defending champion Irujo and held the upper hand for most of the first half of the match, going ahead 3-0, 7-1, 9-2 and 11-6. Irujo, who had been caught napping at the off, sprung into a certain kind of life with third point which he was convinced was too long. The judges let it stand, despite Irujo’s furious protestations and his anger counted against him, as a calmly brutal Aimar played the crosscourt game to perfection. Finding himself on the receiving end of an enormous salvo, Irujo was called to the chair by his botillero Patxi Eugi. Something his confidant uttered helped to turn the tide, for the player who emerged after the break was altogether different. He gradually pulled the deficit back and with five points in a row took the lead at 15-13. Aimar, by nature a grand competitor, would not let him escape and came past again to a 16-15 lead, This he extended to 20-18 after a period of tense stalemate, and it seemed as if the game was his. However, Irujo unleashed one last furious torrent and took four points in a row to take the tie. When Aimar failed to return the last ball, he released all his tension and pent up fury as he pumped the air with immense force. Aimar left the fronton without a moment’s delay.

Few people come from behind to beat Aimar Olaizola, least of all in Cuatro y Medio, a discipline where he has been champion on four occasions. The fact that Irujo won in this manner sends a warning shot to the other semi finalists who must now wonder how his insatiable will to win can be quelled. Irujo now sits in the driving seat in the league, but Aimar has more chances and the fact that his loss was so narrow may yet come to his aid as the finalists are decided.

Scoring sequence: 3-0, 3-1, 7-1, 7-2, 9-2, 9-6, 11-6, 11-10, 13-10, 13-15, 16-15, 16-17, 17-17, 17-18, 20-18, 20-22.

Olaizola II: winners (7) errors (9) service winners (4) service errors (1) 4 ½ line errors (0)

Martinez de Irujo: winners (9) errors (8) service winners (3) service errors (0) 4 ½ line errors (1)

Match time: 54 minutes

Balls hit: 277

Botilleros: Asier Olaizola with his brother Aimar and Patxi Eugi with Irujo

Smiles were few and far between in Bilbao on Saturday

Image from Deia. Source: Diario Vasco

There was one match in the Promocion Championship this weekend and it saw an easy win for Lemuno over a highly out of sorts Albisu, by 22 points to 12. It could have been far worse for Albisu, but a late rally ensured some respectability. The second semi final of the rotation takes place tomorrow and pits Mendizabal III against Ongay.

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Sunday 23^rd October, Eibar

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO beat BENGOETXEA VI 22-17

Juan Martinez de Irujo admitted himself that he had no idea how he beat Oinatz Bengoetxea on Sunday. Bengoetxea was up 12-5 and had the defending champion well and truly on the ropes and ‘out of options’. Even having let his opponent back into the game at 12-10, Bengoetxea marched on with ease, playing with pace and verve, to 16-11. Having once again opened a telling gap, it seemed as if Irujo was dead in the water. However, Irujo is the king of the improbable comeback, as he showed in the final last year when Barriola opened up a sizeable gap upon him but went on to lose. Playing with his chosen balls he made his serve count, using it to win six points outright. He moved ahead for the first time in the game at 17-16 and by this time, Bengoetxea was a different opponent, demoralised and unable to break the relentless streak of his rival.

Scoring sequence: 0-3, 6-3, 6-4, 7-4, 7-5, 12-5, 12-10, 13-10, 13-11, 16-11, 16-17, 17-17, 17-22.

Bengoetxea VI: winners (8) errors (7) service winners (2) service errors (0), 4 ½ line faults (0)

Martinez de Irujo: winners (9) errors (5) service winners (6) service errors (1), 4 ½ line faults (1)

Match time: 42:56, with 9:46 of actual play

Botilleros: Asier García with Bengoetxea VI and Patxi Eugi with Irujo

Irujo came from behind to qualify

Sunday 23^rd October, Longroño

XALA beat TITIN III 22-17

Titin had home advantage for this quarter final tie and the Riojan fans did everything they could to lift their hero. Well aware of the fact that this may be his last chance for Cuatro y Medio glory, his retirement possibly encroaching, the home favourite went at Xala hammer and tongs and put him seriously on the back foot. Falling to a 0-6 deficit, Xala appeared nervous and the crowds sensed blood. The Manomanista champion picked up points in ones and twos, moving from 1-7 to 5-7 and 6-10, but from 7-11 he found his feet in style, picking up seven points in a row to lead 14-11 and undo all of Titin’s early supremacy. Titin scrapped to stay in touch, but in reality no longer looked like a winner, his demeanour radically altered. Xala moved serenely towards the last four, wasting little time in closing the deal after establishing a five point lead at 20-15.

With Xala’s victory, the semi-final line up is complete and is in the eyes of most the dream quartet. Martinez de Irujo and Olaizola II kick off proceedings in Bilbao on Saturday, before Xala and Barriola meet on Sunday in Eibar in an effort to deal the opening blows of the elite round-robin stage.

Scoring sequence: 0-6, 1-6, 1-7, 5-7, 5-9, 6-10, 7-11, 14-11, 14-13, 16-13, 16-15, 20-15, 20-16, 21-16, 21-17, 22-17.

Xala: winners (9) errors (8) service winners (1) service errors (0) 4 ½ line faults (0)

Titin III: winners (8) errors (10) service winners (2) service errors (0) 4 ½ line faults (1)

Match time: 75:00

Balls hit: 391

Botilleros: Aitor Zubieta with Xala and Joaquín Plaza with Titín

Xala saw off the threat of Titin

The semi-final line up is also now complete in the Promocion Championship. On Friday in Beasain Mendizabal III thrashed Rico IV 22-6, In Pamplona on Saturday Ongay beat Tainta 22-16, in Logroño on Sunday Albisu triumphed 22-15 over Apezetxea while Lemuno beat Olazabal 22-12 in Eibar. The first semi-final is on Saturday in Balmaseda where Lemuno takes on Albisu. On Tuesday, Mendizabal III plays Ongay in Eibar.

Images from: Noticias de Navarra and Argia. Source: Diario Vasco

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Saturday 22^nd October, Pamplona

OLAIZOLA II beat GONZALEZ 22-15

Aimar Olaizola, in beating Sebastien Gonzalez on Saturday, became the second player to book his place in the semi-final league of the Cuatro y Medio, regaining his position in the elite four after his shock exit to Retegi Bi in 2009 and injury induced absence in 2010. The four time champion therefore keeps alive the hope of a fifth title, which would take him past Julien Retegi as the greatest Cuatro y Medio player in history.

Aimar had won his previous two Cuatro y Medio meetings with Gonzalez, beating him 22-14 in 2004 and 22-8 in 2006, but here the loser did rather better, racking up 15 points and giving his stellar opponent an early scare. Gonzalez went ahead 4-0 and tensions flared when a dubious call went to way of Aimar to reduce his deficit to 1-4. These two players are well documented as not being the best of friends, and there was no love lost on the fronton as Gonzalez complained bitterly and threw everything he had at the man from Goizueta. He once again extended his lead to 7-2, but gradually, bit by bit, Aimar came back at him, eating into both his lead and his morale. He gained ascendency for the first time at 11-10 and never let Gonzalez close to within fewer than two points. Both players blew hot and cold, errors symptomatic of the tension of the situation and the high stakes that existed. Aimar is not quite in the stunning form which he carried through the summer, but having reached the last four, he will strike for glory once again with his customary coolness and cast iron determination.

Scoring sequence: 0-4, 2-4, 2-7, 7-7, 7-9, 11-9, 11-10, 14-10, 14-11, 16-11, 16-14, 18-14, 18-15, 22-15.

Olaizola II: winners (10) errors (7) service winners (5) service faults (0) 4 ½ line faults (0)

Gonzalez: winners (7) errors (6) service winners (1) service faults (0) 4 ½ line faults (1)

Match time: 50:31

Balls hit: 250

Botilleros: Asier Olaizola with his brother Aimar  and Ramuntxo Mujika with Gonzalez

Aimar takes his place in the elite four

Image from Diario de Navarra, Source: Diario Vasco

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Friday 20^th October, Beasain

BARRIOLA beat RETEGI BI 22-20

While Julen Retegi might never the scale the dizzy heights of his great father Julien, his recent progression as a championship player has been plain to see. The 26 year old has three second tier championships to his name, the Manomanista in 2008 and the pairs in 2008 and 2007 and subsequently made the step up to the major league. He got to the quarter finals in his first attempt at the main Cuatro y Medio draw in 2008 and progressed to greater things a year later, making the semi final league with an unlikely but deserved win over Olaizola II in the quarters. Last year he fell to Barriola in the last eight and this time around he had a golden opportunity to make amends in a repeat fixture. That this introduction has discussed the loser rather than the winner is testament to the fact that Retegi was the orchestrator of this match, the hare which Barriola was forced to chase. The younger man played as if possessed, only undone by the cool head of his desperate elder at the last. Credit is due to Barriola, but it is hard to imagine him ever having been pushed as hard.

Retegi came out of the blocks like a lightning bolt, making it abundantly clear that this game would not be Barriola’s by right. He won the first six points with ease, and his opponent was shut firmly out of the fixture. Uncharacteristic errors from Barriola played their part in this early meltdown, but Retegi showed enormous tactical skill in pushing him into places from which he could not escape. He sealed the early lead with a clever shot into the side wall in reply to a Barriola dos paredes which emerged as the wrong option in the circumstances. It seemed as if Barriola would come back as he took the text two points with classy winners, a skidding ball cross court and a dipping ball into the wall which caught Retegi off balance, but the early leader was anything but fazed. In taking affairs to 8-3, Retegi showed his ability to defend to death or glory, turning a point which should have gone to Barriola into a point for himself. Barriola looked to have taken it with a dos paredes but Retegi stretched for all he was worth, leaving Barriola tumbling and then sitting and slapping the floor in abject disgust.

The next passage of play belonged to Barriola, as he closed from 3-8 to 11-11. Though Retegi picked up points through a Barriola error, a wide skimming winner and another sterling defensive effort culminating in a ball of genius behind his opponent’s back, Barriola looked to have his number. His serve began to fire, as he picked up three sakez winners and he began to hit with aplomb to all corners. Retegi showed the first signs of fraying edges with a despairing wide gantxo on 9-11. Perhaps the big match experience of Barriola was paying off. However, it was then Barriola’s turn to throw away his momentum as his improving serve fell apart with a falta, possibly born of an attempt to be just a little bit too clever. Though he recovered the serve with a txoko in the next play, Retegi marched again, opening up a four point lead at 16-12. Each of these points was a stunning gem of pelota; the first saw a long dipping winner into the side wall, the second another point which Barriola should have won, was turned around brilliantly by Retegi’s dogged defence, and the gap was established with an astonishing long drop which stopped dead upon hitting the floor and a ball into acres of space out wide. Once again, Barriola was forced to respond, and respond he did, returning to level pegging at 16-16 but once again proved incapable of taking the lead. Again Retegi opened a gap, going up 19-16, once again turning epic defence into attack before pulling out a txoko and a drop of pure class.

It seemed improbable that Barriola would have the strength or resolve to recover. The line was in sight for Retegi and his morale was flying high. Barriola’s body language, in contrast, revealed a man puzzled and amazed by the tenacity of an opponent who refused to be headed. However, when it truly mattered, Barriola called upon all his nerve and all his willpower, coming through as only a champion can. From 18-19 down he went to 20-19 up with three service winners in a row, blowing Retegi’s cool confidence out of the water. It was the younger player’s turn to be rattled and it must have been with some relief that he saw Barriola’s shot in the next point dip low to regain parity. However, Barriola now moved with the confidence of a man for whom the final stages of a championship are well and truly home. When Retegi went wide to give him match point, he exhibited all the cool in the world to produce his eighth sakez. He jumped for joy as if the txapela itself were his.

Even Barriola’s most hardened fan cannot have left the fronton without a consoling thought for Retegi. Most of the memorable moments were his, and his defence was stunning in the extreme. Time and again he forced Barriola to come from behind, calling all the shots and issuing all the challenges. At times Barriola seemed lost as he tried in vain to work out a way to get past his opponent. In the end, he kept calm when it mattered most and used all his experience of crucial ties to come through. It is he who makes the final four, but the highly impressive Retegi will use this experience as ammunition for his next championship assault, and his future opponents will surely give him the respect he deserves.

Scoring sequence: 0-6, 2-6, 2-7, 3-7, 3-8, 7-8, 7-10, 9-10, 9-11, 11-11, 11-12, 12-12, 12-16, 13-16, 16-16, 16-19, 20-19, 22-10.

Barriola: 8 service winners, 1 service fault, 9 winners, 7 errors

Retegi Bi: 1 service winner, 11 winners, 5 errors

Balls hit: 318

A sigh of relief for Abel Barriola

Image from El Correo

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For a full report on RETEGI BI v ARITZ LASA, see here. In brief, the other games proceeded as follows:

Manomanista champion XALA beat SARALEGI 22-12 in Eibar on Sunday, but only exerted his grip on the game in the second half. Saralegi, the unquestionable underdog, fought tooth and nail to lead 11-10 at the mid point and gave his fans plenty to cheer about, taking the match to Xala and often dominating points with his wide court play. The champion knew he needed to up his game, and that he did, goaded on by his botillero and friend Aitor Zubieta. In the second half of the match, Saralegi looked a shadow of his former self, unable to pick up any scraps left by a now rampant Xala, who took the sting out of his opponent’s play by volleying and forcing the pace. The loser looked increasingly dejected, but deserves much credit for the way he approached the match; Saralegi always throws himself into championship ties and this was no exception. Xala plays Titin III in the latter’s home fortress of Logrono on Sunday, with a semi final berth at stake.

On Saturday in Pamplona, BENGOETXEA VI beat OLAETXEA 22-10. Bengoetxea was the clear favourite here, but he knew he needed to bring his A-game to ensure safe passage against an up and coming player who has ridden a crest of form throughout 2011. An early scoreline of 1-4 cannot have done much for his supporters’ nerves, but Bengoetxea emerged clearly the superior player, using a powerful and well directed serve to gain the early initiative in points time and again, and outdoing Olaetxea in every aspect of the game. He will need all the form he displayed here when he plays defending champion Martinez de Irujo on Sunday in Eibar.

OLAIZOLA II beat BERASALUZE VIII 22-14 in Bilbao on Saturday. On paper this was an easy win for the four time champion, but the scoreline belies the tempestuous tale of the match. Matters were extremely tight for much of the tie, with players trading hooks with ferocious intensity in front of a crowd of over a thousand. At 14-15, Berasaluze retired to the dressing room with a muscle strain in his left leg, but worse was to follow for the man from Berriz, when a contested call in the next play left him fuming and in angry debate with the judges. Olaizola, the serve his, ran away with the game while his opponent continued to show his disgust at his predicament. Berasaluze was perhaps unfortunate, but Olaizola’s physical superiority in the remainder of the match was obvious, and it is he who goes on to face 2009 champion Gonzalez in Pamplona on Friday. 

There were two matches in the Promocion Championship this past weekend. On Saturday in Pamplona, neo-pro TAINTA beat ARGOTE 22-15, an excellent win for the 19 year old against an opponent vastly more experienced. Argote is ten years his senior, and has twice been runner up in this championship, in 2007 and 2009. In Eibar on Sunday, APEZETXEA thrashed GORKA 22-5, in a game which should by rights have been closer. Tainta now plays Ongay (Pamplona, Saturday), and Apezetxea takes on Albisu (Logrono, Sunday).

The match between Berasaluze VIII and Olaizola II was a heated affair

Image from Diario de Navarra

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Friday 14th October, Urretxu

RETEGI BI beat ARITZ LASA 22-16

Aritz Lasa was afforded the luxury of playing in his home town on Sunday, in front of his fans and friends. However, despite their best efforts to help him raise his game, he failed to progress to the third stage of the Cuatro y Medio championship. From his brief 4-3 lead onwards, he was always playing catch up to his Navarrese opponent and despite threatening a comeback in the latter stages of the game, always looked second best.

The early points were strongly contested. Despite losing the first two, Lasa fought gamely and turned his small deficit into a 4-2 lead, answering Retegi’s strong service with a sakez of his own and turning a desperate attempt to save a txoko into a cross court winner. Retegi, despite coming roaring out of the blocks, made errors, induced by Lasa’s tactic of pushing him as far back as possible to avoid close engagement at the frontis. However, Retegi then went into overdrive, winning ten points in a row to go from 2-4 down to 12-4 up. Four of these points were won with serves, which Lasa seemed incapable of reading. Retegi twice caught his opponent well out of position, driving easy winners home, and Lasa was not immune to digging his own grave, as he showed with the point on 4-4 where he completely missed the ball down the side wall with the point at his mercy. From 4-12 down, Lasa regained a modicum of composure, pulling affairs back to 7-12. A gantxo from the local boy made the crowd come alive and his serve also began to fire, but sadly for the Urretxu faithful, he wasted a golden opportunity to make progress with an aimless wide ball, ceding the momentum back to Retegi.

Lasa picked up points in ones and twos but his rival began to extend his lead, moving to 16-9 by pushing Lasa back and aiming into space with a classy overarm and a powerful drive. His confidence was clearly high and perhaps boiled over when ambition forced him wide at his next attempt. Lasa came back to within four points at 12-16, producing some textbook serves, but then once again wasted his opening, carelessly leaving a ball he thought was going long. When it did not, he held his head in his hands, along with the majority of his townsfolk, knowing full well the crucial nature of his error. He continued to keep Retegi on a tight rein, closing 14-17 with a stinging gantxo and 16-19 by means of a clever drop, but Retegi was always in control and had the power to change gear and close the match out. Feeling his rival’s breath on his neck, he won three straight points with two drops to the corner and an error from Lasa in a point where the loser put up a brave fight, just as he had all the match long. Lasa’s supporters rued his inability to rekindle the form he found to crush Urrutikoetxea the previous week, against a player full of confidence and calm. Retegi Bi will now meet Barriola for a place in the semi finals.

Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-4, 3-4, 4-4, 12-4, 12-7, 13-7, 13-9, 14-9, 16-9, 16-12, 17-12, 17-14, 18-14, 18-15, 19-15, 19-16, 22-16.

The victorious Julen Retegi

Image from: Noticias de Navarra, by Ainara Garcia

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Friday 14th October, Urretxu

22:15 (CEST) IDOATE – PENAGARIKANO v MENDIZABAL III – PASCUAL

Followed by RETEGI BI v ARITZ LASA Cuatro y Medio 2nd round

Sunday 16th October, Eibar

17:00 (CEST) GONZALEZ – MERINO v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – CECILIO

Followed by XALA v SARALEGI Cuatro y Medio 2nd round

To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tv or http://www.eitb.com/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/

The other Cuatro y Medio second round games are between BERASALUZE VIII and OLAIZOLA II (Saturday, Bilbao) and BENGOETXEA VI and OLAETXEA (Saturday, Pamplona). In the Promocion championship, ARGOTE plays TAINTA (Saturday, Pamplona) and APEZETXEA plays GORKA (Sunday, Eibar).

Aritz Lasa plays in his home town of Urretxu tonight

Image from mispueblos.es

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Sunday 9^th October, Eibar

SARALEGI beat IDOATE 22-11

This was a first round result which surprised many, with Ekaitz Saralegi easily outplaying Mikel Idoate, the 22-year old who is tipped for great things. Idoate won his place in the 2011 main championship by winning last year’s Promocion competition in grand style, trouncing Merino II 22-7 in the final after an unbeaten campaign. Saralegi, not immune to creating upsets in major competitions, went out of last year’s championship in the first round, but has already gone one better in 2011 and will meet Xala in the quarter finals.

The game at Astelena was an uninspiring one. Idoate was never in the game from 2-3 onwards, going behind 2-8, 5-16 and 9-19 before succumbing without much real fight. Saralegi was dominant in all areas, creating space through tactical nouse and hitting winners with aplomb. He notched up fifteen winners in open play with an additional two on service. Idoate won seven of his points with winners, relying on the lapses of his opponent for the remaining four. Sadly for him, Saralegi was not well disposed to the granting of gifts, and it is the Gipuzkoan who marches on.

Scoring sequence: 3-0, 3-2, 8-2, 8-3, 8-4, 9-4, 9-5, 16-5, 16-6, 18-6, 18-8, 18-9, 19-9, 21-11, 22-11.

The other two main Championship matches to be held over the weekend also yielded easy winners. Both took place on Saturday in Pamplona, affording the Labrit fans a potentially intriguing double header which in the end fell rather short of drama. In the first game, PATXI RUIZ was outplayed by OLAETXEA, a pelotari very much in the ascendant, having won both the second tier Pairs and Manomanista so far this year. He won the second tier Cuatro y Medio in 2008, and showed his readiness for the major stage here, beating Ruiz 22-13. The second game of the evening saw BERASALUZE VIII put ARRETXE II to the sword by 22 points to 8. This was plain sailing for Berasaluze but he will face tougher times ahead; his next opponent is four-time Cuatro y Medio champion Aimar Olaizola.

In the second tier Promocion Championship, ARGOTE beat the spirited UNTORIA 22-16, ONGAY compounded CECILIO’s recent lack of form in a 22-8 drubbing, MENDIZABAL III withstood a comeback from ZABALETA to win 22-15, OLAZABAL, a recent returnee from injury, beat MERINO 22-8, TAINTA beat an off-colour IZA 22-9, and GORKA goes through after an injury to JAUNARENA forced the cancellation of their game.

For the full schedule of quarter final matches, see Asegarce.

Delight for Ekaitz Saralegi

Image from Deia

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Friday 7^th October, Antzuola

ARITZ LASA beat URRUTIKOETXEA 22-5

The task of opening the 2011 Cuatro y Medio Championship fell to Aritz Lasa and Mikel Urrutikoetxea, in a match which on paper at least looked evenly matched and very hard to call. A straw poll of observers before the game seemed to come down on the side of Urrutikoetxea, who had pulled off an impressive run in 2010, but in the end it was Aritz Lasa who stormed through. Lasa has blown hot and cold of late, but proved that when he is on song he can be very classy indeed.

The first four points set the tone for the match and Urrutikoetxea never recovered. Lasa signalled his intent with an opening salvo crowned by a searing gantxo winner. This was followed by a service winner, the first of seven, another gantxo and a well worked point in which he tapped the ball gently to the corner before passing Urrutikoetxea powerfully on his right. The younger player inspired confidence of a comeback in his fans with a winner down the wall, but it was not to be as Lasa marched onwards with further force. Urrutikoetxea managed only once to string a pair of points together, at 2-7 and 3-7. His second winner came from a volley close to the frontis and his third from an excellent cross court volley from a diving lunge, but for his remaining points he had to rely on rare moments of carelessness from Lasa. Those aside, Lasa was utterly dominant. 21 of his points came from outright winners, a staggering statistic even in Cuatro y Medio, where winner counts can be on the higher side. Not only were his winners numerous, they were varied, showing off the whole range of the pelotari’s armoury, from volleys, drops and hooks to steepling balls over his opponent’s head.

Urrutikoetxea looked utterly hapless, without a hope tactically and without any potent weapons. This was a surprise given his proven talent and promise, but he has many years ahead to fulfil his potential. Lasa, for his part, proceeds to the quarter finals where he will face Retegi Bi. It remains to be seen whether he can pull off back to back matches of such excellence, but he will have the home advantage; the encounter will take place in his own town of Urretxu.

Scoring sequence: 4-0, 4-1, 7-1, 7-3, 11-3, 11-4, 17-4, 17-5,  22-5.

Lasa barely broke a sweat

Photo: mine

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Sunday 12th December, Donostia-San Sebastian

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO beat BARRIOLA 22-17

Cuatro y Medio Final

On Sunday, 29 year old Juan Martinez de Irujo from Ibero became, officially, the second most successful pelotari of all time. In adding the 2010 Cuatro y Medio crown he took his tally of txapelas to nine, and only the incomparable Retegi II, with twenty, stands above him in the pantheon of pelota playing gods. It was Irujo’s second win in this championship, the first coming in 2006, and confirms him as the runaway player of the year, holding as he does both individual crowns. Few would bet against him adding the Masters title to his palmares in the next fortnight, for Atano III witnessed vintage Irujo, in a display which showed emphatically why he is at the very pinnacle of his art.

At first, the game was all about Barriola. It cannot be overlooked that for the man from Leitza, simply making this final was a triumph of some magnitude, for many doubted he would ever reach his former heights in the wake of his appalling knee injury of last year. His play in the first seven points appeared as a celebration of his resurrection, and with sheer exuberance he put Irujo to the sword. He stormed to 3-0 with three unreturnable serves, low, skidding and guileful. A clearly rattled Irujo hit low in the next point, and Barriola marched on, with yet another service winner. He then proved his quality in open play, maneuvering his rival expertly in the following two points to take a 7-0 advantage. Could he dare to dream?

For any mere mortal, such a drastic start would likely prove impossible to overcome, but Irujo is on a plane above the ordinary. Time and again he has proved his ability to turn deficits into positions of strength, and by sheer force of will, and white hot determination, he came roaring back, all bared teeth and pumping fists. The tide turned when he managed to dig out a point he had no right to win, scrapping like a dog before sending Barriola haring back to no avail. With his tail up, he played Barriola at his own game, winning the next four points with three service winners and a searing gantxo. He piled on the winners, passed his opponent’s tally, and kept going. Barriola hit wide attempting an ambitious winner on 7-9, and this acted as a barometer for the state of the match; the underdog now knew that to beat Irujo he had to take risks, and with this realization on the part of his rival, the eventual winner scored a crucial sucker punch.

Barriola’s risks did on occasion pay off. He stemmed Irujo’s flow with a skimming crosscourt winner to peg his deficit at 8-10, but he now seemed anxious, losing the next two points with a rushed gantxo attempt and a high ball with which he tried in vain to pin Irujo back. Irujo slipped into another gear with the point for 13-8, driving Barriola all over the fronton before crushing him with a gantxo. Barriola refused to be bowed however, and chipped away at the scoreboard with flashes of dogged brilliance. He drew level again at 14-14, thanks to his strong serve, several ingenious winners and two uncharacteristically slapdash errors from Irujo, and it was game on once again. However, in three swift points, the whole complexion of the game swung once again to Irujo, this time for good. Agonisingly, Barriola struck the 4 ½ line in an attempt to push Irujo long, and railed against himself, hands on head. With the lead back, Irujo pounced with venom, producing a gantxo which reasserted his dominion over the fronton. He then worked Barriola over mercilessly, sending him wide and then long, before his valiant salvage attempt fell short. Irujo was now tearing, blinkered, towards the prize, swinging freely and oozing confidence from every pore. He treated Atano III to his full armory of attack. Barriola served at 19-16, still within striking distance, but in sad contrast to his earlier brilliance in this department, his ball failed to travel far enough. This was the final nail in the coffin, and Irujo wasted little time in condemning Barriola to his seventh straight defeat in a major final.

Barriola, the perennial bridesmaid, may find this loss hard to swallow, but the man from Leitza has confounded the critics. It was sometime after his comeback before he regained the fluidity and accuracy for which he is known, but with his performance in the Cuatro y Medio and the tournaments which led up to it, he has regained his status at the very top of the game. For Irujo, who suffered a painful and unexpected loss to Gonzalez in last year’s final, the sky is the limit. How many more titles might he add before he writes the final chapter of his already illustrious career? Might Retegi II be toppled?

Scoring sequence: 0-7; 10-7; 10-8; 13-8; 13-10; 13-12; 14-13; 14-14; 15-14; 16-14;19-14 19-16; 20-16; 20-17; 22-17.

Match time: 43 mins, with 9 mins actual playing time

Balls hit: 206

Sheer delight for Juan Martinez de Irujo

Image from Noticias de Gipuzkoa, by Ruben Plaza

 

 

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