Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Thursday 5th August, Vitoria-Gasteiz

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – BELOKI beat BERASALUZE VIII – APRAIZ 22-12

Torneo Virgen Blanca

Manomanista champion Juan Martinez de Irujo and Ruben Beloki last night qualified with ease for the semi finals of the Torneo Virgen Blanca at Ogueta. The pre-match favourites never looked troubled in a 22-12 romp against an Asegarce partnership that showed fight but lacked both firepower and coordination. They will now meet Xala and Barriola for a place in Monday’s final.

From the gun, the eventual winners asserted their dominance and it looked to all the world as if the margin of victory would err on the side of the embarrassing. Before their opponents had settled into the game, Irujo had masterminded a 5-0 lead by way of three commanding winners, aided by two nervous mistakes from Apraiz, who never truly hit his stride. There was a palpable sense of relief from the assembled masses when Pablo and Apraiz managed their first point, thanks to a ball from Beloki which fell short, but they could not halt the march of their rivals. Pablo showed typically sprightly endeavor, and some promising defence, in the exchanges which followed, but three more errors from Apraiz took the margin to 10-1. From that juncture, a miracle would have been needed for the Asegarce pair.

However, Pablo, pocket fighter that he is, refused to lie down and proceeded to take the score line into the realms of respectability. Irujo struck a beautiful crosscourt airez to stretch his lead to 11-2, as if reminding all present of his superiority, but Pablo, not bowed by the status of his opponent, struck back with a dominant txoko, to the delight of the crowd. He followed this up shortly afterwards with another, followed by a searing crosscourt in a point where he ran rings around Irujo. Apraiz too got in on the act, all too briefly, haring forward to push Beloki long and to a point of no return.

The signs looked better for the underdogs, but their resurgence was to be short lived. Apraiz miscued on 6-11, and raised his arms skywards in disgust, knowing that he had thrown all momentum away. From then on it was plain sailing for Irujo and Beloki, despite the dogged resistance of Pablo who picked up any scraps afforded to him, scoring several impressive winners to drag his pair’s total to 12. Irujo it was who stole the show however, piling up fourteen winners in the course of the match to Pablo’s six. His veneer slipped only momentarily, with a falta on 19-11, but by then the game was up and his indignation at the close call soon forgotten. He sealed the win with a gantxo and two service winners, leaving nobody with in any doubt as to who was boss on the night. Beloki was as solid as a rock, providing the magic carpet ride for Irujo’s brutal finishing. The defender from Burlada made only three errors, half the number of his young opponent’s. This was not Apraiz’s night, but his time will come. On this showing, Irujo and Beloki will present a formidable hurdle in the semi final, but the pair which awaits them is a classy one. An intriguing game is in prospect.

Scoring sequence: 5-0, 5-1, 10-1, 10-2, 11-2, 11-6, 14-6, 14-7, 16-7, 16-9, 17-9, 17-11, 19-11, 19-12, 20-12, 22-12.

Winners: Martinez de Irujo 14, Berasaluze VIII 6, Beloki 0, Apraiz 0

Errors: Martinez de Irujo 3, Berasaluze VIII 2, Beloki 3, Apriaz 6

Also last night, Stephane Lemouneau (Lemuno) defeated Jon Ander Albisu in the all-Asegarce mano a mano encounter. The 24 year old Colombian-born Lemuno took the first game of the Torneo Manomanista Promoción La Blanca 22-13, out-powering and out-witting the 20 year old Albisu, who cracked under the pressure of the victor.

No sweat for Ruben Beloki

Image from: El Correo, by M. Fraile

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Asegarce have announced an extension to the contract of Ruben Beloki, which will keep him in the employ of the Bilbao based company until March 2012. Beloki, who is 35 and hails from Burlada, played his first match as part of the Asegarce family in 1993 and has gone on to win the Manomanista Championship on four occasions.

Ruben Beloki

Image from Gara

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The final week of the Pairs Quarter Finals sees Asegarce down and out as none of their four couples qualify

The seemingly endless, and endlessly fascinating, Pairs Championship quarter finals came to an end this week as the semi final berths were allocated to the top four partnerships out of the starting total of eight. Two of the matches which took place over the weekend were dead rubbers, meaning that all eyes were on the encounters in Eibar and Covaleda, where Olaizola II-Mendizabal II, Berasaluze VIII-Begino, and Gonzalez-Laskurain fought for the one remaining place in the last four. We take a look below at how things played out.

On Friday in Covaleda, the slim hopes of Berasaluze VIII and Begino were dashed as they were beaten 22-10 by Titin III and Pascual. In order to progress, the Asegarce pair needed a big win, and then would have had to wait on the result of Sunday’s game in Eibar. In reality though, their hope proved a pipe dream as the Aspe pair took them apart. The atmosphere was electric but the crowd must have felt somewhat let down by the level of the match. With qualification assured, Titin and Pascual came out of the dressing room in relaxed mood and with a license to take risks. Their opponents realised the gravity of their situation and did not rise to the occasion, looking tense and increasingly desperate. There was no way back from a 6-0 deficit, and the Aspe lead was never cut to fewer than four points. The form of Berasaluze and Begino has been a grave disappointment throughout the championship. Although they have they well at times, they have appeared a shadow of the pair who finished top of the quarter final table last year. In contrast, Titin and Pascual have played a blinder and may be the pair to lay down the gauntlet to Irujo and Beroiz in the last four.

In the other crucial match, in Eibar on Sunday, Gonzalez and Laskurain beat Olaizola II and Mendizabal II 22-21. This was an unbearably tense affair, with the final place in the last four going to the winner, and it came down to the very last point of a gripping evening. When an error by Mendizabal gifted the prize to Gonzalez and Laskurain, the huge crowd erupted in appreciation for a match which had lived up to all expectations, despite the errors induced by nerves from all parties. The game was characterised by a near death defying comeback by Aimar and Oier, who at one point found themselves 5-15 adrift. Aimar has anointed himself the comeback kid over the past few weeks but this time it was too little too late for the 2008 winners and 2009 runners up. Their record in this championship of late has been an impressive one but this year they have failed to play as a unit. Aimar, always a formidable opponent, has been among the three best pelotaris in the competition but Oier has been erratic and has ranked as the worst of the players who have seen all the quarter final matches through. While there was heartbreak for them, Gonzalez and Laskurain leapt in jubilation. Both are protagonists who could fairly be described as ‘intense’ on the fronton, which made their public outburst of delight seem all the more joyous. Laskurain in particular, has had a splendid tournament thus far and will provide the solid rock in defence needed by his partner as the competition hots up.

In the first of the dead rubbers, table toppers Irujo and Beroiz beat Bengoetxea VI and Otxandorena 22-13 in Pamplona. This was something of a formality for the all conquering pair, who were in a different class to their beleaguered rivals. It is one of the major disappointments of this year’s championship that Oinatz Bengoetxea has failed to light up the stage as he can. The former Manomanista Champion is usually a terrier of the fronton, ferocious in defence and pugnacious in attack, but in recent weeks he has been lacklustre and appeared inhibited by doubt. His supporters, as well as many neutrals, will hope he regains his magic in time for this year’s edition of the Manomanista. He has surely been upset by the loss to injury of Beloki early in the tournament, for Otxandorena has failed to fill the experienced campaigner’s considerable void. Nothing has bothered Irujo and Beroiz however. Juan has marched on in his own inimitable way, the best player of the quarter finals, and Beroiz has defied his age and greenness in the first major tournament of his short career. They are clearly the pair to beat.

Meanwhile in Tolosa, Saralegi and Apraiz managed a 22-17 win over Xala and Arruti. The eventual winners were playing for pride only and they can hold their heads up high as they bid farewell to the competition. They were never meant to be in the fray in the first place, as they form the couple which began as Olaizola I-Patxi Ruiz, who both fell to injury, the latter in somewhat acrimonious circumstances. Their opponents had their semi final berth in the bag, and Asier Arruti replaced the solid but injured Aitor Zubieta for this coda to their quarter final campaign. Xala and Zubieta will head to the last four with confidence, having gelled as an extremely cohesive and efficient unit since the start of January.

Gonzalez and partner Laskurain made it through by the skin of their teeth

The recriminations will continue throughout the coming weeks at Asegarce for despite having teams on paper every bit as strong as those from the rival empresa, their involvement in the championship is over. While Olaizola II played well, as did others at times, key components have failed. Mendizabal II is the most obvious weak link, as with greater form from him, his pair would have made the last four. Injuries have played their part, especially so in the case of Bengoetxea and Beloki’s well established partnership, but the Olaizola I-Patxi Ruiz pairing was not a happy one from the word go. Berasaluze and Begino lacked their usual consistency. All that remains now is for the Asegarce players and staff to sit back and watch their rivals play for the spoils, while hoping for a more positive Manomanista campaign.

For a ranking of the individual players in the Quarter Final stage, see here.

The semi finals commence on Saturday in Pamplona, where Irujo-Beroiz take on Gonzalez-Laskurain. On Sunday, Titin-Pascual play Xala-Zubieta in Logrono. I will publish times and broadcast information later in the week.

Image from: Aspe

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Saturday 16th January, Pamplona

GONZALEZ – LASKURAIN beat BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI 22-9

Pairs Championship Quarter Finals

Tonight’s proceedings at Labrit constituted the second surprise in two days in the 2010 Pairs Championship. The shock was not so much that Sebastien Gonzalez and Aritz Laskurain won, but the manner in which they did it. Oinatz Bengoetxea and Ruben Beloki looked in fine form last weekend, defeating Xala and Zubieta with ease. Bengoetxea in particular was at his terrier-like best. Logic dictated that they would be hard to beat here, especially as their opponents were looking to spring back from a heavy defeat to Berasaluze VIII and Begino in the first round of matches. However, the encounter confounded expectations in almost every way, as the Aspe pair dismantled their more vaunted opponents without a shred of mercy.

It is a sporting cliché to talk of a game of two halves but this game certainly lived up to the adage. For the first ten points, there was nothing to choose between the two pairs and fans must surely have settled in for a long evening of tension. After two somewhat nervous errors gifted Gonzalez and Laskurain the first two points, the sides traded blows with equal venom. Laskurain hit high and then low to produce parity at 2-2, before three Gonzalez winners set their ball rolling. Gonzalez also committed three errors in this early passage of play, leaving a ball which he thought was wide before giving way to mistiming and misdirection. This was the last time Bengoetxea and Beloki would find themselves on a par with their opponents.

From 5-5, the game moved into ‘phase two’. Gonzalez and Laskurain scored eight unanswered points and wrenched the match firmly and terminally from the grasp of the more fancied pair. This was a partnership of equals in which both players took every chance to show their armoury of skills. Laskurain played as more than just a defender, producing balls which turned points. It was a steepling long ball from the native of Soraluze which took them into the lead, Beloki too far forward to get any power behind his return. He then hit a bona fide winner to take the score to 8-5, looping the ball into the wide court with perfection and catching both opponents totally unawares. He worked his magic yet again to reach 12-5 with a ball that reached the back wall and put Beloki in an undignified twist. Gonzalez too found a new gear, outwitting the usually irrepressible Bengoetxea on several occasions and finding the true Midas touch when he repaid his rival’s excellent gantxo with interest on 9-5. True, his gantxo winner which brought an eight point lead appeared low on the replays, but nobody could doubt his attacking superiority.

Bengoetxea and Beloki managed to claw back another four points before the game was up. One of these was the point of the match, a gargantuan struggle in which everyone was tested to their limits, and in which Bengoetxea demonstrated his familiar fight in beating Gonzalez with a wonderfully worked crosscourt winner, but this was scant respite for the Asegarce pair. The difference between the defenders became increasingly clear as the match progressed; Beloki, usually Mr Consistency, was increasingly troubled and worn down by the contrasting accuracy and speed of Laskurain. He produced some bafflingly uncharacteristic mishits and on 13-7 missed the ball altogether. Bengoetxea, who was not wholly bad but rather uninspiring, caught the bug as the Aspe score racked up. Gonzalez moved to match point by hitting the ball into an empty court before another Beloki error sealed a tremendous win.

This was a surprisingly bad showing from Bengoetxea and Beloki, from whom we have come to expect at least a fight in the absence of victory. Beloki was badly off colour and Bengoetxea, who never really exploded into action as he can, was unable to rescue him. In contrast, Gonzalez and Laskurain looked confident and controlled. Once they broke loose their grip on the match was total.

Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 5-5, 13-5, 13-7, 18-7, 18-8, 19-8, 19-9, 22-9.

Aritz Laskurain outplayed Beloki

Image from: Deia

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After a test of his fitness this morning, Ruben Beloki has informed his empresa, Asegarce, that he will not be fit to contest his Manomanista semi final, which would have taken place on 30th May, against Aimar Olaizola. 34 year old, Beloki, the youngest ever Manomanista champion back in 1995, sprained his thumb in his quarter final match against Asier Olaizola on 9th May. Two time champion Aimar Olaizola will now proceed to the final against Juan Martinez de Irujo on 7th June.

Beloki: forced to withdraw

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Friday 8th May
Labrit, Pamplona
BELOKI beat OLAIZOLA I 22-21

Ruben Beloki, who at 20 was the youngest ever winner of the Manomanista title, will return to the semi finals of the tournament for the first time since 2006. He achieved his passage at Labrit on Friday, beating one of last year’s semi finalists, Asier Olaizola by the smallest possible margin. This victory sets up a tie against Asier’s younger and more decorated brother Aimar, to take place on May 23rd, again in Pamplona.

This was a topsy turvy encounter filled with drama. Olaizola, whose participation had been in some doubt owing to a leg injury, started badly, to the extent that one feared he may face humiliation. He seemed unable to counter Beloki’s opening surge which took the man from Burlada to a 4-0 lead. It was however to prove a false alarm as Olaizola turned his game to take the lead 6-4 by means of a solid serve and a right arm more powerful than that of his opponent. There followed a period when the two protagonists seemed evenly matched, each taking advantage of the other’s mistakes to bring the score level at 10-10. Although Olaizola was again to pull ahead to a two point lead, the next passage of play belonged firmly to Beloki who used his serve to excellent effect and passed Olaizola crosscourt with ease. He won eight straight points to wrestle the initiative from the Goizuetan. Olaizola again closed on his opponent but an error on his part allowed Beloki to move to the brink of victory. It was then that a potentially match changing incident occurred in which sprained his right thumb in an attempt to hit a forehand volley. Clearly in pain, he lost the next two points and retired to the dressing room for treatment but his fears of a fracture were unfounded and he was able to continue, albeit somewhat handicapped. Olaizola took advantage of his rival’s plight with ruthlessness to draw the game at 21-21, but Beloki did not waver and when Olaizola failed to retrieve a ball at the front, he leapt to the heavens in pure joy.

Although Beloki should be fit to play his semi final in two weeks, the younger Olaizola will surely pose a greater challenge. Aimar has won two of the last four editions of this championship and will be eager to make up for last year’s surprise quarter final defeat at the hands of Bengoetxea. He was made to work in his 22-16 quarter final victory over Xabier Urberuaga but logic indicates his firepower will be too much for Beloki. However, in sport nothing is certain and if Beloki can show the same fight as he displayed against Olaizola senior, and if Aimar has an average day, who is to say that the final might not beckon?

Scoring sequence: 4-0, 4-6, 5-6, 5-7, 8-7, 8-10, 10-10, 10-12, 18-12, 18-16, 21-16 and 22-21

An injured thumb could not stop Ruben Beloki

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Asier Olaizola has completed his first training session since sustaining a tear in his left thigh without mishap. The pelotari from Goizueta, who is incidentally 34 today, played for 75 minutes with Pablo Urrizelki and felt no discomfort. Olaizola would doubtless have preferred to prepare for his Manomanista quarter final against Ruben Beloki on Saturday in the traditional way rather than through hours in the exercise pool and on the massage table, but he declared his intention to make the most of his chance. Olaizola reached the semi finals last year, where he was eliminated by eventual champion Oinatz Bengoetxea. If he were to reach the semi finals this time around, there is a theoretical chance that his rival could be none other than his younger brother Aimar, who is the hot favourite to win his Sunday quarter final against Xabier Urberuaga.

Source: Deia, via ASPE

Olaizola I: ready to roll

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Sunday 19th April
Astelena, Eibar
BELOKI beat AGIRRE 22-11

Ruben Beloki can seem a quiet and rather unassuming character in comparison to the other past champions in the draw, about whom there is infinitely more fuss being made. However, of all 2009’s illustrious competitors, the 34 year old from Burlada is the most decorated, at least in manomanista terms, having been champion in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2001. He also holds the distinction of being the youngest ever winner; he was all of 20 years old in 1995. He himself admits to the loss of some of his speed and power, but he makes up for these deficiences in his experience and guile, as Imanol Agirre was to discover to his cost.

Agirre, who is also 34, has also been around a while, having made his professional debut fourteen years ago. He is, however, far less decorated than his opponent here and on this occasion at least, far less assured. Things started positively for the man from Bilbao and the encounter was all square at 5-5. The early points were long and enthralling and the protagonists traded blows with equal venom. However, slowly but surely, Beloki exerted himself upon the game, winning the next six points at barely a canter. He served long and hard to put his opponent on the back foot from the off and then controlled the play with impressive composure. This was nowhere more apparent than in the point which took the score to 9-5, in which Beloki made Agirre run for sheer life before nonchalantly swiping to ball crosscourt while his rival was totally off the scene. Beloki also showed his prowess at turning defence into attack. For all his inability to impose himself, Agirre fought doggedly and managed to produce an exellent shot which used both walls in an attempt to bamboozle Beloki. Miraculously however, the latter reached it and broke Agirre’s spirit by producing a low crosscourt winner from a seemingly hopeless situation.

Beloki would not have everything his own way and there followed a passage of play in which Agirre showed signs of recovery, reducing his deficit to two points at 11-9. The underdog showed Beloki that he could play him at his own game by manouvering him around the fronton and rendering him out of place on three occasions. He also won a point with a barrelling serve. However, his stoical resistence was not to last and the former champion regained control to take six points without reply. Agirre, while still fighting, appeared now to be more prone to error, failing to retrieve two serves which he could not get under and miscuing two overhead volleys. Although Agirre managed to salvage two further points, the remainder of the match was all about Beloki, who composed the pattern and speed of the match before playing it to perfection. As Beloki showed his prowess in shot making and finishing points with a flourish, Agirre continued to miss when he attempted to volley and hit with unnecessary inaccuracy, a victim of his opponent’s relentless pressure.

This was a job well done by Beloki, who was not flashy but dominant nonetheless. In the fourth round he faces Asier Olaizola, who made the semi finals last year, in an encounter with no clear favourite. While Olaizola will come at Beloki with all guns blazing, his wiles could be his salvation. Beloki has not won a txapela of any kind since 2003; he has a long way to go here before another is in sight but his brand of quiet assurance could serve him well in the coming weeks.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 3-1, 3-5, 11-5, 11-9, 17-9, 17-10, 20-10, 20-11 and 22-11.

Ruben Beloki on top

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Sunday 15th March
Atano III, San Sebastian
OLAIZOLA II – MENDIZABAL II beat BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI 22-16

As the curtain fell on the last semi final match of the 2009 championship, San Sebastian seemed to resound with song. This was not the passionate swell of sound from the home of Real Sociedad, nor was it the celebrated Orfeon Donostiarra choir in rehearsal; indeed, it was not homegrown song at all. Oier Mendizabal was born in San Sebastian but he had seemingly brought a fan club from his adopted home of Hernani, all of eight kilometres to the south of the Gipuzkoan capital, for the noise came from the upper reaches of Atano III, where the local Azeri dance was in full cry. Their municipal hero was in the final and they meant to let everyone know it. Whether a similar contingent had made the trip from Goizueta in honour of Aimar Olaizola was harder to tell but it was the Navarrese master striker who turned this game in the blink of an eye. Aimar, or more precisely, his fabled left arm, ensured the champions a chance to defend their crown.

Facing Aimar and Oier in the melting pot of Atano III was a pair who might, but for Martinez de Irujo, already have booked their place in the final. Oinatz Bengoetxea and Ruben Beloki had the chance to qualify outright last weekend but lost out to a combination of errors and an opponent on fire after a game which had balanced on a knife edge. The first phase of this match, their second and final chance, must have given them an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu; not even a hair’s breadth could split the two sides. In a proverbial war of attrition, point was traded for point in a grinding stalemate of long and gruelling points. It took 476 strikes of the ball to reach 11-11, after the pairs had found themselves locked together, all square at 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 apiece. This period was characterised by the duel of the two defenders. Bengoetxea knew he could count on the best defender in the tournament thus far in Beloki and set about attacking Mendizabal with abandon but to no avail; Oier played an excellent match last week against Berasaluze VIII and Begino and here stepped up to yet another level. He and Beloki traded blow after blow, sending the ball like a rocket to the frontis from seemingly impossible positions. Neither seemed willing or likely to crack.

The early battle between the forwards was every bit as absorbing, pitting as it did two outwardly very different characters into conflict. Bengoetxea is like a whirlwind on the fronton, never resting, always bustling both in play and in respite. Seeing that Mendizabal would not break, the manomanista champion threw all his attacking power at the door of Olaizola. Particularly impressive was the low skidding ball which took the score to 2-2 and a pair of hook winners, the second of which sent Aimar sprinting headlong into the a cameraman. Olaizola, in contrast, appears as the clinical destroyer. Only occasionally does he let his emotions show through his facade of control. While Bengoetxea looked fit to burst with fight, Olaizola displayed a quieter but no less obvious determination, hitting a succession of winners to nullify those of his rival. Bengoetxea looked to have the slight edge in their early fight, although the score remained in deadlock.

With the score at 11-11, the game moved into a new and different phase which spelt danger for the defending champions. A combination of two winners from Bengoetxea, and an error apiece from Oier and Aimar meant that the pair in blue found themselves four points adrift. Although no sense of panic was evident in their demeanour, something clearly had to be done. Step forward Aimar Olaizola. Although brilliant at times, Aimar has rarely been at his exalted best in this tournament. The Goizuetan was dangerously close to pulling out of the Cuatro y Medio championship in December owing to a painful right shoulder and the fact that he stayed and went on to win it is testament to both his wide armoury of skills and his determination. He may however have paid the price, having played with tendonitis in that same shoulder ever since. His right arm is therefore not as potent a weapon as it should be and has in all likelihood contributed to his rather less than vintage form. However, his left arm, his most feared attribute, worked at Atano III like the hammer of Thor and there was nothing Bengoextea could do to stop it. In a masterclass of hooks, peppered with drops and smashes, Aimar ripped the prize from the hands of his oppoents and beat them into submission. While he cut loose, the pressure on Beloki told as he made four errors, a blot on an otherwise textbook game. When Bengoetxea struck too high, the game was up, and Goizueta, like Atano III, surely burst into song.

So, we return to Atano III on March 29th for a final which promises much. Juan Martinez de Irujo and Fernando Goni, both of whom have been in white hot form of late, await the defending champions who will do everything within their power to contain and better them. If Oier Mendizabal can maintain his stellar run, the defensive battle will be enthralling and any match which pits Aimar against Irujo is enough to set the juices racing. Who has the nerve to strike for glory on the biggest of all stages only time will tell.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-3, 3-3, 3-5, 6-5, 6-7, 7-7, 7-8, 10-8, 10-10, 10-11, 15-11, 15-15, 16-15 and 16-22.

Aimar Olaizola turned the match

Image from: http://www.diariovasco.com/prensa/noticias/200811/16/fotos/1977287.jpg

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Sunday 8th March
Astelena, Eibar
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – GONI III beat BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI 22-18

What can one write about a match which had it all? At stake in this titanic struggle in Eibar was none other than a place in the final of the Pairs Championship for 2009, the culmination of a tournament which started in January and is still going strong. Both pairs wanted the prize more than they could express. Even as the players were presented to the crowd and the coin was tossed to determine serve, the protagonists looked liable to explode with tension, variously jumping and flexing their muscles like prize fighters preparing for mortal combat. But passion and desire must meet with composure and nerve to produce a winning formula and the partnership who found a way to create this mixture would win the day.

In Juan Martinez de Irujo and Oinatz Bengoetxea, this game featured two of the most volcanic and fearless forwards in the game and the two Navarrans went for each other hell for leather from the first service to the last. The first four points were a flurry of attacking brilliance featuring all four players in mesmorising harmony. When Irujo hit low from close in to the frontis, he appeared to curse the world and everything in it; that one point could elicit this reaction indicated the path the match would take. Tension boiled over again with the score at 3-2 to Bengoetxea and Beloki when a ball from the former appeared high. An enraged Irujo protested mid point with arm waving fury before remembering the need to play on. The point was won when Bengoetxea hit low; open warfare may well have ensued had it gone the other way. Bengoetxea too was in a high octane state, both in his ferocious striking of the ball and his general demeanour, not least when a miscue led him to hurl the ball against the wall in abject frustration. The defensive battle, while less vocal, was every bit as intense with both Beloki and Goni pulling off miraculous long range strikes almost at will, to the thunderous applause of the Astelena crowd. Surely something had to give?

At 10-10 the pairs appeared glued in fierce deadlock and there was a growing sense that someone had to impose themselves on the game if glory were to come to them. Two Bengoetxea miscues gave Irujo and Goni an opening which one felt could have been the start of a surge of both confidence and points for the pair in blue but a low hook from Irujo and a beautifully executed smash into the corner from Bengoetxea dispelled that notion. Two points followed in which the defensive play of both sides was jaw dropping. As the forwards were forced out of position their places at the front were taken by Beloki and Goni who found themselves duelling at the frontis while Irujo and Bengoetxea chased and dived in a mesmerising ballet of action. When Goni slipped and failed to retrieve a long ball, some may have been led to believe that the gods of pelota would smile on Bengoextea and Beloki who eased ahead with the finishing post in sight. However, Irujo, sensing last chance saloon, stepped up to the plate. With the aid of a smattering of errors from his opponents, 14-16 became 18-21 and a brutal smash won the day. Irujo kept his head at the death while a desperately tense Bengoetxea let the victory slip from his grasp by attempting to hit winners too hastily. Perhaps experience told for Irujo, who has been here so many times before. Passion coupled with composure is indeed the perfect recipe.

So, Irujo and Goni are through to the final but will have to wait for next week to learn the identity of their opponents. Bengoetxea and Beloki may yet be there themselves, with the chance to overturn this result on the biggest possible stage; they have proved they have the potential. In their way stand Aimar Olaizola and Oier Mendizabal. The form of the defending champions has been rather less than consistent but Mendizabal was white hot on Saturday, and to quote Irujo, Aimar is Aimar. Everything is on the line.

Scoring sequence (Bengoetxea and Beloki first): 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 6-4, 6-5, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, 8-8, 8-9, 8-10, 9-10, 10-10, 10-11, 10-12, 11-12, 12-12, 13-12, 13-13, 14-13, 14-14, 15-14, 16-14, 16-15, 16-16, 16-17, 16-18, 16-19, 17-19, 18-19, 18-20, 18-21 and 18-22

Juan Martinez de Irujo triumphant

Image from: http://www.eitb.com/multimedia/images/2008/11/23/29642/29642_irujo_dest_2.jpg

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