Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Sunday 18^th December, Eibar

BENGOETXEA VI  – APRAIZ beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-18

The main interest in this match was in seeing how Begino would operate with Arretxe, and whether the latter as a debutante would be able to stand the pace of the elite tier. Begino won the title with Olaizola II in 2011 and might be forgiven for feeling a little aggrieved not to have been paired with him again, being ousted by Beroiz who has had a rather more visible year since. As it happened, Begino proved completely unable to lift Arretxe, who while he played with credit was outpaced by Bengoetxea. The game was characterised by long tough rallies and it exceeded 700 ball strikes in all, but the poetry was removed by the error count, for which Begino was especially responsible. The defender was a rock in last year’s championship, proving a splendid anchor for Olaizola’s attacking venom, but there was little sign of these qualities on Sunday. Bengoetxea and Apraiz were rarely troubled and were ahead throughout, but this win has done nothing to answer any questions about their credibility as a pair for the overall. Consistency is the name of the game in this mammoth championship and on this showing they look less than immovably solid. Still, it is very early days, and much can and will change between now and April.

Iker Arretxe made a creditable debut

Photo: mine

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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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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 19^th August, San Sebastian

XALA – LASKURAIN beat OLAIZOLA II – BEGINO 22-18

The first San Sebastian semi-final ended with a far tighter score line than might have been expected. Xala and Laskurain proceeded to today’s final at the expense of Olaizola II and Begino, but what had looked like an easy win was momentarily put in jeopardy by a comeback which almost gave the reigning Pairs Champions licence to dream. The early part of the game was close, with the pairs tied at 1-1, 2-2, 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6. Both forwards looked as if they were shaping up for an epic duel. Four of Olaizola and Begino’s six points in this spell came from the former’s brutal airez, which he seemed able to sling into open space at will. Xala replied to his virtuosity with some wonderful tactical play, showing himself capable of wrong footing Olaizola, and countered his opponent’s venom with some most improbable defensive efforts. Begino made a brace of errors and Laskurain one, but generally speaking, both defenders seemed the perfect foils for their attacking forwards.

However, Xala and Laskurain broke the deadlock. They edged ahead when Begino was rendered completely baffled by a ball he imagined Aimar would take. Xala’s two txoko winners, separated by a missed attempt at the same shot, gave them a 9-7 lead, and they added eight points without reply, sweeping to 17-7 and the brink of triumph. Xala was the main instigator of this run of points, drawing gasps from the crowd with the pace and precision of many of his winners, whether cross court or into the corner. However, the real difference here arguably lay with the defenders; as Laskurain grew in stature, continuing his scintillating form from Zarautz, Begino looked increasingly lacklustre and gave Aimar, who only committed his first error with the score at 7-16, little room for manoeuvre. With an attack dulled, and Xala seemingly able to retrieve anything, the game looked to be up.

The momentum of the pelota match can change dramatically with the serve, and the blue pair won it back with a cross court winner from Aimar which, for once, left Xala reeling. He took the next two points in addition, hitting to the corner with total command. It seemed as if the sun had finally begun to shine on the trailing pair when Begino finally found some magic and struck the rebote, much to Laskurain’s visible chagrin. 11-17 seemed a little healthier; another few points and the opening was there. However, the advantage was lost once again when Aimar rushed into a txoko and hit it low. His fury with himself was plain to see. Begino let the deficit out further with an inexplicable miscue, but they came back to within five with a deceptively easy swipe into a clear court from Aimar, another rebote from Begino and a rare error from Laskurain. A ball from Xala into Aiimar’s body and a slip from Begino gave the reds match point at 21-14, but still the blues fought, two Aimar winners and two Laskurain errors bringing the score to 21-18. However, the dream comeback was ended with a typically clinical airez from Xala.

Xala and Laskurain were the better pairing for the majority of the match, and made hay while Begino suffered a lengthy lapse. Xala barely put a foot wrong, hitting 12 winners to 2 errors. Aimar managed 10 winners to 2 errors, signalling a solid evening from the multi txapela winner, but one in which he failed to break through Xala’s excellent defences for sufficiently long periods. Laskurain, until the very end, played a solid and astute game, acting as a near perfect foil for Xala’s venom.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-4, 3-4, 5-4, 5-5, 6-5, 6-6, 8-6, 8-7, 17-7, 17-11, 19-11, 19-14, 21-14, 21-18, 22-18.

Winners/errors: Xala 12/2, Olaizola 10/2, Laskurain 3/4, Begino 2/5

Match time: 1:04.16, with 24:04 playing time

Balls hit: 488

The Manomanista Champion, Xala, is in excellent shape

Saturday 20^th August, San Sebastian

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZUBIETA beat BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ 22-21

Irujo and Zubieta will join Xala and Laskurain in the final tonight, having beaten Bengoetxea and Beroiz by the narrowest possible margin on Saturday. The Asegarce pair was ahead for almost the entire tense encounter, though their lead never grew to more than four points. They were tracked closely by Irujo and Zubieta, who showed their nerve at the death, coming from 18-20 and saving a match point to draw level, before seizing the decider for a 22-21 win after 82 minutes and 609 strikes of the ball. The match was partially overshadowed by the consequences of moisture on the fronton, which made a noticeable difference to the stability and confidence of the players from 18-16 onwards. Atano II has suffered and overcome this problem in the past, and investigations will surely commence. Happily though, all four players emerged unscathed.

Scoring sequence: 2-1/ 5-1/ 5-2/ 5/ 7-5/ 7-6/ 8-6/ 8/ 9/ 10-9/ 13-9/ 13-10/ 14-11/ 15/ 17-15/ 17-16/ 18-16/ 18/ 20-18/ 20/ 20-21/ 21/ 21-22

Winners/errors: Bengoetxea 8/6, Irujo 8/4, Beroiz 0/6, Zubieta 1/5

Irujo will face Xala in the final

 Images from soloespolitica.com, Deia

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The final of the Torneo Villa de Zarautz takes place tonight at Aritzbatalde. Matches start at 17:00 CEST, but note that ETB Sat coverage is delayed, and will begin at 22:05 CEST.

In the first semi final, on Friday, OLAIZOLA II and ALBISU won a resounding 22-11 victory over GONZALEZ (standing in for Xala), and ZUBIETA. There was not much to choose between the defenders, both of whom did an adequate job. Albisu, much to his and everyone’s relief, was much improved from his debacle with Xala in Vitoria-Gasteiz the previous week. The real discrepancy came in the forwards, where Gonzalez was very lacklustre, and Olaizola was stunning, firing 14 winners to only one error, creating space with ease in which to fire his relentless salvo. He barely broke sweat.

On Saturday, MARTINEZ DE IRUJO and LASKURAIN defeated BENGOETXEA VI and BEGINO, the Virgen Blanca champions, to claim their final spot. Bengoetxea, so scintillating in the summer tournaments thus far, was below his best, gifting Irujo far too much, and not putting him under any telling pressure. Begino was solid, but was outplayed by Laskurain, as the Aspe pair took the tie 22-16. Irujo would dearly love a trophy to salvage his less than brilliant season; in his quest to achieve it, he must overcome arch-rival Aimar and his storming form.

Tuesday 16th August, Zarautz

22:05 (CEST) ARITZ LASA – MERINO v APEZETXEA – IBAI ZABALA

Followed by OLAIZOLA II – ALBISU v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO  – LASKURAIN Torneo Villa de Zarautz Final

To watch, go to http://www.eitb.com/television/etb-sat/en-directo

All eyes are on Zarautz tonight

Image from: georg-wieler.de

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Tuesday 9th August, Vitoria-Gasteiz

BENGOETXEA VI – BEGINO beat OLAIZOLA II – BEROIZ 22-18

It took 888 collisions of ball and hand to decide the outcome of the Virgen Blanca pelota tournament, the traditional sporting accompaniment to the Basque capital’s fiesta of the same name. 888 strikes of attrition, determination and venom from four of the game’s top players, none of whom would lie down without a gargantuan fight. The game swayed one way, and then the other, and then back again, as each attempted to make their mark. The two forwards, Aimar Olaizola and Oinatz Bengoetxea, were tantalizingly matched, the former having had an excellent year and the latter, winner of the San Fermin Cuatro y Medio, most alive in the summer months for the second year running. These two greats of their generation were equally matched almost throughout, but while most eyes were on them, it was in the back division where this marathon was decided, with the seven errors of Beroiz to Begino’s one proving the difference.

Momentum was firmly on the side of Bengoetxea and Begino in the opening portion of the match. Bengoetxea conceded the first point with a wide gantxo, but he stormed into affairs in the rallies that followed, with two classically worked winners before a forward fight with Olaizola went his way. The next three points brought Beroiz into the game, in a far less than positive manner. The young defender committed three unforced errors in a row, the third undoing all the sterling defensive work of Olaizola in front. At 1-6 down, the red pair had to act, and act they did, coming slowing but surely back into the game. Bengoetxea granted them the serve with a miscued txoko, which would have proved a dramatic winner had it worked. He suffered five more lapses before the scores drew level, making life very easy for Olaizola, who nonetheless reminded all and sundry of his virtuosity with a brutal and classic sequence of shots to the corner and then cross court to leave his opponent floundering. The eight-time txapela winner had clearly upped the pace, and Bengoetxea struggled to match him. Not content with reaching 9-9, the reds marched on past their rivals, most of the dirty work completed by Olaizola, who continually forced Bengoetxea into ever more desperate defence, before delivering the coup de grace. Even Beroiz, now growing in belated confidence entered into the battery, hitting a winning txoko while haring forward to cover for his partner. The score moved to 14-9, and 17-12, and the leaders looked solid as rocks.

Bengoetxea, served excellently by the absolutely unflappable support of Begino, began to chip away at the red lead, taking a point here and there to keep his pair in touch. He seized the momentum back with a vengeance with the score at 14-18, breaking through the shackles placed on him by Olaizola, and taking advantage of the platform provided by his partner. A cross court swipe into Olaizola’s body brought him within three points. Olaizola must surely have thought he had won the next point with a txoko, but his indefatigable rival returned it with interest, whipping a txoko of his own out of the top drawer. The reds began to seem rattled, and the next point did little for their state of mind, when the referee deemed a ball to Beroiz to have bounced twice before he hit it. Beroiz thought otherwise, and let his view be known. The television replays were inconclusive. A change of serve here might have been Olaizola and Beroiz’s salvation, but they then proceeded to lose a monster rally, in which the blues drew level at 18-18 after a heartless salvo from Bengoetxea beat them into submission. The point which took the score to 18-20 saw further heartbreak for Olaizola, who thought he’d pulled off the most stunning gantxo winner of the night, only to hear the telltale clunk which signaled the ball had fallen fractionally low. It was perhaps fitting that the final two points were conceded by Beroiz, whose inconsistency had proved the difference. The new Asergarce signing appeared to have lost his ability to fight, fatigued and broken after a truly mammoth match.

Bengoetxea provided the glamour of this victory, dramatic even when things did not go his way, breathtaking when they did. However, the jury rightfully awarded the player of the tournament award to Begino, the unsung, metronomic, powerful, unmovable hero of the hour. As for Olaizola and Beroiz, this was their debut as a pair, and there are many positive things onto which they can latch. When he was on song, Beroiz displayed power which belied his years, and his rearguard defence was often exceptional. He and Aimar worked well as a pair, and but for some telling errors at crucial moments, they looked an extremely promising partnership. But on Tuesday night at least, the spoils went to Begino and Bengoetxea, the calm and the fury.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-6, 3-6, 3-8, 4-8, 4-9, 14-9, 14-10, 15-10, 15-12, 17-12, 17-14, 18-14, 18-22.

Aritz Begino: man of the week

Image from Noticias de Gipuzkoa, by Iban Aguinaga

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Sunday 7th August, Vitoria-Gasteiz

BENGOETXEA VI – BEGINO beat XALA – ALBISU 22-5

This was an unmitigated sporting disaster for Xala and Albisu. They were perhaps an unlikely pair, coming from different empresas, and never having played together, but formed an intriguing mix of proven championship class and future potential. Bengoetxea and Begino played excellently, but in a sense did not have to, for the vast majority of points came from the errors of their opponents, especially Albisu, who started badly and if anything, got worse. Even Xala was unable to impose himself on the game, though he did have the excuse of a cut on his hand, procured while adjusting his protections, which required treatment. The result, with its staggeringly one sided score line, puts Bengoetxea and Begino, winners of two matches in a row with consummate ease, into the final against Olaizola II and Beroiz.

The first seven points were a microcosm of the match as a whole. Bengoetxea began with a winning drive to the corner, and hit two service winners, showing himself as the class of the match. In addition, there were three errors from Albisu, and one from Xala. After conceding a point Bengoetxea marched on, always supported with metronomic ease by Begino from the back, whipping out a dos paredes, and a ruthless cross court shot from a position almost on top of the frontis. But the errors kept coming from both reds. The most disastrous period was that between 2-11 and 2-16, where Albisu lost his direction completely. He hit unnecessarily wide three times in a row, becoming more frustrated with each infelicity. There was little he could do about a strong Bengoetxea serve in the next play, but he then hit wide yet again, to the disbelief of the crowd.

To his credit, Albisu did then play an excellent point, getting the ball over Begino after a more even forward tussle, and a rare error from Begino gave his pair two points in a row. Xala showed signs of finding some form, setting up the next play beautifully, but then miscued what would have been an overarm winner. The reds’ one further point was handed to them by Begino’s second lapse, but from there on, things got worse again, with Albisu, clearly and understandably rattled, hitting high three times in a row, before Bengoetxea finished things off with two winners of brutal efficiency. The job was done, much more easily than he can possibly have anticipated.

Scoring sequence: 0-7, 1-7, 1-11, 2-11, 2-16, 4-16, 4-17, 5-17, 5-22

Service winners/faults: Bengoetxea 3/0, Xala 0/0

Winners/errors: Bengoetxea 4/1, Begino 2/3, Xala 0/3, Albisu 1/10

Match time: 43:36, with 16:18 of actual play

Balls hit: 305

Nothing went right for Jon Ander Albisu

Image from: Noticias de Alava

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Friday 5th August, Vitoria-Gasteiz

BENGOETXEA VI – BEGINO beat TITIN III – ZUBIETA 22-12

The opening match of the Virgen Blanca tournament in Vitoria-Gasteiz looked on paper to be a tough one to call. The Aspe pair combined Titin, still as dogged as ever with Aitor Zubieta, well on the way to recovering his considerable best after injury, while Asegarce fielded the oft thrilling Oinatz Bengoetxea, who stormed his way through the summer tournaments last year, with metronomic champion defender Aritz Begino. However, there was in reality little contest, as Bengoetxea dominated the evening, bringing his A game, while everyone else left theirs at home.

The tone of the game was set from the off, as Bengoetxea and Begino seized six points without answer against opponents who seemed immediately off colour. Bengoetxea signalled his intent in the first point, which he won with a beautiful txoko, from a superb angle, which barely bounced. Zubieta put it wide twice, and Titin low once, and those errors, combined with Bengoetxea’s serve and long game, placed the Aspe pair so firmly on the back foot that a time-out had never been more necessary. When Titin and Zubieta re-entered the fray, they secured their first point, by the grace of a falta from Bengoetxea, and their second due to a mishit from Begino, but then business continued as usual. Titin showed, not for the only time in the game, a lack of judgement, taking on the half volley a ball he probably should have waited for, before Zubieta miscued after some involved forward play from both parties. The normally unflappable defender let cry a tirade against himself and the world. 3-8 became 3-11, thanks in most part to the extraordinary pace of Bengoetxea’s play, which made Titin look leaden footed at best.

From 3-11 to 7-11, the Aspe pair put together their best run of the match, offering hope of a comeback. This sequence began with an embarrassed Bengoetxea going in for the kill and blowing it from close, but the next three points were all Titin, who wrong footed his forward rival by going to the corner, before two serves in a row induced bewilderment from Begino. However, he let the opportunity slip in the very next point by rushing into an ill advised volley, which fell short. The serve was recovered with a cross court stinger, but then Bengoetxea re-imposed his brilliance with a txoko, and an attritional point seized with a pitch perfect swipe from left to right. Titin offered another glimmer, replying with a tremendous airez, but his momentum was broken, and the Asegarce pair surged again. The two forwards went at each other hell for leather, but even with his partially recovered confidence, Titin simply could not answer the infernal pace of the man from Leitza. At 9-18, the die was well and truly cast; three errors from the dominant pair kept a trickle of points going for their struggling opponents, but the game was up when an improbable reply from Bengoetxea to a Titin dos paredes provided the meat in the sandwich of two further errors from Zubieta, now resigned and dejected.

There was only ever going to be one winning pair in this match, and within that pair, there was only one man who truly hit the heights. Begino was not at his best, although he outdid Zubieta in the consistency stakes. Bengoetxea showed flashes of serious class, and his mark on the match could have been even greater if he had not on occasion given way to complacency, hurrying to hit winners rather than building points block by block. There was little Titin could do to rescue the initiative, as Bengoetxea made him appear in a class below. If he can hold onto this purple patch, every other forward in the tournament must come up with a plan to subdue him and his boundless spirit.

Scoring sequence: 0-6, 1-6, 2-6, 2-8, 3-8, 3-11, 4-11, 7-11, 7-12, 8-12, 8-14, 9-14, 9-18, 10-18, 12-18, 12-22.

Oinatz Bengoetxea: class

Image from: Noticias de Navarra

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On Wednesday, following Xala’s surgery for appendicitis, the League of Empresas took the controversial decision to remove the ailing forward from the Manomanista final, and give his place instead to Oinatz Bengoetxea, one of the losing semi finalists. They cited the danger of Xala returning to training and competition too soon after the procedure, risking further injury as well as making the final worthless and one sided. Many people judge the final to be worthless now anyway however; it is clearly not a satisfactory situation for Aimar Olaizola, there through merit, to have to play the same Bengoetxea whom he defeated in the semis, in the final. It seems, however, that the decision is set in stone, given the backing of Xala’s empresa, Aspe, who ratified the LEP.M’s decision.

Xala and his supporters have not given up hope, despite their bleak predicament. The man himself today gave a press conference, accompanied by his lawyers and medical staff, asserting his right to play in the final which he had reached through toil, sweat and brilliance. As Carlos Zuluaga’s video at manista.com shows, Xala is not afraid to bear his emotions on the issue, and support from the press in the room seemed overwhelming. Fans have jumped to his defence, chanting his name at matches, and setting up Facebook groups in his support. Today, in addition, came the news that a petition has been signed by a whole raft of top pelotaris, demanding that the final be decided on sporting merit, respecting both the professionals involved and everyone who loves the sport. Those who have signed so far include:

Jon Apezetxea,Asier Arruti,Abel Barriola,Cecilio,Miguel Capellan,Aitor ElKoro,Patxi Eugi,Sebastian Gonzalez,Fernando Goñi, Gorka, Mikel Idoate,Aritz Lasa, Oskar Lasa,Aritz Laskurain, Larrinaga,David Merino,Miguel Merino,Peio Mtez. de Eulate, Juan Mtez. de Irujo, Aratz Mendizabal,Alberto Ongay ,Julen Retegi,Julian Retegi,Mikel Olazabal, Jose Javier Zabaleta,Aitor Zubieta and Augusto Ibañez “Titin III.

This story will rumble on, but it seems there is little hope for Xala. Barring a protest to rock the heart of the sport, the final will be contested on Sunday between Aimar Olaizola, the best player of the year, and Oinatz Bengoetxea, a losing semi finalist.

Xala: still determined to play

Image from Noticias de Navarra, by Oskar Martinez

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Yves Salaberry, due to play Aimar Olaizola in the Manomanista final on 19th June, was last night admitted to hospital with acute appendicitis, after the onset of severe abdominal pain in the morning. In an operation lasting thrity minutes, without complications, his appendix was removed. He remains in hospital in Bayonne tonight and is expected to be discharged tomorrow.

Given the severity of the affliction, and the typical duration of recovery, it goes without saying that Xala cannot play on 19th June. The authorities must therefore decide on the appropriate course of action. The first and perhaps fairest option is the postponement of the final. However, this would lead to the disruption of the summer calendar, potentially impinging on the San Fermin tournament. The other solution would be to hold the final on the agreed date, but to substitute Xala with Bengoetxea VI, a losing semi finalist. The second option would save the empresas from having to deal with the debacle of ticket refunds and upset, as Bizkaia is already sold out. However, it would be a somewhat contrived spectacle, given that Bengoetxea has already lost to Olaizola, who would be his final opponent, in the semis. It would also be devastating for Xala, who won his way through on pure merit against tough opposition. And quite apart from the issue of fairness, the fans surely wish to see a showpiece between the top two players of the year so far. A decision was expected this afternoon, but will now not be taken until tomorrow morning, when the Comité Deporivo de La Liga de Empresas will meet.

Image from Noticias de Navarra, by Oskar Martinez

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