Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Friday 2^nd September, Lekeitio

BERASALUZE VIII – BEGINO beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – PASCUAL 22-13

The one abiding memory from the first Lekeitio semi-final is the scintillating play of Pablo Berasaluze. He was utterly superior to the great Juan Martinez de Irujo in all areas, and the game revolved around him, his irrepressible spirit, insatiable drive and stunning shot making. He manoeuvred Irujo around the fronton as if he was a puppet on a string, supported excellently by champion defender Aritz Begino, who was a pillar of strength from the back and rarely lapsed in his delivery. 

Berasaluze gave the first point away with an almost-perfect gantxo which just skimmed the board, but the two winners which followed signalled his intent, as a looping ball to the corner forced Irujo low and a txoko into space induced a fist pump in its creator. Begino also got in on the act with a  low skidder which foxed Irujo, and soon 0-1 was 6-1. Irujo and Pascual recovered to 9-6 with a run of three points, two of which were rare errors from their opponents and the other a cross court winner handed to Irujo on a plate by Begino. They again briefly threatened a comeback when they closed to 13-10, but Pascual let their momentum slip when his ball from the rear of the fronton hit Berasaluze in the back. From 14-10, the trailing pair managed to accumulate another three points in the game, and the one which took the score to 19-12 showed that Irujo had not completely lost his shot making abilities, as he whipped a gantxo towards the crowd.

However, it was one way traffic in the latter part of the game as Berasaluze, like a never-relaxing terrier, pounced on everything and turned the screw. Irujo was run ragged, with his opponent winning even points where he was forced to scrap, turning defence into searing attack. There was never any doubt about the result, and the Asegarce pair wasted no time in closing out the match as three winners turned 19-13 into 22-13 in the blink of an eye. Berasaluze and Begino embraced in genuine joy at a job stunningly done. They will find out today who they will meet in tomorrow’s final, as Titin III and Zubieta take on Olaizola II and Apraiz.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 9-3, 9-6, 12-6, 12-8, 13-8, 13-10, 16-10, 16-11, 19-11, 19-12, 19-13, 22-13.

Winners/errors: Berasaluze 15/3, Irujo5/2, Begino 3/4, Pascual 1/2

Balls hit: 329

Match time: 50:24 with 15:50 playing time

Pablo Berasaluze: irrepressible

Image from Deia, by Javier Bergás

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Sunday 5th September, Lekeitio

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – BARRIOLA beat BENGOETXEA VI -APRAIZ 22-14

Lekeitio Final

In a long overdue round-up, I can report that Juan Martinez de Irujo and Abel Barriola won the top prize in Lekeitio at the weekend, beating Oinatz Bengoetxea and Alexis Apraiz by 22 points to 14. Irujo and Barriola were the clear favourites, despite the excellent form of Bengoetxea, and justified their billing to take the tournament with ease. They profitted from the inconsistency of Apraiz, who played at a level below his recent best and committed seven errors. Barriola, in contrast, was metronomic, and picked up his third player of the tournament award of the summer. Irujo, with eleven winners, appears to be returning to his best after a spell of indifferent form.

Scoring sequence: 6-0/6-3/8-3/8-6/12-6/12-7/15-7/15-8/15-10/18-10/19-13/19-13 / 21-14/22-14

Total match time: 55 minutes

Actual playing time: 23 minutes

Winners/errors: Irujo 11/4, Bengoetxea 8/4, Barriola 1/0, Apraiz 0/7

Barriola on top again

Image from Deia

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The final of the Torneo Lekeitio will be between Bengoetxea VI and Apraiz, and Martinez de Irujo and Barriola. Apologies for the lack of report on the second semi final; I was unable to watch it and have been very pushed for time this weekend! Suffice it to say that Irujo and Barriola totally outclassed Xala and Begino, winning 22-7 to set up today’s clash against the Asegarce pair. Bengoetxea plays in his fourth festival final of the summer, having already won at San Fermin, Zarautz and San Sebastian. He is supported here by the less experienced Apraiz who played a storming semi final, and appears to be gaining in confidence on the highest stage. Barriola is on a monumental roll, having one sixteen matches on the bounce since returning from injury. Manomanista king Irujo, who joins him here, has been in variable form this summer, but will surely come out all guns blazing here. Much will depend on the duel between Barriola and Apraiz; if Apraiz can replicate the cool he has shown in his past two matches, this is anybody’s game.

Sunday 5th September, Lekeitio

17:00 (CEST) OLAIZOLA I – IBAI ZABALA v GONZALEZ – EULATE

18:10 (CEST) MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – BARRIOLA v BENGOETXEA VI - APRAIZ Torneo Lekeitio Final

http://www.eitb.com/etb-sat/en-directo

Irujo and Barriola are partners today

Photo from Gara, by Juanan Ruiz

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Thursday 2nd September, Lekeitio

BENGOETXEA VI – APRAIZ beat BERASALUZE VIII – ZUBIETA 22-15

Torneo Lekeitio, Semi Final

On Sunday, former Manomanista champion Oinatz Bengoetxea will play in his fourth festival final in a row when he lines up in Lekeitio alongside Alexis Apraiz. In the early part of last night’s match, Beraslauze and Zubieta held the upper hand, finding themselves 4-1 and 8-4 up, but some excellent pressure from the eventual winners, plus a deterioration in the play of Berasaluze, swung the game. Apraiz, who has often appeared nervous on the biggest stage of late, came of age here with a stunning display, supporting game-maker Oinatz like a man of experience. Oinatz took advantage of Berasaluze’s demise, punishing his opposite number while rarely taking undue risks. Zubieta began well, but perhaps influenced by his partner, dropped a level in the mid part of the match, to assist the rampage of the blue pair, who turned 14-14 into 22-15.

Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-1, 4-1, 4-4, 8-4, 8-8, 10-8, 10-9, 11-9, 11-11, 12-11, 12-12, 14-12, 14-20, 15-20, 15-22

Winners/errors: Bengoetxea VI 6/4, Berasaluze VIII 8/8, Zubieta 2/5, Apraiz 1/1

Total match time: 72:12

Playing time: 3106

Balls played: 611

Apraiz: impressive

Image from: El Correo

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The Lekeitio Tournament commences this evening, and pits against each other some attractive and unusual partnerships. Tonight, in the first semi final, Berasaluze VIII plays with Zubieta against in-form Bengoetxea VI and Apraiz. Tomorrow, the irresistable pairing of Martinez de Irujo and Barriola, bidding for his sixteenth consecutive win, takes on Xala and Begino. The final will be held on Sunday.

Thursday 2nd September, Lekeitio

22:35 (CEST) ARRETXE II – MENDIZABAL II v IDOATE – BEROIZ

23:35 (CEST) BERASALUZE VIII – ZUBIETA v BENGOETXEA VI – APRAIZ Torneo Lekeitio Semi Final

Friday 3rd September, Lekeitio

22:35 (CEST) RETEGI BI – L. GALARZA v URRUTIKOETXEA – PENAGARIKANO

22.45 (CEST) MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – BARRIOLA v XALA – BEGINO Torneo Lekeitio Semi Final

Photo from: cuervoblanco.com

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