MARTINEZ DE IRUJO –BARRIOLA beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-13

A narrow loss to Titin and Merino last week aside, Berasaluze and Albisu had been going excellently in recent rotations. They must surely have come into this match at a teeming Idiazabal with high hopes of toppling Irujo and Barriola, who were looking to stave off a third loss on the bounce. However, in a match which was not always pretty, the favourites battled from 2-6 to 15-8 and maintained a comfortable margin to the end. Irujo clearly had the better of Berasaluze, who was too error prone to maintain any lasting pressure. He managed nine winners to three errors, and while his forward rival beat him nine times, he also lapsed on seven occasions. The defenders were slightly more evenly matched, but the figures give an accurate indication of a Barriola who was more in control than his young counterpart Albisu. Irujo and Barriola rise to second, while Berasaluze and Albisu slip below them into third.

Scoring sequence: 1-0/5-1/6-2/7/8-15/10-15/11-17/13-18/13-22

Winners/errors: Irujo 9/3, Berasaluze 9/7, Barriola 2/1, Albisu 0/3

Match time: 52 minutes with 21 minutes of actual play. Balls hit: 449

OLAIZOLA II-BEROIZ v ARITZ LASA-PASCUAL* Suspended at 14-9 due to an injury to Pascual

Aitor Zubieta was replaced by Inigo Pascual in Tolosa due to an injured hand, and it was extraordinary bad luck for he and partner Aritz Lasa that his replacement succumbed to a strained back soon after. Lasa and Zubieta badly need points and this misfortune robbed them of any chance, though in reality a win against the top pair would have been unlikely. Neither has it done much for their points difference; while Olaizola and Beroiz had begun to accelerate away when the injury occurred, they were not completely out of the running and would likely have minimised the damage at the least. As it is, Olaizola and Beroiz now have their seventh win and stay resolutely on top, while Lasa and Zubieta only have two and are second from bottom.

TITIN III-MERINO* beat ARRETXE II-BEGINO 22-12

Arretxe and Begino travelled to Logrono with a mountain to climb if they wished to secure their first win of the competition. Titin and Miguel Merino, playing in place of his brother David who has an injured hand, were the favourites here and had the added advantage of a home Riojan crowd. The underdogs started well and tracked their rivals closely before drawing alongside them at 8-8. Begino showed some of his true class early on, taking the game to Merino but when the latter found his form, Begino had Little answer.Titin was far more potent tan Arretxe, who continues to appear rather out of his depth in the top flight.

Scoring sequence: 4-0/ 4/ 7-4/ 7-5/ 7/ 8-7/ 8/ 14-8/ 14-9/ 16-9/ 16-10/ 20-10/ 20-11/ 21-12/ 22-12

Winners/errors: Titin 12/2, Arretxe 8/4, Merino 2/2, Begino 1/4

Match time: 56 minutes, Balls hit: 488

Titin III out did Arretxe II with ease

In the Promocion Championship, Urrutikoetxea-Otxandorena* beat Gorka-Arruti 22-13, Mendizabal III-Penagarikano beat Lemuno-Aretxabaleta 22-14, Apezetxea*-Larrinaga beat Tainta-Mendizabal II* 22-10, and Ongay*-Cecilio beat Rico IV-Untoria 22-17.

Photo: mine

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Sunday 22^nd January, Bilbao

OLAIZOLA II – BEROIZ beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – BARRIOLA 22-15

It is unusual for an early stage round robin match to feel like a final, but from the packed house at Bizkaia, the electric atmosphere and the ruthless desire and intensity inherent in the play, it appeared every bit like one. The Pairs Championship has been craving this match, a head to head between the two pairs who have proved themselves head and shoulders over the opposition. There had been little high octane excitement in the competition up until this point, with too many matches ending in a landslide, so the fans resolved to enjoy this clash of the titans to the hilt. The result will probably mean little in the final analysis, for all these pairs need to do for the moment is make sure they saunter into the semi finals, but Olaizola II and Beroiz took a victory for morale, first blood, and inflicted upon Irujo and Barriola quite a body blow in a match which scintillated from start to finish.

There were two distinct periods in the match, one in which the pairs were so evenly matched that they could not be prised even a centimetre apart, before Aimar opened his shoulders to seize the day, supported by a fabulous Beroiz. As in any match involving Aimar and Irujo, most of the interest focussed on them in the latest round of their rivalry. Last time they met, Aimar rattled Irujo like never before in the Cuatro y Medio final and it seemed that here, his victim was in no mood to concede again, nostrils flaring and eyes glaring as he hurled himself after every ball. The defence of both the forwards was staggering; somehow, they sent spiralling back balls which appeared like sure fire winners and which probably would have been against many professional opponents. Both also induced gasps in attack. Aimar’s service return on 2-1 had to be seen to be believed; Irujo certainly appeared utterly incredulous as he saw the ball rip past him to his right, dipping to the base of the frontis and falling with incredible placement into open space. No less fabulous was Irujo’s dos paredes at 6-8 which found an almost unfeasible angle to dig him and Barriola out of a dreadful hole.

While the stellar forwards fought tooth and nail at the front, there was a no less intriguing battle playing out behind between experience and youth. Barriola is the consummate defender, a seemingly impenetrable wall, impossible to crack. 21 year old Beroiz, however, is not fazed by reputations and threw himself headlong into a war of attrition. Each attempted to grind the other down with patience and nerve and while each was stunningly good, Beroiz held the aces. Not only did he return the long ball with metronomic ease, but he also joined in attack, notably with a txoko winner out of the blue at 12-10. Asegarce must be beaming all over their faces at their signing of Beroiz from Aspe, for he is assuredly the real deal.

From 13-13, the Asegarce pair started to edge ahead and it appeared as if for the first time someone had grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns. On 15-13, Aimar and Beroiz got themselves into an extraordinary mess but somehow pulled themselves out of it to win the point, and it seemed as if this might finally break Irujo and Barriola’s resolve. However, a careless error from each threw the momentum away. For many pairs, this may have been a moment of panic and game changing frustration, but for Aimar it provided all the incentive he needed to seal the deal. Four crosscourt winners from the rampant defending champion, plus two errors forced by tactical mastery won the game as Irujo and Barriola became suddenly impotent in the face of a team both mentally and physically at the height of their powers. True, this win is little more than an early salvo but the confidence it will have given the victors may prove a vital edge when it really matters.

Scoring sequence:  2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-3, 5-3, 5-9, 11-9, 11-10, 13-10, 13-13, 16-13, 16-15, 22-15.

Winners/errors: Olaizola 12/5, Beroiz 1/2, Irujo 7/5, Barriola 2/2

Match time: 1:10.15, with 35:38 of actual play

Balls hit: 709

Mikel Beroiz: the real deal

Image: mine

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Saturday 17^th December, Pamplona

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO  – BARRIOLA beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-17

Saturday’s game at Labrit went to the form book as the tournament favourites registered a win in their opener. However, they were pushed extremely hard by the Riojan duo of Titin and David Merino. Although Irujo and Barriola game out all guns blazing and surged to a 5-0 lead, their opponents found their feet and managed to sneak ahead at 8-6 and 9-7. Irujo and Barriola dominated most of the rallies but the red pair finished them well, with Merino controlling play impressively from the back. At 14-13 there was nothing to choose between the protagonists. However, thereafter the favourites began to exert their control. Merino’s level dropped and Barriola, who finished the match without a single error, was king. Irujo also lifted his game, though he was inconsistent throughout, and without Merino firing on all cylinders, Titin looked one dimensional. Irujo and Barriola never fully threw off the shackles of their rivals, who tracked them closely and fought hard, but this was in the end a job well done.

Scoring sequence: 0-5, 5-5, 5-6, 8-6, 8-7, 9-7, 9-11, 12-11, 12-13, 14-13, 14-16, 15-16, 15-19, 16-19, 16-21, 17-21, 17-22

Service winners/errors: Titin 1/0, Irujo 0/0

Winners/errors: Titin 8/0, Irujo 12/8, Merino II 0/6, Barriola 4/0

Match time: 63:13

Balls hit: 530

Irujo was inconsistent but did enough

Source: Diario Vasco, Photo: mine

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SundSunday Sunbday 11^thDecember, Bilbao

OLAIZOLA II beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO 22-12

When Aimar Olaizola saw Irujo miss the ball which gave him the 2011 Cuatro y Medio title, his reaction was one of relief, perhaps infused with disbelief, rather than unabashed joy. It has been a tortuous month for the great forward, who broke his finger in his semi-final win over Abel Barriola on 13^th November, causing the final to be delayed twice, and then had to endure the death of his father from a long illness only days before his date with sporting destiny. Nobody truly knew the state of his afflicted finger. Although he stated that he practised on Wednesday and experienced ‘good sensations’, playing a major final with a finger in a plastic brace is clearly far from ideal. Irujo warmed up in a more conventional manner, playing two pairs games to keep his match fitness nicely tuned, and although his year has been disappointing in comparison with Aimar’s, he started as clear favourite in these somewhat rarefied circumstances. However, conventional reasoning rarely applies to finals, where dead certs can crumble and underdogs can be crowned; Aimar showed no sign of distress or mental disquiet, while Irujo disintegrated with devastating effect to give the former his ninth professional txapela and his fifth in Cuatro y Medio. He now stands alone amongst the champions of this specialism, ahead of the great Retegi II, and while he dismisses obsession with records his place in the pantheon of the sport is fully assured.

The opening exchanges were torturously tight and high on both excitement and nerves. The pace was frenetic but neither played with consummate assurance. Irujo stamped an early mark, taking the first point by passing Aimar on the left but cancelled it out with an error in the next. Irujo took the next rally with a ball down the wall but then Aimar sent a warning of his presence with a cross court bullet. 2-2 became 3-3 after an error apiece and nobody had the ascendency. All cagey looks and concentrated stares, the protagonists seemed deep in a subtle mind game. Aimar was the first to make his move, taking the game from stalemate to 6-3. His run of three points was kick started by Irujo completely missing a ball against the side wall, much to his scowling disdain, and he broke clear with a wonderfully worked point in which he pinned Irujo to the wall before whipping the ball to the right. This was followed by a service winner which his opponent totally misjudged. 6-3 could easily have been 7-3 had his attempted gantxo winner made contact with the frontis but his three point cushion was restored when Irujo made an almost identical error in the next point, although he was possibly hard done by with the referee’s call. Aimar, however, was unable to break free and despite flashes of his customary brilliance, the typical nervous errors of such a momentous match crept into his play. He doggedly fought off a barrage of txoko attempts in the next point before somewhat needlessly hitting high and then miscued a sotomano which he sent clattering into the metal. His lead extended once more to two when Irujo went wide, and dropped again to one when he went low.

From this impasse, the colour of the encounter changed as Aimar exerted the control he had hitherto struggled to find. From 8-7 he advanced to 13-8 and the only point he lost in the sequence was due in part to Irujo’s unintentional blocking of his path, which lay just on the right side of the law as far as the officials were concerned. Aimar is renowned as an excellent tactical thinker and he showed his aptitude here in getting Irujo exactly where he needed him as he controlled the open spaces. This was especially evident in the point on 10-8 in which he completely out-foxed Irujo, hitting left to right as he hared the other way. His served also increased in potency, giving him the upper hand in rallies from the off, and the point which gave him his five point lead was brought about by his second sakez.

Aimar was obviously the more composed and the more potent, but as he stated in his post match press conference, you can never be sure to have buried Irujo until you reach 22. This being the case, his fury with himself at letting his great rival back into the game was fully understandable. Once again Irujo hauled himself back to within one point thanks to four errors in a row from Aimar which sprang more from a slippage of his own standards than a raise in Irujo’s. It seemed the championship would go to the wire, but what occurred over the following twenty minutes must constitute one of the most startling meltdowns in of the current era. Irujo would not win another point as Aimar strode towards the txapela with unshakeable assurance. He realised the importance of the point on 13-12, not wanting to give Irujo the mental boost of drawing level with him for the first time since 3-3 and pumped the air as if to signal the dawn of Irujo’s demise when he won it. If that was crucial, the next play was more truly the turning point, a momentous, never-ending whirl of hitting in which Irujo had Aimar running for his life, falling and tumbling in his desperate efforts to recover. The destination of the point appeared obvious, but Aimar thrillingly turned straining defence into glorious attack with a gantxo from nowhere, followed by an unreachable txoko. Irujo, dejected, must have wondered what he could possibly do to get past the obstacle in his path. Aimar did not celebrate, but leant his forehead against the wall, a picture of concentration, focussed on what he still had to do to make the prize his. The mentality of a champion.

If it was the stunning defence of Aimar which turned the tide, it was the force and accuracy of his serve which broke Irujo’s resolve. He moved from 17-12 to 19-12 with three straight service winners, pushing Irujo from flat, to dejected, to utterly incredulous. Irujo is not a player renowned for bottling his emotion deep within and although the lid was on, one sensed that it was about to blow in dramatic fashion. Sure enough, the next point did it. Irujo battled throughout its lengthy course, hitting as an equal, but when he threw his chances away with a ball which went well wide, it was more than he could bear. He walked purposefully towards Patxi Eugi, his botillero, as if to take a time out but then snapped in the blink of an eye, stamping on his chair with such force that pieces of plastic snapped from its legs before hurling it towards the floor of the fronton which he had come to hate so much. He stormed off the field of play past a slightly stunned looking Aretxabaleta, warming up for the third match, to a barrage of whistles from Bizkaia’s mighty throng. The game was obviously in Aimar’s hands, but to his immense credit, his focus never left him. He knew the dangers of playing Irujo, of assuming the prize is yours before the scoreboard confirms it. When Irujo returned, it was business as normal as Aimar registered his sixth service winner. This time his opponent left the furniture unmolested and resorted to a mere shrug. The magical 22, for which he had so patiently grafted, fell into Aimar’s grateful lap when Irujo missed the ball completely.

The new champion, engulfed by his friends, his brother and the press, looked serene and calm, and it was these virtues which took him to victory. Irujo was so rattled by the end of the game that he was barely recognisable as the great player we know him to be. Many would have become impatient and
bolted for the line, but not Aimar, who accumulated his points with quiet determination, never content until the job was done. The txapela of triumph upon his head, he pointed skywards in memory of his father, who had scarcely missed a match involving either him or his brother Asier, in a very public but also touchingly private tribute. Irujo, to his credit, mustered a wan smile on the podium and joined in the heartfelt applause for a worthy and truly great champion.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 6-3, 6-4, 7-4, 7-6, 8-6, 8-7, 10-7, 10-8, 13-8,
13-12, 22-12.

Winners/errors: Olaizola 14/9, Irujo 3/8

Balls hit: 263

Match time: 48:18 with 9:55 of actual play

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

Olaizola II, king of 4 1/2

Image from Deia

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After two postponements, the final of the Cuatro y Medio Championship takes place this Sunday in Bilbao. Juan Martinez de Irujo starts as favourite after Aimar Olaizola’s injury lay-off and possible resulting lack of match fitness, but as with any game between the two top players of the past decade, it promises to be a closely fought and fascinating encounter. The finalists selected their balls at Bizkaia yesterday with Olaizola choosing weights of 104.8g and 105.4 g, and Irujo 105.6g and 105.3g. Their press conferences (in Spanish) can be viewed on the Asegarce website. An excellent weekend of action begins in Ezcaray tonight with some Rioja’s finest on show in a festival which combines players from both empresas.

Friday 9th December, Ezcaray

22:10 (CET) RICO IV – UNTORIA v GORKA – CECILIO

Followed by BERASALUZE VIII – MERINO v OLAETXEA – MERINO II

Sunday 11th December, Bilbao

17:00 (CET) TITIN III – LASKURAIN v BERASALUZE VIII – APRAIZ

Followed by OLAIZOLA II v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO Cuatro y Medio Final

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

Irujo and Olaizola II meet again on the biggest stage

Image from Noticias de Gipuzkoa, by Luis Gomez

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Friday 12th November, Pamplona

XALA beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO 22-17

Yves Salaberry walked out to play against Juan Martinez de Irujo on Friday knowing that his Cuatro y Medio challenge had already shuddered to a halt following defeat to Barriola and Olaizola II. Conversely, Irujo was already assured of a place in the final. Though this was a dead rubber, it was no dud match as both players went for the jugular, Xala to salvage some pride and Irujo to maintain his status as favourite. After a scintillating comeback from a position of 9-16 in arrears, it was Xala who took the victory to soften the blow of his exit.

The first part of the encounter was all about Irujo, who controlled every aspect of the play. The pace of the match was infernal, but Xala was outdone by Irujo who hit strongly to all areas. The game turned when Irujo retired to the locker room without permission to protest about a call which went against him. Upon his return, Xala, ever calm and collected, was a different player. Irujo appeared suddenly out of sorts, and his opponent quietly and efficiently accumulated points, nine in a row before Irujo could put a halt on his progress. This halt was as temporary as could be however; he won only one further point before Xala took a further string of four to seize the day.

This championship has assuredly not ended in the way Xala would have liked. The Manomanista champion had his chances to reach his third major final of the year but was lacking in his first two semi finals. This win will, however, serve as a reminder of the stellar year he has had.

Scoring sequence: 0-1/ 1/ 2-1/ 2/ 3-2/ 3/ 4/ 4-5/ 5/ 5-11/ 8-11/ 8-14/ 9-14/ 9-16/ 18-16/ 18-17/ 22-17

Match time: 40:00 with 10:00 of actual play

Balls hit: 222

Xala won but failed to reach his third final in a year

Image from: Pelota, Mano y Remonte

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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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In September I went to the Basque Country. I had only been there once before, on the holiday to Bilbao and San Sebastian in 2008 which so fuelled my passion, and had been meaning to return almost since the day I got home. This particular trip had been several months in the planning, borne of a series of musings with a friend on Twitter about how fabulous it would be to go to the Vuelta a Espana on its first visit to the Basque Country in so many years. Said friend is also a fan of pelota; we both watch the matches on ETB every Friday and Sunday and chat about them online, a weekly ritual to which we have become extremely attached. We therefore pondered on the possibility of combining it with a pelota match or two and gradually a hairbrain scheme became an actual plan, and then there were plane tickets and hotels booked. It was on!

Before alighting on Basque soil, we flew to Santander for the Vuelta stage on Peña Cabarga. You can read more about our cycling adventures in my two posts at Podium Café, here and here. We then took the bus to Bilbao, arriving at Termibus and from there our hotel at a late hour, exhausted from scaling the climb ahead of the cyclists in the blazing heat earlier in the day. Our pelota schedule had been planned out in advance, or as far in advance as the empresas allowed. Matches are rarely posted on their websites more than a week in advance, so it was all we could do to book our trip in the hope that the fixtures would be accessible. As the match listings trickled onto the internet, planning commenced with a vengeance and we quickly realised how very fortunate we had been, as all the venues, Bermeo, Lezama, Galdakao and Hondarribia, were relatively easily accessible. Much as a trip to Fortress Titin in Logroño would have been fun, it would have been a logistical nightmare!

Apart from the potential locations of the weekend’s matches, another of our chief worries was procuring tickets. Most matches are not sold out and are easy to get into on the door, but we were bothered by the possibility of not gaining entry to Saturday’s game in Galdakao as it was the farewell match of Oier Zearra and demand seemed high. Therefore, we used Thursday morning to catch the train to Galdakao and buy advance tickets. Easy. Or so we thought. Having worked out from where to catch the Euskotren, a new issue reared its head; Galdakao appeared on the maps to have two stations, Zuhatzu and Usansolo, and we had no idea which one was correct. When the train rumbled into Zuhatzu, we took the foolish and hasty decision that it just didn’t look right. However, when we arrived at Usansolo, it looked even less right. Having wandered in the direction in which we thought we ought to be going to reach the fronton for quite some time, we bit the bullet and turned on data roaming on the trusty iPhone, money escaping into a black hole as we scrolled. Yes, we were in an entirely separate town. And so we waited, and waited, for a train back in the direction from whence we had come. In the real Galdakao, the fronton was, thankfully, blindingly obvious.

Definitely a fronton

It was however less obvious how to buy tickets, there was no discernible box office, only a man in a bar who seemed understandably baffled, that two English types a) wanted pelota tickets, b) knew exactly when the match was, and c) knew who Oier Zearra was. The seats were indeed all sold out, but holding our prized standing tickets in our hands like precious and beautiful objects of awe, we returned with a hop and a skip to the station and awaited a train to Bermeo.

Waiting...and waiting...and waiting

The journey on the Euskotren to Bermeo was utterly beautiful, taking us through the archetypal verdant green valleys of Bizkaia to the emerging coastal marshes, the surfers’ paradise of Mundaka where the famous waves were rolling if rather small, and round the rocky outcrops to our destination. The station in Bermeo is right on the harbour and upon emerging, the beautiful vista of the little town with its bright fishing boats and blue sea meeting blue sky made me beam.

Bermeo

The fronton, Artza, sits in the centre of the panorama, but we had no idea of that at this point. So proceeded wild goose chase number two. In hindsight, we really should have printed out maps of how to get to frontons before leaving the UK, for our plan of finding a tourist information office and asking when we got there somewhat backfired. With a sigh, on went the iPhone yet again. Asegarce’s website helpfully gave us a postcode and Google Maps gave us a location. Bingo. Or so we thought. Having walked round and round the old town, up steps, down steps, back and forth, we realised that the GPS was seriously failing us and returned to the main square to ask a café owner to help us. With the help of our dubious Spanish, we ascertained that we had been right next to the fronton all along. And the fronton was next door to the Tourist Information. No matter, for we had plenty time, and went to buy some tickets from yet another slightly bemused local. We had also, in our panicked dash around the back streets, come to see what a truly lovely place Bermeo is.

A secluded square

I experienced a sense of overwhelming joy as we settled into a café with beer and pintxos, knowing that everything was sorted, and that I was going to see my first ever live pelota match in little over an hour. Walking into the fronton was almost surreal. I had seen the green walls and the white lines, heard the smack of the ball on hand and wall so many times via the internet that it seemed half normal and half totally bizarre to be there for real. When we entered, the players for the first match were warming up and I grinned both inside and out at the seemingly obvious realisation that these men were real people who actually existed, outside the confines of a computer screen in far off London. Artza is relatively small and we positioned ourselves a few rows back near the frontis, so very close to the action that it felt like we were an integral part of it. The first match saw a victory for Mendizabal III and Merino by 22 to 15 over Ongay and Ladis Galarza.

Mendizabal III prepares

My excitement was even more pronounced when the big guns came out to play, for match number two featured Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta against Aritz Lasa and Zubieta. Zubieta has long been my hero in pelota terms and I make no secret of the fact that I was slightly over excited! As if that wasn’t enough, the great Irujo was almost in arm’s reach of my seat. As the match got underway, I was amazed by the speed and power of these players, something which fails to come across so readily on a computer screen. It is truly staggering how far and how hard the defenders hit the ball, and with how much venom the forwards attack it. Another thing which isn’t so obvious online is the noise when the hand hits the ball. This is a tough sport. The main match started tightly, the players trading blows until disaster struck with Lasa and Zubieta 10-8 up. Zabaleta, who looked mortified, accidentally hit Lasa on the head, and the forward fell to the ground in pain and shock before being helped off by his fellow players. Concerned murmuring swelled up in the crowd. Lasa was taken away in an ambulance for checks, and was susequently out of competition for several weeks with a cracked facial bone. With Lasa gone, the organisers hastily arranged a shortened Cuatro y Medio game between Irujo and Zubieta. This was a lot of fun. Until now, the crowd had had little over which to get exercised, but all it took was a bad call against Zubieta and the place erupted into a frenzy, the vast majority on the side of the wronged player. The atmosphere was infectious and thrilling, even though this was a match which counted for very little. Irujo eventually took advantage of some wayward serving from his opponent to win 12-8, but at the end both players were all smiles, having put on a highly enjoyable and high octane show.

Lasa and Zubieta warm up

Zubieta eyes up the ball

The great Irujo

Lasa ties his shoe

Zubieta and Lasa concentrate

Ready to play

The competition over, we left the fronton into a balmy evening and the fresh smell of the sea air. Bermeo’s summer fiesta was underway with music, food and general merriment but sadly we needed to return to Bilbao and the train would not wait. Already our thoughts turned to our packed programme for the following day. We had no idea quite how special Friday would turn out to be.

Goodbye Bermeo

Look out for Part 2, coming soon! Photos are all mine

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