Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta crowned Pairs champions after injury to Pablo Berasaluze

Sunday 28^th April, Bilbao
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat BERASALUZE II – ALBISU 6-4 (ret)

Irujo and Zabaleta, the long-time tournament favourites were duly crowned as Pairs champions on Sunday, but not in the way that they or anybody else would have hoped. They came into the final very heavily fancied to take the crown but in their way stood a pair who had fought with an astonishing spirit, against all the odds to make it this far. Pure passion could have carried them to the title, with Berasaluze in inspired mood, playing better than ever he has in memory of his late father and determined to dedicate a txapela to him. However, we got a massive anti-climax and witnessed as near as one can possibly get to a sporting tragedy.

Bizkaia was full to the brim with excited and vocal fans, amongst them other pelotaris, former players, and stars of other sports. This sort of occasion is what pelota players live for, the zenith of their sports and the opportunity for greatness on the grandest stage. The match began in a way which lived up to the hype. The first rally was lengthy and packed with quality, with all four protagonists settling well into the melting pot of the final atmosphere. It was won by a skidding drop from Irujo, signalling the promise of great play to come. Albisu handed the Aspe pair a 2-0 lead by hitting high in the next point, but Zabaleta then erred to give the underdogs a start on the scoreboard. A service winner from Berasaluze and it was all square at 2-2. Irujo fired a lethal gantxo in the next play and an over-enthusiastic swipe from Berasaluze, who aimed to pressurise Zabaleta, made it 4-2. This became 5-2 with Albisu’s second high hit of the game but the momentum shifted rapidly with two masterful winners from Berasaluze, one a txoko and one a crafty shot down the wall. It was 5-4 with everything to play for. Both forwards looked on song and both backs, despite occasional errors looked mightily impressive and fairly evenly matched. We salivated at what was to come, but then everything fell apart.

As he ran towards the side wall to retrieve a dipping ball from Irujo, Berasaluze landed awkwardly on his left leg and then, attempting to put weight on it, fell in agony. Stunned silence descended on the fronton, punctuated by the stricken pelotari’s cries for help. It was clear, as he was helped off the playing area, that this injury was terminal. Within minutes, which felt like hours, it was confirmed that Berasaluze had likely snapped his Achilles tendon. It was game over and amid bewilderment and not a little shellshock, Irujo and Zabaleta were proclaimed champions with the battle only just begun. If they did not know how to react, the situation was even more baffling for Albisu, left high and dry in the biggest match of his career. He looked utterly helpless. At least for Albisu, however, there is plenty time to reach more finals; Berasaluze is reaching the end of his career and future chances may prove few and far between. His career had come down to this match, his chance to write his name in the history books after an extraordinary late flowering, but now all was lost.

The crowd did not know what to do either. Should they go or was there something to stay for? The organisers hastily ushered Xala, who had played in the curtain raiser, back onto the fronton and he played with Albisu in a strange shadow of what should have been the showpiece culmination of months of competition. There was nothing to play for other than to give the spectators something to watch for their money, and nobody’s heart, least of all Albisu’s, was remotely in it. For the record, Irujo and Zabaleta won.

There followed the presentation of the trophies and txapelas, to a tumultuous reception from the crowd, especially when Berasaluze hobbled out on crutches to soak up their cheers. It was both warming and heart rending. In this melting pot of emotions we must not fail to celebrate the achievements of Irujo and Zabaleta however. Despite the lack of competitive final, they were the best pair in the competition and deserved their spoils. Irujo had failed to win a major championship since the 2010 Cuatro y Medio and this was quite a resurgence. Alongside him, we must applaud to the rooftops the  achievements of Zabaleta, a tournament rookie who took to the big time as if he had always been there. The young defender had been carefully primed for the top level and he proved week upon week that this was where he belonged. He has a great future, of that there can be no doubt. As for Berasaluze, a scan confirmed the diagnosis and he will undergo surgery tomorrow. It is estimated he will be out of action for six months. We wish him all the very best.

Photo: mine

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Juan Martinez de Irujo Goñi is one of the defining pelotaris of his generation and there is little that has not been said about the greart forward. Irujo, now 31, hails from Ibero in Navarre and made his professional debut in Pamplona in 2003. He hit the ground running in dramatic style, becoming Manomanista champion within a year of his debut having already reached the Pairs final in the same year. Titles continued to fall at his feet, culminating in the apotheosis of 2006 when he won all three major championships. Irujo’s career has slowed down of late; he has not won a major title since 2010, partly due to a dip in his own form and partly to the extraordinary flourishing of Aimar Olaizola who has usurped him as the sport’s number one in the past three years. However, Irujo remains Irujo and he has played a blinder for the majority of this year’s Pairs, inspired to reach the heights by his young partner Zabaleta, himself on a golden path to the top. It is not an exaggeration to say that, along with Olaizola, Irujo has changed the style of the modern game. To watch these two greats play each other is to watch a virtual whirlwind. Such pace and relentless attack set the pattern that all others would have to try and follow. Irujo has bad days and can sometimes be the architect of his own demise but when on song he is extremely hard to stop. This task will fall largely to Berasaluze on Sunday. He has done it before but can he do it again on the biggest stage of all?

Pairs record
2004 with Lasa III, finalist
2005 with Goni III, winner
2006 with Eulate, winner
2007 with Goni III, quarter-finals
2009 with Goni III, winner
2010 with Beroiz, semi-finals
2011 with Merino II, semi-finals
2012 with Barriola, group stages

Previous professional titles
Pairs Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2009
Manomanista in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010
Cuatro y Medio in 2006 and 2010

Jose Javier Zabaleta Lasa, who hails from the tiny Navarrese village of Etxarren, has been the revelation of the championship, though in truth his promise was so obvious that his rise is no big surprise. Zabaleta, who celebrated his 22^nd birthday last month, made his professional debut in Eibar at the start of 2011 and impressed immediately. As an amateur he won the Campeonato de Lezo in 2009 and a year later took both the Federacion de Clubes Pairs title and the senior world title and given this pedigree, Aspe threw him into the Promocion Manomanista a few months later, where he lost to Olaetxea in a tight first round encounter. The following year he fell only at the semi-final stage, 21-22 to eventual winner Jaunarena. He missed out on selection for the Pairs with a broken arm in 2012, so the 2013 top tier championship is his first in the discipline at the professional level. He won his place on merit with a succession of outstanding performances against more experienced opposition and repaid the faith of his empresa from the word go. Zabaleta has looked older that his years, consistently inspired and constantly solid throughout the many weeks of the championship. He is quiet, polite and unassuming off the court and unflappable on it, and is clearly totally undaunted by both the massive chance and the great responsibility that comes in playing with Irujo. He is already destined for the bigtime and a win on Sunday would take him there with immediate effect. Whatever happens, 2013 has, so far, been the year of Zabaleta.

Pairs record
2013 is his first appearance

Previous professional titles
None

Photos: mine

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Pablo Berasaluze Zabala was born in 1977 in Berriz, a town of around 5000 inhabitants nestled between Durango and Zaldibar in Bizkaia. He made his professional debut in 1998 at the age of 20, at the Municipal Fronton of Bergara, after a successful amateur career which saw him take the Liga Vasca de Clubes title in 1994 and the Torneo El Diario Vasco pairs title in 1997. Although he has been a regular feature in the top flight of pelota for many years, Berasaluze has yet to win a major championship title. His Pairs Championship record is not a stellar one; he has reached the semi-finals on only two occasions in seven attempts, but the second of these appearances came last year with Albisu, his partner this time round. On that occasion they won only one of their semis in what was essentially a dead rubber against Titin III and Zabaleta (the latter replacing Merino II for the eventual champions). This year they have fought to the death and come through against all the odds, testament to the fighting spirit for which Berasaluze is famous. He plays with commitment and extraordinary verve, his small stature combined with his determination reminding one of a terrier at work. A terrific player who has bloomed late in his career, Berasaluze surely deserves at least one major championship txapela to show for his efforts and in the year when he changed his playing name from Berasaluze VIII to Berasaluze II in honour of his late father, a win on Sunday would be a fitting tribute.

Pairs record
2003 with Beloki, group stages
2004 with Zearra, group stages
2005 with Patxi Ruiz, group stages
2009 with Zearra, semi-finals
2010 with Begino, group stages
2011 with Apraiz, group stages
2012 with Albisu, semi-finals

Previous professional titles
None

Jon Ander Albisu is, at the age of 22, a pelotari just coming into his own. Regarded since the start of his career as a huge talent who could not find consistency, this tournament has represented a watershed; his playing has at times been erratic but at times inspired and coupled with the dynamism of Berasaluze his determination has seen him through. Albisu was born in Ataun, in the Goierri region of Gipuzkoa. He has an impressive amateur palmares which includes the Torneo del Antiguo pairs title in 2008, the championship of Euskadi individual titles in 2009 and 2010 and the GRAVN individual crown in 2010. These showings were enough to merit a contract with Asegarce, with whom he made his debut in July 2010 in Tolosa. A year later he took his only professional title to date, winning the Promocion Pairs Championship with Olaetxea, beating Gorka and Merino I in the final. In 2012 he was promoted to the top tier tournament, making the semi-finals with current partner Berasaluze. Whatever happens on Sunday, the 2013 Pairs final will be a defining moment in Albisu’s career, the moment he moved from promising young player to genuine title contender. He has shown a great deal of grit in this championship, absorbing much criticism in the press to come good when it matters. He will be scrutinised more than anyone else, for Asegarce’s victory bid rests on which Albisu takes to the fronton, the confident new star or the inconsistent youngster.

Pairs record
2012 with Berasaluze II, semi-finals

Previous professional titles
2011 Promocion Pairs Championship, with Olaetxea

Photos: mine

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Once again, sorry for the silence over the past two weeks. In my absence, the Pairs Championship finalists have been decided: the final will be held on Sunday 28th April in Bilbao and will be between Martinez de Irujo  – Zabaleta and Berasaluze II – Albisu. The former pairing’s presence in the last two represents no surprise whatsoever, but Berasaluze and Albisu’s late charge for the prize has been unexpected. They lost their first semi final match to Beongoetxea and Beroiz but thereafter beat Olaizola II and Ibai Zabala 22-14. Then they defeated their opponents in the final by the same margin to seal their place. This result must fill them with confidence, but will lightning strike twice for the outsiders? Irujo and Zabaleta won their other two semis, beating Olaizola and Zabala 22-8 and Bengoetxea and Beroiz 22-13. In the dead rubber last weekend, Olaizola and Zabala signed off with a win, beating Bengoetxea and Beroiz 22-15. All the results from the competition up until this point are here and the semi final table is here.

In the Promocion championship, Rico IV and Untoria have sealed their place in the final despite a narrow loss to Tainta and Ladis Galarza last week. Gorka-Cecilio and Apezetxea-Larrinaga will play off for the other place in a sudden death encounter in Pamplona on Saturday. All the results are here with the current table here.

The first of two Aspe previews for the Manomanista Championship took place last week. Ezkurdia came through to beat Aritz Lasa 22-20, thereby sealing his place in the draw proper. In the the second preview which takes place tonight in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zubieta takes on Merino II. Asegarce will hold a preview tomorrow between Arretxe II and Olaetxea, as well as a game between Elezkano II and Larunbe for entry into the Promocion manomanista.

Matches on ETB this weekend are:

Friday 19th April, Vitoria-Gasteiz

22:00 (CEST) TITIN III – MERINO II v JAUNARENA – PENAGARIKANO

Followed by ZUBIETA v MERINO II Manomanista Preview

Sunday 21st April, Eibar

17:00 (CEST) ARITZ LASA – MERINO v MENDIZABAL III – PASCUAL

Followed by XALA – LASKURAIN v RETEGI BI – BARRIOLA

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/

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Monday 1^st April, Eibar

BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat BERASALUZE II – ALBISU 22-17

Pairs Championship Semi Final

Easter Monday saw a good crowd at Astelena for the second of the holiday weekend’s semi-finals. Here, Bengoetxea and Beroiz were the clear favourites and the form book was in no way upset, despite the never-say-die fight of Berasaluze. The favourites won the match essentially because of their balance as a pair. Bengoetxea and Beroiz, from the start of the tournament, have worked as an equal partnership, Beroiz hitting long and powerfully to set up a solid attacking platform for a partner who has seldom failed to use it. In contrast, at least here, their opponents were a one man show. Berasaluze played like a man possessed on Monday, which is more than can be said for Albisu, who leaked error after error, mishit after mishit. Eleven of the seventeen points the losing pair achieved were thanks to winners from Berasaluze but there is a limit to what anyone can do to bail out a partner with this lack of form.

The game started with nervous errors from both pairs, but it was Bengoetxea and Beroiz who settled first and eked out a gradual lead, moving from 2-6 to 4-8 and 5-9. Their opponents closed the gap to 8-9 but all hopes of a close game seemed dashed thereafter when seven straight points took the lead to 8-16. However, to the credit of Berasaluze, he was not prepared to give the cause up so easily and dragged himself and Albisu back to 14-16 and then 17-18. However, Albisu’s woes continued. He hit short all too often, looking at his hands with disgust as if hoping to find some answer in them. Many of the balls which landed inside the frontis were barely inside. Bengoetxea and Beroiz exploited the weakness he showed and were merciless in targeting him as Berasaluze stood resigned. They closed the game out with four straight points, the final one of which came due to an error from Albisu, just as if to make the point even starker.

With the first two semi-finals out of the way, it would be hard to bet against Irujo-Zabaleta and Bengoetxea-Beroiz facing each other in the final. Both did an excellent job this weekend, looked solid and unruffled and crucially, both worked wonderfully as a team. Both of the losing pairs are unbalanced, with the forwards propping up an often ailing defender. However, there are two weeks left before we know the line-up for the finale; one upset and things could yet be very different.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-3, 2-3, 2-6, 3-6, 3-7, 4-7, 4-8, 5-8, 5-9, 8-9, 8-16, 14-16, 14-17, 15-17, 15-18, 17-18 , 17-22
Service winners/errors: Berasaluze 0/0, Bengoetxea 2/1
Winners/errors: Berasaluze 11/3, Albisu 1/11, Bengoetxea 5/3, Beroiz 1/1
Match time: 68:13 with 25:33 of actual play
Balls hit: 501

In the Promocion Championship semi-finals, Gorka and Cecilio suffered the agony of a 21-22 defeat in their home town of Ezkaray by Rico IV and Untoria. Meanwhile, Apezetxea and Larrinaga won 22-7 over Tainta and Ladis Galarza at Ogueta.

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Saturday 31^st March, Vitoria-Gasteiz

MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA 22-8

Pairs Championship Semi Final

Favourites Juan Martinez de Irujo and Jose Javier Zabaleta took first blood in the semi-finals with a resounding win over Aimar Olaizola and Ibai Zabala at Ogueta on Saturday. The Asegarce pair went ahead, briefly, but got no further than 4-2. Irujo and Zabaleta pulled level at 4-4 and from here on in it was for the most part one way traffic. The eventual victors knew that to ensure success they had to nullify the threat of Olaizola, and they did this with great skill. Most of the other pairs in the championship have failed in this task, allowing the sport’s current number one far too much space to dictate, but Irujo and Zabaleta sent the ball sailing over Olazioa’s head as often as they were able, placing mounting pressure on Ibai Zabala. Zabala is relatively new to the game at this level and has surprised many in the standard of his play thus far, but he found the favourites too hot to handle and crumbled under their pressure, committing a catalogue of errors. He repeatedly hit short of the ideal as Zabaleta pushed him back, mercilessly. This gave Irujo plenteous room to swing. The trailing pair shadowed their opponents reasonably closely for a time, holding them at 6-8 and 7-9, but from this point on there was no comeback as the blues shot to 7-17. It was a great shame for the public of Vitoria-Gasteiz that the hoped for Irujo-Olaizola duel failed to materialise, but the aficionados must surely have appreciated a tactical master display by probably the strongest pair in the competition. Such an easy win puts them in an excellent position as far as qualification for the final is concerned, while Olaizola and Zabala will have to both win and address their gaping points deficit.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, 5-7, 5 – 8, 6-8, 6-9, 7-9, 7-10, 7-11, 7-12, 7-13, 7-14, 7-15, 7-16, 7-17, 8-17, 8-18, 8-19, 8-20, 8-21, 8-22.
Service winners/errors: Irujo 7/0, Olaizola 0/0
Winners/errors: Irujo 13/1, Olaizola 4/2, Zabaleta 2/2, Zabala 1/5
Match time: 55:10
Balls hit: 388

Irujo: unstoppable

Photo: mine

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Apologies for yet more silence from the blog in the past week or so. Things have been difficult in many ways at my end, while the world of pelota has moved on apace. The semi-finalists are set and the first of the matches in the last four take place this weekend. Last week’s results were as follows:

Friday 22^nd March, Mutilva: MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-8
Saturday 23^rd March, Pamplona: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-8
Saturday 23^rd March, Bilbao: XALA – BARRIOLA beat BERASALUZE II – ALBISU 22-20
Sunday 24^th March, Eibar: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-11

Three of the semi-finalists, Irujo-Zabaleta, Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz and Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala had been set but the big story of the past two weeks has been the fight for the fourth spot between Berasaluze-Albisu and defending champions Titin-Merino. In the end, it was the former who squeezed in, ending the defence of the Riojans who suffered a heavy defeat in Pamplona. Berasaluze and Albisu also lost, but did enough given their superior points difference. The final table looks like this:

The first semi-final pits Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala against Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Saturday) while Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz play Berasaluze II-Albisu in Eibar on Sunday. For a full round up of all the results from the round robin stages, see Aspe’s webpages.

Bengoetxea is in, but Titin is out

The Promocion championship has also reached the semi-final stage, with standout pair Gorka-Cecilio sitting proudly atop the table.

Both of the opening semis take place on Saturday. Gorka and Cecilio get a home match in Ezkaray against Rico IV and Untoria, while Apezetxea and Larrinaga play Tainta and Ladis Galarza in Vitoria-Gasteiz. For all the results from the round robin, see here.

Untoria and Gorka will face off on Saturday

Photos: mine

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Apologies for the silence over the past couple of weeks; I have been away. Sadly there are not enough hours in the day to write a comprehensive report of everything which has happened in this time, so a potted results list will have to suffice! The matches from 1^st-3^rd March saw the following:

Friday 1^st March, Urduliz: BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-17
Saturday 2^nd March, Pamplona: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-10
Sunday 3^rd March, Bilbao: MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA 22-11
Sunday 3^rd March, Logrono: ARRETXE II – BEGINO beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-19

The following week, this is what occurred:

Friday 8^th March, Zarautz: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-15
Saturday 9^th March, Anglet: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-12
Saturday 9^th March, Etxebarri: TITIN III – MERINO II beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-21
Sunday 10^th March, Eibar: BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA 22-20

Thus, with two weeks remaining in the marathon round robin section of the championship, the table looks like this:

The top three pairs are all but safe as far as semi-final qualification is concerned, although Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta saw their dominance challenged by a resurgent Bengoetxea and Beroiz. The latter had looked like the pick of the crop at the start of the tournament before falling under the shadow of their Aspe rivals, but two straight wins coupled with a surprising loss for Irujo and Zabaleta have seen them draw level at the top. Olaizola and Ibai Zabala saw their excellent run end in an easy defeat by Irujo and Zabaleta but a comprehensive win over Xala and Barriola, who now seem out of it, restored them to safety. The interest now lies in the fourth qualification place, which would seem to be between Titin and Merino, the defending champions, and Berasaluze and Albisu, who have pulled themselves from the mire in these past two weeks. The Riojans have the upper hand in terms of points but it could go either way, and happily as far as the drama of the situation is concerned, they meet each other this Saturday in Bilbao. Ezkurdia and Zubieta could still qualify, mathematically but they squandered two golden opportunities in the past two weeks. They went into their game on 1^st March as probable favourites over Berasaluze and Albisu but were never really in it, and then lost by the smallest possible margin to Titin and Merino a week later. If the final point of that match had gone the other way, they could now face the final two weeks with some confidence. They need to win and for results to go for them in a big way, but at least they have a relatively healthy points difference when compared to Xala and Barriola, who are level in terms of wins and losses. They would need a miracle to turn things around.

The Promocion Championship also has another two weeks of round robin matches left, and again there is a tough fight underway for the fourth qualifying spot. For results and remaining fixtures, see here.

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I am away this week so do not have time to write reports on this week’s Pairs games, but these are the results from the past weekend:

Friday 22^nd February, Donibane Garazi: TITIN III – MERINO II beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-9
Saturday 23^rd February, Vitoria-Gasteiz: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat RETEGI BI* – ZABALETA 22-8
Saturday 23^rd February, Pamplona: EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-13
Sunday 24^th February, Eibar: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-11

In the Promocion Championship:

Friday 22^nd February, Donibane Garazi: MENDIZABAL III – MERINO beat LEMUNO – ARETXABALETA 22-12
Saturday 23^rd February, Vitoria-Gasteiz: APEZETXEA – PENAGARIKANO* beat ELEZKANO II – LARUNBE 22-14
Saturday 23^rd February, Pamplona: TAINTA – LADIS GALARZA beat ARITZ LASA* – CECILIO 22-14
Sunday 24^th February, Eibar: RICO IV – MENDIZABAL II beat OLAZABAL – ARRUTI 22-15

The main championship table now looks like this, and the Promocion table like this.

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Sunday 17^th January, Bilbao
BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-17

This match went to the form book in the end, allowing Bengoetxea and Beroiz to maintain their qualifying spot and consigning their opponents to a lowly seventh after some considerable improvement in recent weeks. However, it was rarely easy for the favourites.  In fact, it was Berasaluze who took the game on initially, powering ahead 6-1 with some scintillating winners. However, Bengoetxea grew in defence and managed to turn the tables, putting pressure on Albisu and mastering Berasaluze who was unable to maintain his earlier lightning pace. The game remained very close until the death, when the favourites broke the shackles and strung together a sequence of points to take the tie. They now sit level on points with Olaizola and Ibai Zabala, but their relatively poor points difference keeps them third, with one win in hand over Xala and Barriola in fourth.

Monday 18^th January, Tolosa
XALA – BARRIOLA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-17

The scoreline in Tolosa was exactly the same as that in Bilbao the day before, with Xala and Barriola taking an expected win over the bottom pair. Also in common with the Bilbao match was the closeness of the competition. On paper, the eventual winners should have won this with more comfort but although they repeatedly edged ahead on the scoreboard, they proved incapable of leaving Arretxe and Begino behind. Arretxe fought tooth and nail with the more illustrious Xala and matched him. It was only from 17-17 that the Aspe pair managed to make inroads, their experience at dealing with tight situations in championship games perhaps coming to the fore. Five straight points at the death and the game was theirs. They cling onto a qualifying spot narrowly, but with three pairs in all likelihood competing for the last place, there is much struggle ahead.

The table looks like this, with nine rounds down and five to go:

In the Promocion Championship, Gorka-Cecilio maintained their unbeaten record, defeating Elezkano II-Larunbe 22-16 in Bilbao on Sunday. The most dramatic match of the week came the following day in Tolosa however, where Apezetxea-Larrinaga came back from 8-18 and 13-21 down against Olaetxea-Ladis Galarza to win 22-21. In the other games, Lemuno-Mendizabal II beat Olazabal-Arruti 22-16 and Rico IV-Untoria beat Mendizabal III-Merino I 22-12. The Promocion table now looks like this.

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