Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Saturday 7th March
Labrit, Pamplona
OLAIZOLA II – MENDIZABAL II beat BERASALUZE VIII – BEGINO 22-20

Two Asegarce pairs entered the fray at Labrit on Saturday knowing that a loss would mean elimination. Pablo Berasaluze and Aritz Begino had already suffered heavy defeat in the semi final stage at the hands of Begoetxea VI and Beloki whereas the defending champions, Aimar Olaizola and Oier Mendizabal had lost slightly more narrowly to Irujo and Goni III. Such crucial encounters are rarely matches to write home about in terms of pure quality and so it proved in Pamplona, but it was Aimar and Oier, true big match performers, who survived this war of attrition and retained the golden chance of a final berth.

Many of the almost 1000 spectators in the Navarrese capital must have trained their eyes on Begino, whose Herculean strength had catapulted his pair into the semi finals two weeks ago. There are few pelotaris physically stronger from the back of the fronton and with direction added to brute force Begino had the potential to dominate here. However, that was to reckon without the guile of Oier Mendizabal who refused to be bowed. The young Gipuzkoan hit with strength and assurance everything that Berasaluze sent his way from the front and his relentless pressure began to tell on Begino, who kept pace initially but increasingly lost his way. Mendizabal committed only two errors in the 34.51 minutes of playing time; Begino hit eleven and by the closing stages looked shattered both mentally and physically.

Olaizola was not in vintage form. The Goizeutan’s normally lethal hook shot simply did not fire, for reasons best known to himself, but he was able to bring other strengths to bear. It is Aimar’s special gift to see the game from afar even when he is in the midst of it; he is unsurpassed as a reader of the game, a cool headed tactician who can judge a situation and act accordingly. Sensing his partner’s excellent form, Olaizola turned defender, both handing the initiative to Mendizabal and pressurising Begino until he cracked. It was a tactical master stroke on the part of the defending champions who did just enough to keep their hopes of overall glory alive.

The biggest loser in all of this was undoubtedly Pablo Berasaluze, who played like a man possessed. In hitting a succession of winners he demonstrated his full range of attacking skills and hit with impressive precision. Although he lacked a certain amount of presence at the tail end of the game, when it really mattered, his unceasing efforts earnt him the biggest cheers of the night. Ultimately though, defence rather than attack won the day; Aimar’s skills in this department combined with a Mendizabal who was at his very best snuffed the life both from Pablito and from the red pair’s championship dreams.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-3, 4-3, 4-4, 7-4, 7-5, 9-5, 9-7, 10-7, 10-10, 12-10, 12-12, 14-12, 14-16, 15-16, 15-19, 18-19, 18-21, 20-21 and 20-22.

Mendizabal II on fire

Image from: http://www.diariovasco.com/prensa/noticias/200803/29/fotos/018D6COMP1_1.jpg

Sources: Diario Vasco, Diario de Navarra

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Saturday 7th March
Labrit, Pamplona
18:00 (CET) BERASALUZE VIII – BEGINO v OLAIZOLA II – MENDIZABAL II
No webcast-shown on Telecinco in Spain

Sunday 8th March
Astelena, Eibar
17:00 (CET) BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – GONI III
Live webcast on ETB-Sat

NB. Times given may not be the time of the main match; there is often a curtain raising match on first which will begin at the time given. For an accurate match time on Sunday, check the ETB schedules when they become available for that day here: http://http://www.eitb.com/television/etb-sat/programacion/

Aritz Begino

Image from: http://www.elcorreodigital.com/vizcaya/prensa/noticias/200802/27/fotos/059D3VIZ001_1.jpg

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In the semi final stage of the competition, all four pairs play each other once to decide upon the make up of the final. After their emphatic win on Sunday, Oinatz Bengoetxea and Ruben Beloki are the early leaders. While it is clearly advantageous to open with a win, almost anything could still happen in the next two weeks. Stay tuned!

1. Bengoetxea VI-Beloki 1 1 0 22 11 1
2. Irujo-Goñi III 1 1 0 22 17 1
3. Olaizola II-Mendizabal II 1 0 17 22 0
4. Berasaluze VIII-Begino 1 0 1 11 22 0

Next weekend’s fixtures are as set out below. I will post webcast information when it becomes available.

Saturday, Labrit (Pamplona): Olaizola II – Mendizabal II v Berasaluze VIII – Begino
Sunday, Astelena (Eibar): Bengoetxea VI – Beloki v Martinez de Irujo – Goni III

Bengoextea means business

Image from: http://www.diariodenavarra.es/actualidad/20080715/fotos/2008071521150011_375.jpg

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Sunday 1st March

Atano III, San Sebastian

BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI beat BERASALUZE VIII – BEGINO 22-11

In what could be termed the battle of the Bs, Asegarce played Asegarce for the honours in San Sebastian on Sunday night. Pablo Berasaluze and Aritz Begino finished the quarter final stages with a flurry, taking a nailbiting win over Titin III and Pascual to qualify in pole position but their opponents last night were in no mood for compromise. Oinatz Bengoetxea, the 24 year old manomanista champion from Leitza, is known as one of the best defensive forwards in the game; many opponents have discovered to their cost his incredible tenacity and ability to produce attack out of dead ends. His current partner in crime is Ruben Beloki, ten years his senior, and the owner of six championship txapelas, the most recent coming in the pairs, six years ago. If this display was anything to go by, Beloki is back and hungry for more, for it was his dominance and mind-blowing accuracy which won the day in emphatic style.

In the early points, the two sides seemed even enough but at 5-4 to the eventual losers, the floodgates opened and there was no way back for Pablito and Begino. Bengoextea was entirely prepared to let Beloki dictate the game and his defensive partner payed him back by the bucket load. In a stunning display, the veteran made up for his undoubtedly diminished speed with guile, tactical nouse and unrelenting accuracy. In the process of this showcase of his talents, he made not one single error. Compare his efforts to those of Begino and the reason for the discrepency in the scoreline becomes apparent. Begino is possessed of on of the strongest right arms in the game but strength is nothing without skill and this was not to be his night. He chalked up eight errors in the course of the evening and Beloki, metaphorically speaking of course, ate him for breakfast. Berasaluze tried his best to lift the spirits of his flagging partner but to no avail.

Berasaluze for his part struck eight winners but could do nothing to stop the rot. Bengoetxea hit fewer winners but also made fewer mistakes and through his incredible energy and indefatigable spirit was able to prevent his counterpart from cutting loose. After 59 minutes and 55 seconds, Oinatz and Ruben raised their arms in both triumph and the quiet satisfaction of a job well done. They now lead the semi final standings on points difference ahead of Irujo and Goni. Berasaluze and Begino find themselves bottom, one place below defending champions Olaizola II and Mendizabal II.

Scoring sequence: 3-0, 3-4, 4-4, 4-5, 15-5, 15-9, 17-9, 17-10, 21-10, 21-11 and 22-11

Ruben Beloki

Image from: http://www.gara.net/Repository/Imagenes/Pub_3/Issue_1589/p047_01_148×140.jpg

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Saturday 28th February
Labrit, Pamplona
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – GONI III beat OLAIZOLA II – MENDIZABAL II 22-17

With the drama of the quarter finals now a distant memory, the first encounter of the semi finals took place in Pamplona last night where the defending champions, Aimar Olaizola and Oier Mendizabal took on the mercurial Juan Martinez de Irujo and Fernando Goni. These pairs played each other twice in the quarter final rounds, emerging with one victory apiece, so anticipation was high for the opening game in the last four. What transpired was a game full of errors, largely decided by the relative performances of the two defenders, Mendizabal and Goni. Goni had a near perfect game, committing no errors in the entire hour and eighteen minutes. Mendizabal on the other hand committed seven, and this was the essential difference between the sides. The Aspe pair made it their clear policy to bombard Mendizabal, in the realisation that his form has been erratic in the championship thus far, thus neutralising the threat that Aimar might pose in attack. It was a plan which worked to perfection; Aimar could find no way to break free. The forward battle was more evenly matched, Aimar making seven errors to Irujo’s nine, but the die had been cast in the tactical success of the Aspe pair.

Points sequence: 0-2 2-2 4-4 5-6 5-10 9-10 10-12 15-13 16-14 16-20 17-20 17-22

Statistics
Duration: 1:18 min.
690 strikes of the ball
Olaizola II: 0 seques, 7 tantos, 3 errores.
Mendizabal II: 7 errores.
Mtz. de Irujo: 3 saques, 8 tantos, 9 errores.
Goñi III: 1 tanto, 0 errores.

Goni III was the star of the show

Image from: http://www.larioja.com/prensa/noticias/200901/03/fotos/648073.jpg

Sources: Diario de Navarra, Asegarce

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The Pairs Championship will enter the semi final stage this weekend, upon the completion of the quarter final rounds on Monday. The top four pairs will proceed to play each of their three fellow qualifiers in turn over the next weeks to decide the finalists. Defending champions Olaizola II and Mendizabal II will kick start the semi finals on Saturday with a match against Martinez de Irujo and Goni III in Pamplona. Bengoetxea VI and Beloki, and Berasaluze VIII and Begino will enter the fray in San Sebastian on Sunday.

1. Berasaluze VIII-Begino 8 5 3 152 155 5
2. M. de Irujo-Goñi III 8 5 3 156 132 5
3. Olaizola II-Mendiza. II 8 5 3 145 139 5
4. Bengoetxea VI-Beloki 8 4 4 149 158 4
———————————————————————-
5. Gonzalez-Barriola 8 4 4 155 145 4
6. Xala-Zubieta 8 4 4 159 131 4
7. Titín-Pascual 8 3 5 155 155 3
8. Olaizola I-Patxi Ruiz 8 2 6 118 173 2

Berasaluze and Begino qualify in first place

Image from: http://beta.eitb.com/multimedia/images/2009/01/20/54142/54142_begino_berasaluze_dest_2.jpg

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Monday 23rd February
Beotibar, Tolosa
XALA – ZUBIETA beat OLAIZOLA I – PATXI RUIZ 22-6

The final scoreboard tells us that Asier Olaizola and Patxi Ruiz lost once again at Beotibar on Monday. This in itself was hardly important, or startling, news. However, the result of this match meant so much more and a seemigly pointless encounter between two pairs, already eliminated from the championship, took on the status of one of the strangtest and most important matches of the year so far. The fate of two couples, Bengoetxea VI/Beloki of Asegarce and Gonzalez/Barriola of Aspe hung on this evening; a Xala/Zubieta win would see the former qualify for the semi finals and an Olaizola I/Patxi Ruiz win would see the latter pair go through. Whatever happened, a win for either side would result in elimination for a pair from their own empresa. Certain elements of the press spent the week discussing the potential ramifications of this situation; could either pair be tempted to play at ‘worse than their best’ for the good of their own empresa? In the end however, fair play was the only sporting option and there was nothing remotely suspect about the outcome as Asier and Patxi were once again outplayed by a better pair. Xala and Zubieta have won their last three matches in commanding style and Monday was no different. Xala must consider himself unlucky to be leaving the tournament at this stage given the recent exalted level of his play. Despite being one of the players of the competition, he has never quite had the defender to back him up and head to head record against the other pairs in contention was his undoing in the finals standings. He did however bid farewell with a flourish to which Asier Olaizola, who gave everything he could muster, had no answer. Zubieta, on this occasion, supported him consumately, outplaying Patxi Ruiz with ease.

And so, Oinatz Bengoetxea and Ruben Beloki will be back for more as the championship moves into the semi final stage. Gonzalez and Barriola suffer from Asier and Patxi’s failure to perform and leave the competition. They will be joined in the next stage by defending champions Olaizola II and Mendizabal II, Martinez de Irujo and Goni III, and Berasaluze VIII and Begino.

Bengoetxea and Beloki are through

Image from: http://beta.eitb.com/multimedia/images/2009/02/01/59300/59300_bengoetxea_beloki_dest_2.jpg

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Sunday 22nd February

Astelena, Eibar

OLAIZOLA II – MENDIZABAL II beat GONZALEZ – EULATE 22-19

The equation was simple: the winners would qualify for the semi-finals and the losers would sweat it out. This duel had been headlined by the meeting of Olaizola II and Barriola, two immovable obstacles of big match play, the former possessed of a lethal left hand in attack, the latter resembling a brick wall in defence. The result, many thought, would hinge on their respective abilities to hit the high notes in a game where every point would matter. In this respect, the match turned out to be a let down, for the haematoma in Barriola’s right hand, acquired last week, had failed to recover. Leitza’s famous son was therefore replaced by Pedro Martinez de Eulate Maestresalas, the 29 year old from Lizarra-Estella who has two pairs championship wins on his resume. Despite Eulate’s status as a highly dangerous customer, the defending champions were now firm favourites, but matches of such magnitude are rarely straightforward to call. In the end, nerves of steel were required and unshakable determination would win the day: step forward Aimar Olaizola, the coolest cucumber in Navarre.

Early signs suggested that the defending champions had blown it. They endured a nightmare against Irujo and Goni III last week, hardly aided by Aimar’s suspect stomach, and it appeared that they had continued where they left off. After six points, Gonzalez and Eulate were 6-0 up, through a combination of some excellent attacking play from Gonzalez, two mishits from the back by Mendizabal and a wide swipe from Olaizola. Mendizabal found himself peppered with long balls in an early attempt to test his mettle; in the first seven points, he struck the ball 24 times to Olaizola’s 9. For the Asegarce pair it was therefore imperative to find a way to break the stranglehold in which they found themselves.

An error from Gonzalez gave the champions the serve and the advantage of their elected balls and from this point on, the disparity in points closed, gradually. As the score moved from 1-6 to 9-9, one sensed that Aimar had finally settled into the task at hand. Errors from Mendizabal, who still appeared ill at ease, were obviated by three exquisite hooks by his partner as well as a searing 98 kph serve expertly placed down the wall to which Eulate had no answer. Another excellent serve then set up a sitting duck of a winner and Aimar seized the lead for the first time in the match.

There now began a period of play when the Asegarce pair slowly and almost imperceptably pulled away in terms of both quality and composure. True, Aimar would make four more errors in the course of the game and Oier five but their opponents were the guiltier. Eulate in particular leaked points, his earlier solidity in the face of Olaizola seemingly gone. Mendizabal on the other hand saw his trajectory rise, hitting with ever increasing confidence and class. He was responsible for one of the shots of the match when, with the score at 17-15 he hit a skidding ball from the back of the fronton at such an angle that Gonzalez stood open mouthed in bewilderment. But it was Olaizola who was the chief architect of the solid recovery. Aimar’s great strength is his control of the pace of a match, every nuance calculated by his superb tactical brain. His pair never built a commanding lead and never obliterated their opponents with a barrage of dramatic hitting but the impression he gave was of a puppeteer pulling the strings. So clinical was his outward demeanour that one could be forgiven for overlooking his moments of brilliance as he demonstrated his wide repertoire of hooks, smashes and drops. Particularly impressive was his skill in turning defence into attack from the side wall; lack of operating space seemed to concern him not one bit. One match point was squandered when Gonzalez pulled off a masterful shot into the corner under unimaginable pressure but another miss by Eulate ensured the defending champions safe passage to the next stage of the competition. While his supporters gasped in relief, the tension past, Aimar nonchalantly signed autographs as if nothing had ever happened.

Scoring sequence (Olaizola II and Mendizabal II first): 0-6, 1-6, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 6-8, 6-9, 9-9, 10-9, 10-10, 11-10, 11-11, 12-11, 15-11, 15-12, 15-15, 19-15, 19-16, 20-16, 20-18, 21-18, 21-19, 22-19

Aimar in control

Image from: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wzAwusJnS8k/ST45MBUdXZI/AAAAAAAAh_Q/CrTsvMp4ZyM/s400/aimar.jpg

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Saturday 21st February
Labrit, Pamplona
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – GONI III beat BENGOETXEA VI – BELOKI 22-19

On Saturday, Juan Martinez de Irujo and Fernando Goni became the second pair to qualify directly for the semi-finals, defeating Manomanista champion Oinatz Bengoetxea and Ruben Beloki at Labrit. As befits the situation of the championship at this crucial stage, this was another tense and error strewn encounter where winning was the sole object, often at the expense of flair and daring. The match was characterised by a fascinating forward duel in which the two protagonists displayed both brilliance and frailty in equal measure. Bengoetxea pulled out of the bag some particularly extraordinary moves, but it was to no avail as the Aspe pair revelled in the relief of direct progression.

Matters initially looked rosy for Bengoetxea and Beloki, who raced into a 14-6 lead with determination and dominance. Even when the Aspe pair closed to 14-10, they looked outclassed by their opponents, but that is to reckon without the power of Irujo who is nothing if not a fighter. The Asegarce lead gradually closed until Irujo and Goni had squared the match at 19-19, to the thunderous delight of the Pamplona public who clearly relished the fight. Irujo broke the deadlock with a perfectly timed and placed hook to put his partnership ahead for the first time in the game. He then took control with his serve and the comeback was complete.

Irujo and Goni can now sleep easy; they are through and can recharge their batteries for the dramas ahead. Bengoetxea and Beloki must sit at home and wait. They will surely be glued to their television sets tonight, for if Xala and Zubieta beat Olaizola I and Patxi Ruiz, they too will be through. If the bottom pair can pull of an upset, their tournament is over.

Irujo and Goni march on

Image from: http://www.diariovasco.com/prensa/noticias/200901/18/fotos/2423911.jpg

Source: El Correo Digital

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Abel Barriola will be forced to watch tomorrow’s vital match at Astelena. The defender from Leitza has failed to recover from a hand injury sustained in last week’s match. He will be replaced by 29 year old fellow Navarran Pedro Martinez de Eulate Maestresalas for the game against defending champions Olaizola II and Mendizabal II. The winner will qualify for the semi-finals while the loser must wait on Monday’s final game to learn their fate.

Eulate (left) is a former pairs winner

Image from: http://manista.blogs.com/bitacora/images/2007/03/26/xal_eulate_beloki20070325.jpg

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