Basque pelota blog in english – Dos paredes

Saturday 6^th February, Idiazabal

BERASALUZE VIII – BEGINO beat GONZALEZ – LASKUARAIN 22-14

Pairs Championship

Pablo Berasaluze and Aritz Begino qualified for the semi finals in 2009 with some aplomb, but in 2010 they have appeared destined for an early exit, with just a single point to show from their first four matches. However, they are not the types to lie down without a fight, and they showed that dogged spirit in Idiazabal on Saturday to keep their hopes very much alive. Their first match against Sebastien Gonzalez and Aritz Laskurain ended in a 14-22 loss, but here they turned the tables in convincing fashion; the scoreboard looked the same but the victors became the losers.

In the first half of the game, Gonzalez and Laskurain appeared once again to have the edge, going ahead 9-6. Begino looked insecure in defence, missing five balls in the first thirteen points. Laskurain in contrast played confidently and read the game excellently. However, Berasaluze turned the tide. Gonzalez seemed intent on attacking his forward rival but the tactic backfired as Berasaluze countered with added venom. It perhaps would have been more advisable to have loaded pressure onto Begino, who had shown his fragility in the early exchanges, for Berasaluze wasted no time in grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck. His dominance gave Begino added confidence and 6-9 became 13-9. From then on, the Asegarce pair never looked back, building their lead with ease through the lethal shot play of Berasaluze, who ended the game with twelve winners, three times the number managed by Gonzalez. Laskurain, who played almost without fault, deserved better from this encounter, but there was little he could do to assist Gonzalez in the containment of a rampant Pablo Berasaluze.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 2-1, 2-3, 3-3, 3-5, 6-5, 6-9, 13-9, 13-12, 15-12, 15-13, 19-13, 19-14, 22-14.

Source: Diario Vasco

Image from: El Correo