Zarautz: Xala the talisman in first semi-final

Friday 13th August, Zarautz

XALA – BEROIZ beat ARITZ LASA – ZUBIETA 22-19

Torneo de Villa de Zarautz Semi Final

Yves Salaberry, it seems, cannot stop winning. He and Mikel Beroiz were the probable favourites here, Xala having been paired with the young defender after injury ruled Martinez de Irujo out of the tournament. He would have played with fellow pairs champion Aitor Zubieta, which would have been the more enticing prospect, but such was the potency of Xala that his play was too much for Aritz Lasa regardless of the identity of his partner. His eighth consecutive victory carried his pair to the final, where they will be hard to brush aside.

Xala was the clear difference between the sides. His game was not without blemish, to which is seven errors attest, but when a whopping seventeen winners are thrown into the mix, such a mistake count seems insignificant. Beroiz supported him ably, but in reality everything hinged on the star from Lekuine. Aritz Lasa, the second tier Manomanista champion, is not a regular visitor to the summer festivals, the stamping ground of the elite, but he held his own, making only two outright errors. He was, however, far less incisive that his opposite number. Zubieta played with his customary fluidity and presented problems for the eventual winners, but he was powerless to stop the march of Xala, who was in no mood for compromise.

Scoring sequence: 0-1, 1-1, 4-1, 4-3, 9-3, 9-5, 11-5, 11-9, 12-9, 12-10, 14-10, 14-11, 15-12, 15-14, 19-14, 19-16, 20-16, 20-19, 22-19

Winners: Xala 17, Aritz Lasa 6, Beroiz 0, Zubieta 3

Errors: Xala 7, Aritz Lasa 2, Beroiz 3, Zubieta 2

Source: Diario de Navarra

Yves Salaberry: on fire

Image from: Noticias de Alava

Mikel Ezkerro