Thursday 2nd September, Lekeitio

BENGOETXEA VI – APRAIZ beat BERASALUZE VIII – ZUBIETA 22-15

Torneo Lekeitio, Semi Final

On Sunday, former Manomanista champion Oinatz Bengoetxea will play in his fourth festival final in a row when he lines up in Lekeitio alongside Alexis Apraiz. In the early part of last night’s match, Beraslauze and Zubieta held the upper hand, finding themselves 4-1 and 8-4 up, but some excellent pressure from the eventual winners, plus a deterioration in the play of Berasaluze, swung the game. Apraiz, who has often appeared nervous on the biggest stage of late, came of age here with a stunning display, supporting game-maker Oinatz like a man of experience. Oinatz took advantage of Berasaluze’s demise, punishing his opposite number while rarely taking undue risks. Zubieta began well, but perhaps influenced by his partner, dropped a level in the mid part of the match, to assist the rampage of the blue pair, who turned 14-14 into 22-15.

Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-1, 4-1, 4-4, 8-4, 8-8, 10-8, 10-9, 11-9, 11-11, 12-11, 12-12, 14-12, 14-20, 15-20, 15-22

Winners/errors: Bengoetxea VI 6/4, Berasaluze VIII 8/8, Zubieta 2/5, Apraiz 1/1

Total match time: 72:12

Playing time: 3106

Balls played: 611

Apraiz: impressive

Image from: El Correo