Jon Jaunarena and Cecilio Valganon have become the first pair to qualify for the final of the Promocion Pairs Championship. They reached the last two with their second win of the semi finals, taking a resounding 22-8 win over Mikel Olazabal and Inaki Larrinaga in Ezcaray on Friday. This win represents a massive signal of intent for the Navarre-Riojas duo, who after an excellent qualifying campaign were pipped to table leadership by Olazabal and Larrinaga. Either pair would have qualified for the final with a win here, but the erstwhile top partnership was smacked down with aplomb. They must now wait and try again on Sunday, when they face Rico IV and Untoria in a play off for the second final berth.

Rico IV and Untoria kept their hopes alive with an even more resounding win, over Urrutikoetxea and Otxandorena (the latter Iza’s stand-in) in an Vicente de la Sonsierra on Saturday. Urrutikoetxea has been put at a disadvantage ever since injury to Iza disrupted their progress, and has had to deal with two changes in partner. He and Otxandorena were no match for the Riojans here, losing 22-5. Their championship is now over. They do however have a chance to salvage some pride in their final match, the dead rubber against Jaunarena and Cecilio in Eibar on Sunday.

Urrutikoetxea is out