Daily Archives: 23 October, 2012

Promocion Cuatro y Medio success for Gorka, Olazabal, Untoria and Elezkano

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The first rotation of quarter final league matches in the Promocion Cuatro y Medio took place this weekend and while two saw easy wins, two were very tight indeed. First in the easy winners category came Gorka Esteban, who thumped Jon Jaunarena 22-9 in Logrono on Sunday. This was another superb performance from the 22 year old Riojan, who had eliminated Ezkurdia in a nail biter to get to this stage, against arguably more fancied opposition. He gets home advantage in his next game on Saturday, when he plays Untoria in his native town of Ezcaray. Equally impressive in victory was Mikel Olazabal who dispatched Jon Apezetxea 22-5 in Tolosa last night. Olazabal was probably the favourite here, but given Apezetxea’s impressive defeat of Zabaleta in the first round the signs were that this would be closer than it was. In the first of two cliff-hangers, Danel Elezkano a professional for less than two months, showed great character in coming from behind to snatch a 22-21 win from Jorge Rico in Balmaseda. Rico looked to have things sown up, but a combination of several errors on his part and the determination of his young opponent put paid to his hopes. Also grabbing a 22-21 win was Alvaro Untoria who beat Stephane Lemuno in Bilbao on Saturday. As with Rico on Friday, Lemuno seemed home and dry, but the Riojan proved why you should never relax until the line has been crossed. The fixtures for the next rotation are as follows:

Friday 26th October, Arrigorriaga: OLAZABAL v ELEZKANO II
Saturday 27th October, Ezcaray: GORKA v UNTORIA
Saturday 27th October, Pamplona: LEMUNO v JAUNARENA
Sunday 28th October, Eibar: APEZETXEA v RICO IV

Wins for Bengoetxea VI, Berasaluze VIII and Retegi Bi in the Cuatro y Medio second round

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It was a busy weekend of Cuatro y Medio action. As discussed in my previous post, Arretxe upset Titin to make the last eight and three others also booked their places in the quarter final league.

The first of these was Oinatz Bengoetxea, who beat Mikel Urrutikoetxea 22-7 in Balmaseda on Friday. It was an easy win for the former Manomanista chamopion, who had far too much pace for his less experienced rival. He barely needed to stretch in order to control the fronton and send Urrutikoetxea running in all directions to little avail. Despite the overwhelming superiority of his vanquisher, especially in the volleying department, Urrutikoetxea fought until the very last, showing flashes of the talent which will surely make him a more important player in years to come. The match statistics were as follows:

Bengoetxea: 14 winners, 4 errors
Urrutikoetxea: 3 winners, 5 errors
Strikes of the ball: 243
Match time: 44.56 with 10.00 of actual play

In Bilbao on Saturday, Pablo Berasaluze beat Asier Olaizola 22-11. Olaizola, so impressive in destroying Idoate the previous week, had no match for the bustling pace of Berasaluze. The man from Berriz volleyed with great aplomb and his serve proved lethal, netting him nine points outright. Olaizola played well with his right but in every other way was found wanting as Berasaluze ran out the comfortable winner.

Scoring sequence: 0-2, 3-2, 3-3, 3-8, 6-8, 6-10, 8-13, 9-14, 11-14, 11-22
Berasaluze: 9 service winners, 1 service error
Olaizola: 2 service winners
Strikes of the ball: 153
Match time: 38 minutes

Retegi Bi defeated Ekaitz Saralegi 22-13 on in Tolosa on Monday to become the final recipient of a place in the last eight. Saralegi got off to a flying start and all looked set fair when he led 11-4, a lead established by means of some scintillating cross court play. However, he failed to drive home his advantage as Retegi settled into the match. As he closed to 8-12 and then 12-12, Saralegi looked increasingly fatigued and at a loss as to how to stop the momentum of his opponent. From 13-14, Retegi seized eight points in a row to reach 22 and end the hopes of the man from Amezketa.

Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-4, 11-4, 12-8, 12-12, 13-14, 13-22
Saralegi: 1 service error
Retegi Bi: 3 service winners
Strikes of the ball: 294
Match time: 56 minutes

The draw for the quarter final league is now complete. Olaizola II (defending champion), Martinez de Irujo, Xala and Barriola qualified as of right and are joined by Arretxe II, Bengoetxea VI, Berasaluze VIII and Retegi Bi. Group one consists of Olaizola, Xala, Bengoetxea and Arretxe, with the others in group two. The first rotation’s fixtures are as follows:

Friday 26th October, Hendaye: XALA v ARRETXE II
Saturday 27th October, Pamplona: OLAIZOLA II v BENGOETXEA VI
Sunday 28th October, Eibar: MARTINEZ DE IRUJO v RETEGI BI
Monday 29th October, Gernika: BARRIOLA v BERASALUZE VIII

Pablo Berasaluze is into the last eight

Pablo Berasaluze is into the last eight

Photo: mine

Upset at Adarraga: Titin succumbs to Arretxe

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Sunday 21st October, Logrono

ARRETXE II beat TITIN III 22-19

Cuatro y Medio Championship 2nd round

Aspe, cashing in on the popularity of Titin III in Logrono, chose to stage his Cuatro y Medio second round tie in the Riojan capital. However, if the empresa intended this as a coronation, a way to usher their experienced campaigner into the league stage, Iker Arretxe refused to read the script. The first half of the match was incredibly tight, with ties at 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 12. Nobody proved able to gain an advantage of more than two points; Titin did this on two occasions, raising hopes that he was beginning to break from the shackles imposed on him by his determined rival, but Arretxe proved tough, playing with speed and verve. The younger man imposed himself for a time thereafter, forging ahead to a 17-12 lead, but to the delight of all at Adarraga, their hero closed to 19-19, punishing Arretxe out wide. A grandstand finish looked in prospect, but Arretxe killed the home party by taking the next three points to reach 22 and break Riojan hearts. After his defeat of the 2007 champion, Arretxe finds himself in uncharted waters. He has never reached this stage of the tournament before but now enters the quarter final league, where he will face Xala on Friday.

Scoring sequence: 1-0/ 2/ 2-4/ 4/ 5/ 7/ 8/ 10-8/ 10/ 12-10/ 12/ 12-17/ 16-17/ 16-19/ 19/ 19-22
Titin: 4 service winners, 1 service error, 1 4 ½ line error, 10 winners
Arretxe: 1 service winner, 16 winners
Strikes of the ball: 263
Match time: 55.41 with 9.43 of actual play