Friday 30th November, Eibar
17:00 (CET) – note unusual start time! – GONZALEZ – MERINO v JAUNARENA – LASKURAIN
Followed by TITIN III – BARRIOLA v EZKURDIA – ZABALETA
Sunday 2nd December, Estella-Lizarra
17:00 (CET) ARITZ LASA – LADIS GALARZA v RETEGI BI – LARRINAGA
Followed by XALA – ZUBIETA v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – PASCUAL
To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tv, https://www.eitb.eus/es/television/etb-sat/or https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/
Sunday 25th November, Bilbao
OLAIZOLA II beat MARTINEZ DE IRUJO 22-18
Cuatro y Medio Semi-Final
There is little one can say about the intense rivalry between these greatest of modern pelota players which has not been said before. Olaizola and Irujo have, in the past few years, been head and shoulder above their rivals so it is natural that matches between them should arouse so much interest. Coupled with that, their opposing playing styles, Irujo so fiery and Olaizola so cool, lend a human element to proceedings, inviting the fans to adopt their personal favourite. So it was that Bizkaia was packed last Sunday, and full of atmosphere. The two champions obliged with a stormer of a match, with Olaizola pulling away only at the last to seize a place in his sixth Cuatro y Medio final.
After a brief opening flurry from Olaizola, thanks to his strong serving from the gun, it was Irujo who looked the sharper early on. Olaizola looked, by his standards, out of sorts and unable to find a rhythm, resulting in three errors in a row to gift his rival a 3-6 lead. He looked to have found his touch in the next point with a virtuosic cross court winner at full stretch but then, infuriatingly for him and his fans, served a falta. He failed to make any significant inroads, despite closing to within one point on 6-7 and Irujo, with the bit between his teeth, raced to 6-12. Olaizola seemed unable to read Irujo, or if he could then unable to do anything about it, and the man from Ibero punished him with a wide range of shots, the apotheosis of which was a stinging hook on 6-10. Irujo showed no signs of the virus which had caused the postponement of the match from the previous week and it was hard to see how Olaizola, looking unusually flustered and constrained, could turn matters around.
However, Olaizola is a great champion and has the cool to come from behind as well as annihilate from the front. Slowly but surely the defending champion began to find his mojo. With the serve back, he punished Irujo early to reduce his deficit by half at 9-12, and then he profited from an extreme moment of carelessness on the part of his opponent who missed a complete sitter in the next play. Another Irujo error and it was 11-12 and all to play for. Olaizola fell behind again with a pair of near misses but then came back once more with a glorious dos paredes. A low strike from Irujo and it was 14-14. Again Irujo battled forward through force of will, and again Olaizola pegged him back as deadlock was resumed at 16-16.
From here on though, a switch appeared to flick. An error from Irujo meant Olaizola was ahead for the first time since 2-1 and once there, he had no intention of sliding into arrears. The next two points brought vintage Aimar as a hook and a dos paredes landed him in view of the finishing line. An increasingly ragged Irujo could not respond as his opponent changed gear, gifting a point for 20-16 before Olaizola hammered his superiority home with a service winner to give him match point. Irujo pulled two points back with a late flurry, offering a reminder of who he is, but it was too late; as he pushed the last ball of the game low, Aimar Olaizola’s calm exterior gave way to a brief celebration before his mind turned forwards, towards another final and dreams of a sixth title.
The final was originally scheduled for this weekend but a back problem for Olaizola has resulted in a postponement. He will now face Oinatz Bengoetxea on 9th December in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Likewise, the Promocion final between Jaunarena and Untoria has been postponed, due to an injury to Untoria. It will take place in Pamplona on 8th December.
Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-3, 3-3, 3-6, 4-6, 4-7, 6-7, 6-12, 11-12, 11-14, 12-14, 14-14, 14-16, 16-16, 21-16, 21-18, 22-18
Friday 23rd November, Arbizu
20:00 (CET) ONGAY – CECILIO v MENDIZABAL III – LADIS GALARZA
Followed by TITIN III – MERINO II v EZKURDIA – ZABALETA
Sunday 25th November, Bilbao
17:00 (CET) XALA – MERINO v URRUTIKOETXEA – ALBISU
Followed by OLAIZOLA II v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO Cuatro y Medio semi final
To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tv, https://www.eitb.eus/es/television/etb-sat/or https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/
Inaki Otxandorena will play his last professional match this Saturday in Pamplona. He will be partnered by Ekaitz Saralegi against Rico IV and Inaki Iza. The 35 year old defender from Mugaire has been a professional for almost fifteen years. He made his debut for Aspe in March 1998, moving to Asegarce, where he has stayed ever since, in 2001. His best results came at San Fermin, which he won in 2004 and 2005, and at Zarautz where he was triumphant in 2004 and 2006. We wish him well in his retirement.
Over and out for Otxandorena
Photo: mine
Many apologies for the lack of updates, right in the middle of the Cuatro y Medio Championship; I have been away and things rather got on top of me. I promise that after this brief catch up on where we are in proceedings, normal service will resume!
In the main championship, we know the identity of one finalist but the second semi-final has yet to be played. Oinatz Bengoetxea is through after his semi-final defeat of Pablo Berasaluze in Pamplona last weekend. The man from Leitza, who has won the Navarrese 4 ½ championship for the past two years, won 22-16 to reach his first ever Cuatro y Medio Championship final. The second semi, between Aimar Olaizola and Juan Martinez de Irujo, was due to take place last Sunday at a sold out Bizkaia. However, Irujo’s immune system proved unequal to the task and a virus for the winner of 2006 and 2010 necessitated a postponement. The match will now take place this Sunday in Bilbao.
In the Promocion Championship, both semis took place as planned. First through to the final was Alvaro Untoria, who beat Jorge Rico 22-19 last Friday. Joining him will be Jon Jaunarena, who dispatched new professional Danel Elezkano 22-11 in Tolosa on Monday. This is the third Promocion final in a row for Jaunarena, who has already won the Pairs and Manomanista titles this year. A third win would be some achievement. It is also worth noting that of the four finalists across the two competitions, two come from Leitza, a small town of only 3000 inhabitants. Given Jaunarena’s rise, we could see a local derby like the 2008 Manomanista final in which Bengoetxea defeated fellow Leitzarra Barriola, before too long.
The final awaits Oinatz Bengoetxea
Photo: mine
Sunday 11th November, Eibar
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO beat BARRIOLA 22-10
Of all the Cuatro y Medio quarter final league matches this weekend, this was the one which mattered. The equation was simple; the winner would go through and the loser would be out, each having won one and lost one in the previous two rotations. For the winner, the dubious privilege of meeting multiple champion Aimar Olaizola in the last four. Irujo it was who stepped up his game in devastating fashion, so bringing about the encounter most expected to see in the final.
Barriola is unusual in being a defender with a live fighting chance in this tournament. He made the final in 2010 and beaten by Irujo 22-17 there was no disgrace. However, one sensed he had a mountain to climb at Astelena on Sunday against a rival in no mood to fold in the wake of his last ditch defeat to Berasaluze the previous weekend. Although Barriola snagged the first two points, almost everything subsequently went the way of the favourite. Irujo bossed the show and Barriola proved incapable of matching his furious pace. The Leitzarra was in touch at 6-7, but from then on his deficit only grew. In a mere 174 strikes of the ball, the whirlwind of Ibero was through. He plays the defending champion on Sunday in Bilbao, where the atmosphere will surely top even the enthusiasm displayed in Eibar, where the crowd was in full cry. It is not to be missed.
Scoring sequence: 2-0/ 2-6/ 4-6/ 4-7/ 6-7/ 6-10/ 7-10/ 7-15/ 8-15/ 8-16/ 9-16/ 9-17/ 10-17/ 10-22
Service winners/errors: Barriola 2/1, Irujo 1/1
Winners/errors: Barriola 4/7, Irujo 13/4
Match time: 34 minutes with 7 minutes of actual play
Balls hit: 174
Irujo marches on
Friday 9th November, Beasain
22:00 (CET) SARALEGI – ALBISU v ARITZ LASA – ZABALETA
Followed by BERASALUZE VIII v RETEGI BI Cuatro y Medio quarters
Sunday 11th November, Eibar
17:00 (CET) TITIN III – LADIS GALARZA v EZKURDIA – PASCUAL
Followed by BARRIOLA v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO Cuatro y Medio quarters
To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tv, https://www.eitb.eus/es/television/etb-sat/or https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/
The Cuatro y Medio Championships, both the main competition and its Promocion counterpart, and nearing their endgame. As the semi-finals approach, we take a look at what happened this week. Who is through, who is out and who must play for their survival?
There were two thrillingly close games in the main championship last week. The first of these took place in Leitza on Friday, where BENGOETXEA VI beat XALA 22-20. The Navarrese town of Leitza, which sits a short distance over the border from Gipuzkoa, is something of a pelota hotbed. Bengoetxea is one of three current professionals who hail from there (the others being Barriola and Jaunarena). Home support can act in one of two ways, either putting further pressure on a player or pushing him to greater heights, and fortunately for Bengoetxea, the latter scenario played out. It was, however, desperately close; neither player managed a lead of more than three. In the middle portion of the game, Xala briefly threatened to put Bengoetxea on the rack with a quick fire run of four points, consisting of two errors from his opponent and two crunching hooks of his own. However, just as at every point where one or other pelotari found themselves with a lead, it was cancelled out. The game was not a vintage one from the point of view of consistently staggering shot play, although both proved why they are top tier professionals on various occasions, but for sheer tension it would have been hard to beat. The home favourite looked like he had finally broken from the shackles in the closing stages, going ahead 20-17 with the line in sight, but Xala fought back to 20-21 before a commanding txoko sealed the day. Bengoetxea now has one win and one loss in the quarter final league, so his fate depends on what happens this weekend. Xala, with two defeats, is out.
In Pamplona on Saturday, affairs were even tighter when BERASALUZE VIII pulled a 22-21 triumph against MARTINEZ DE IRUJO out of the fire. Whatever Berasaluze’s multitudinous merits, this result ranks as an upset, especially given the circumstances of the play which unfolded. Irujo went ahead 10-1 and 14-4 and to fall this far behind to a player of his quality should be terminal. However, Berasaluze, proving once more that in tenacity he is second to nobody in the world of pelota, came roaring back with a display littered with stinging hooks and audacious volleys. Irujo appeared utterly powerless as his Bizkaian rival took an unlikely 18-14 lead. There was a further twist when Irujo looked to have restored order, seizing the lead back at 19-18, but having come so far, there was no way Berasaluze would let the victory slip away. The players tied on 19, 20 and 21 but it was the underdog who dealt the final blow, winning by the smallest possible margin before the crowd rose in a standing ovation richly deserved by both. This result means Berasaluze is assured of a place in semi-finals, having defeated Barriola last weekend. Irujo, with a narrow victory and a narrow loss to his name, must beat Barriola on Sunday to go through.
Things were rather easier for the defending champion OLAIZOLA II, who was pushed hard in the early stages but in the end registered a comfortable 22-13 win over ARRETXE II. Iker Arretxe has been something of a revelation in these championships, reaching the quarters by beating Titin and then backing this up with an easy win over Xala. Keeping pace with Olaizola at the mid-point of this game alone would have represented an improvement on his Pairs Championship form of earlier this year, but Aimar found a fifth gear when pressed and eased into the semi-finals with his second win, having beaten Bengoetxea by the same margin last week. Arretxe and Bengoetxea will play off this weekend for the second semi berth from Group A.
Back in Group B, BARRIOLA fought off RETEGI BI, winning 22-15 in Bilbao. The match was extremely tight in the early stages, with the protagonists locked together at 11-11. However, from this juncture it was the defender, unusually in Cuatro y Medio, who imposed himself. Barriola took seven points in a row to lead 18-11 and although Retegi closed to 18-14 he found the route back barred to him. Barriola therefore lives to fight another day, though he must defeat Irujo this weekend, while Retegi is out whatever the result of his game with Berasaluze VIII.
This weekend’s fixtures are:
Friday 9th November, Beasain: Berasaluze VIII v Retegi Bi
Saturday 10th November, Pamplona: Bengoetxea VI v Arretxe II
Sunday 11th November, Eibar: Barriola v Martinez de Irujo
Monday 12th November, Tolosa: Olaizola II v Xala
In the Promocion Championship, the semi-finalists are all set. From Group 1, Elezkano and Rico IV go through. Elezkano won his place thanks to an impressive 22-8 win over a far more experienced opponent in Jon Apezetxea. His only defeat in the tournament has been a narrow loss to Olazabal, and making it to this stage is quite a coup for the teenager who has only been a professional since September. Rico IV beat an off-colour Olazabal 22-12 to book his berth. In Group 2 everything came down to the final weekend but it was Jaunarena and Untoria who received their tickets to the last four. Gorka needed a win over Lemuno to progress but he fell three points short, losing 22-19. Jaunarena, playing in his home town of Leitza as a curtain raiser to fellow local Bengoetxea, did what he needed to do in defeating Untoria, but needed to wait until the other match was completed before absolute confirmation of his progression. Untoria goes through despite his loss, thanks to Gorka’s defeat. Both the semi finals take place next weekend. Rico IV plays Untoria in Najera on Friday 16th while the details of Jaunarena v Elezkano are yet to be confirmed.
Friday 2nd November, Leitza
22:15 (CET) JAUNARENA v UNTORIA Promocion Cuatro y Medio quarters
Followed by XALA v BENGOETXEA VI Cuatro y Medio quarters
Sunday 4th November, Bilbao
17:00 (CET) ARITZ LASA – ZUBIETA v IDOATE – LASKURAIN
Followed by BARRIOLA v RETEGI BI Cuatro y Medio quarters
To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tv, https://www.eitb.eus/es/television/etb-sat/or https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/
Shell shocked Xala beaten 22-12 by Arretxe
The quarter final rotations got underway last Friday, across the bay in Iparralde, when Arretxe II took on Xala in Hendaia. Nobody would have made Arretxe favourite for this game; Xala is by far the more decorated, the more experienced at this level and had near home advantage to boot. However, the upset happened. Xala was simply never in the game and looked utterly lacklustre, but nothing must be taken away from the underdog, for this was not a simple case of the favourite being dramatically off colour. Arretxe bossed almost every point, finishing with a whopping sixteen winners. That Xala made only six errors in a match where he was so comprehensively beaten is testament to Arretxe’s dominance. The final score is flattering to Xala, and came about thanks only to a relatively late rally from the former Manomanista champion, who mustered six winners in a row on the way from 3-18 to 12-19. However, any hope of an extraordinary comeback was dashed by some further Arretxe shot play. Xala appeared stunned, along with his legion of fans, and now has work to do to make the semis.
Scoring sequence: 0-5, 1-5, 1-10, 2-10, 2-14, 3-14, 3-18, 10-19, 12-19, 12-22.
Winners/errors: Xala 8/6, Arretxe 16/4
Balls hit: 197
Match time: 39:42 with 7:13 of actual play
Hendaia
(Image by Patrick Janicek under Creative Commons)
Olaizola II beat Bengoetxea VI 22-13. The following day it was the turn of the defending champion to take the stage in Pamplona, and he demonstrated to the public in no uncertain terms why he has won this title on five occasions. Bengoetxea, although he has never been Cuatro y Medio champion, is a great exponent of the short court game, having won the Navarrese title twice, including the last two editions, but he found the going tough here, despite fighting every inch of the way in his customary style. Olaizola punished him with a physical game, littered with trademark left handed hooks, and although Bengoetxea pushed him close in the mid part of the game, closing to 8-10, he had little answer in the latter stages.
Scoring sequence: 3-0, 6-3, 10-3, 10-8, 13-10, 15-10, 17-11, 18-13, 22-13
Balls hit: 259
Match time: 46 minutes
Pamplona
On Sunday, the pelota cognoscenti gathered in Eibar, where Martinez de Irujo beat Retegi Bi 22-18. In contrast to Friday’s game, this one appeared to be matching the form book from the start, when Irujo stormed into a 10-1 lead. Playing with more speed and vigour than Retegi could handle, the man from Ibero was in complete control. However, spurred on by his great father in the botillero’s chair, the less lauded player fought his way back, first to 4-10 and from thence to 5-13, 13-14 and 15-15 before seizing the lead at 15-16 with his second service winner in a row. His lead grew when Irujo hit low for 15-17 and an upset looked on. However, Irujo snapped into action when it really mattered, breaking his opponent’s heart with a run of five straight points. Retegi pulled on back at 20-18 to restore a little hope, but when he hit high in the next point, Irujo wasted no time in producing a winning serve to take a win which was far less comfortable than it should have been.
Scoring sequence: 2-0, 2-1, 10-1, 10-2, 10-4, 12-4, 12-5, 14-5, 14-13, 15-13, 15-17, 20-17, 20-18, 22-18
Winners/errors: Irujo 16/10, Retegi Bi 8/6
Balls hit: 234
Match time: 40:40 with 9:51 of actual play
Eibar
Berasaluze VIII beat Barriola 22-11. On Monday it was the turn of Abel Barriola and Pablo Berasaluze to strut their stuff as they clashed at Santanape in Gernika. This looked on paper to be a potential close run thing, but Berasaluze proved by far the stronger. He prevented Barriola from unleashing his left arm by taking many balls on the volley and defended like a terrier. With the score at 20-5 in Berasaluze’s favour, Barriola looked to be in for an embarrassing evening but the Leitzarra managed to rally to a degree, saving face by adding six further points. This was nowhere near enough however to prevent the Asegarce player from seizing the day.
Scoring sequence: 1-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-7, 4-11, 5-20, 11-22
Balls hit: 200
Match time: 52 minutes
Gernika
In the Promocion Championship, the results were as follows:
26th October, Arrigorriaga: OLAZABAL beat ELEZKANO II 22-19
27th October, Pamplona: JAUNARENA beat LEMUNO 22-16
27th October, Ezcaray: UNTORIA beat GORKA 22-18
28th October, Eibar: RICO IV beat APEZETXEA 22-12
This week, the main championship fixtures are:
Friday 2nd November, Leitza: XALA v BENGOETXEA VI
Saturday 3rd November, Pamplona: BERASALUZE VIII v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO
Sunday 4th November, Bilbao: BARRIOLA v RETEGI BI
Monday 5th November, Tolosa: OLAIZOLA II v ARRETXE II
The Promocion Championship games are:
Friday 2nd November, Leitza: JAUNARENA v UNTORIA
Saturday 3rd November, Pamplona: GORKA v LEMUNO
Sunday 4th November, Bilbao: APEZETXEA v ELEZKANO II
Monday 5th November: Tolosa: OLAZABAL v RICO IV
