Pairs week 4 round up: Bengoetxea-Beroiz remain on top

Apologies for the lack of reports this week; other things have got in the way rather. There were some close games last week, with two going down to the wire and one finishing 22-20. On Friday, Titin II and Merino II pulled a 22-20 win out of the fire against a resurgent Gonzalez and Zubieta. The defending champions were lacklustre early on, especially Merino, but a mid match dip from Gonzalez allowed them into the game and then into a decent lead. However, they almost fell at the last as the trailing pair came back, only to fall agonisingly short. On Saturday, things were rather easier for Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta, who defeated Berasaluze VIII and Albisu 22-10. This was their third win, while the losers have yet to trouble the scorers. On Sunday a cool headed Xala and Barriola just managed to halt Olaizola II and Ibai Zabala who staged a storming comeback by way of some absolutely mammoth rallies, one of which triggered a standing ovation at Astelena. Sadly for the Asegarce pair, Ibai Zabala, who otherwise played very well, hit the last ball of the game short for the narrowest of 22-21 losses. Finally, on Monday Bengoetxea VI and Beroiz almost came unstuck in Tolosa, squeaking past Arretxe II and Begino 22-21. As it is though, they maintained their unbeaten record and stay top.

The table now looks like this:

	Pair	Played	Won	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff
1	Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz	4	4	0	88	82	6
2	Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta	4	3	1	87	62	25
3	Xala-Barriola	4	3	1	86	74	12
4	Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala	4	2	2	84	73	11
5	Titin III-Merino II	4	2	2	77	84	-7
6	Gonzalez-Zubieta	4	1	3	70	72	-2
7	Arretxe II-Begino	4	1	3	63	86	-23
8	Berasaluze VIII-Albisu	4	0	4	66	88	-22