Friday 1st March, Urduliz
22:00 (CET) MENDIZABAL III – MERINO I v ELEZKANO II – LARUNBE Promocion Pairs
Followed by BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU v EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA Pairs Championship
Sunday 3rd March, Bilbao
17:00 (CET) IDOATE – PASCUAL v JAUNARENA – LASKURAIN
Followed by OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA Pairs Championship
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/
I am away this week so do not have time to write reports on this week’s Pairs games, but these are the results from the past weekend:
Friday 22nd February, Donibane Garazi: TITIN III – MERINO II beat XALA – BARRIOLA 22-9
Saturday 23rd February, Vitoria-Gasteiz: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat RETEGI BI* – ZABALETA 22-8
Saturday 23rd February, Pamplona: EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-13
Sunday 24th February, Eibar: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-11
In the Promocion Championship:
Friday 22nd February, Donibane Garazi: MENDIZABAL III – MERINO beat LEMUNO – ARETXABALETA 22-12
Saturday 23rd February, Vitoria-Gasteiz: APEZETXEA – PENAGARIKANO* beat ELEZKANO II – LARUNBE 22-14
Saturday 23rd February, Pamplona: TAINTA – LADIS GALARZA beat ARITZ LASA* – CECILIO 22-14
Sunday 24th February, Eibar: RICO IV – MENDIZABAL II beat OLAZABAL – ARRUTI 22-15
The main championship table now looks like this, and the Promocion table like this.
Friday 22nd February, Donibane-Garazi
22:00 (CET) LEMUNO – ARETXABALETA v MENDIZABAL III – MERINO Promocion Pairs
Followed by TITIN III – MERINO II v XALA – BARRIOLA Pairs Championship
Sunday 24th February, Eibar
17:00 (CET) RETEGI BI – PASCUAL v JAUNARENA – LASKURAIN
Followed by OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA v BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU Pairs Championship
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 other Pairs games are Bengoetxea VI – Beroiz v Martinez de Irujo – Zabaleta (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Saturday) and Arretxe II – Begino v Ezkurdia – Zubieta (Pamplona, Saturday). In the Promocion, the big news is that Gorka is out injured for an estimated three weeks. He will be replaced by Aritz Lasa. The fixtures, other than the above, are Apezetxea-Larrinaga v Elezkano II-Larunbe (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Saturday), Aritz Lasa*-Cecilio v Tainta-Ladis Galarza (Pamplona, Saturday) and Olazabal-Arruti v Rico IV-Untoria (Eibar, Sunday).
Sunday 17th January, Bilbao
BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-17
This match went to the form book in the end, allowing Bengoetxea and Beroiz to maintain their qualifying spot and consigning their opponents to a lowly seventh after some considerable improvement in recent weeks. However, it was rarely easy for the favourites. In fact, it was Berasaluze who took the game on initially, powering ahead 6-1 with some scintillating winners. However, Bengoetxea grew in defence and managed to turn the tables, putting pressure on Albisu and mastering Berasaluze who was unable to maintain his earlier lightning pace. The game remained very close until the death, when the favourites broke the shackles and strung together a sequence of points to take the tie. They now sit level on points with Olaizola and Ibai Zabala, but their relatively poor points difference keeps them third, with one win in hand over Xala and Barriola in fourth.
Monday 18th January, Tolosa
XALA – BARRIOLA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-17
The scoreline in Tolosa was exactly the same as that in Bilbao the day before, with Xala and Barriola taking an expected win over the bottom pair. Also in common with the Bilbao match was the closeness of the competition. On paper, the eventual winners should have won this with more comfort but although they repeatedly edged ahead on the scoreboard, they proved incapable of leaving Arretxe and Begino behind. Arretxe fought tooth and nail with the more illustrious Xala and matched him. It was only from 17-17 that the Aspe pair managed to make inroads, their experience at dealing with tight situations in championship games perhaps coming to the fore. Five straight points at the death and the game was theirs. They cling onto a qualifying spot narrowly, but with three pairs in all likelihood competing for the last place, there is much struggle ahead.
The table looks like this, with nine rounds down and five to go:
| Pair | Matches played | Wins | Losses | Points for | Points against | Points difference | |
| 1 | Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta | 9 | 8 | 1 | 197 | 143 | 54 |
| 2 | Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala | 9 | 6 | 3 | 188 | 141 | 47 |
| 3 | Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz | 9 | 6 | 3 | 182 | 181 | 1 |
| 4 | Xala-Barriola | 9 | 4 | 5 | 170 | 179 | -9 |
| 5 | Titin III-Merino II | 9 | 4 | 5 | 158 | 188 | -30 |
| 6 | Ezkurdia-Zubieta | 9 | 3 | 6 | 161 | 163 | -2 |
| 7 | Berasaluze VIII-Albisu | 9 | 3 | 6 | 159 | 176 | -17 |
| 8 | Arretxe II-Begino | 9 | 2 | 7 | 140 | 184 | -44 |
In the Promocion Championship, Gorka-Cecilio maintained their unbeaten record, defeating Elezkano II-Larunbe 22-16 in Bilbao on Sunday. The most dramatic match of the week came the following day in Tolosa however, where Apezetxea-Larrinaga came back from 8-18 and 13-21 down against Olaetxea-Ladis Galarza to win 22-21. In the other games, Lemuno-Mendizabal II beat Olazabal-Arruti 22-16 and Rico IV-Untoria beat Mendizabal III-Merino I 22-12. The Promocion table now looks like this.
Saturday 16th January, Pamplona
OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-8
The defending champions were well and truly humbled on Saturday by a stunning performance from Aimar Olaizola and Ibai Zabala, who now sit second in the table and look ever more secure as a pair. In contrast, Titin and Merino will need to turn things around merely to make the semi-finals. At the start of the championship, it was obvious that Olaizola was the predominant player in the partnership, shielding his inexperienced partner from pressure. However, as the tournament has progressed, Zabala looks more confident and Olaizola seems happier to give him his head. He is playing with great security and not a little style, with an especially strong right. With greater equality in the pair, it is now easy to see them challenging right to the end of the championship.
In contrast to Zabala’s assured play, David Merino looked extremely out of sorts, making a catalogue of errors. This left Titin running for scraps in the face of a dominant Olaizola. The Asegarce pair looked to dominate matters from the outset with a faster ball than their opponents may have liked. Their choices, both in this and in the tactical sphere, worked perfectly and the crowd could hardly believe what they were seeing when they raced into a 14-0 lead. There was no way back from here for the Riojans. The champions managed a reaction of sorts, netting five points in a row thanks to some classy finishing from Titin but Olaizola and Zabala continued to dominate, leaving nothing to chance in a 22-8 annihilation. In under three quarters of an hour the game was up and the 2012 winners left to lick their considerable wounds.
Winners/errors: Olaizola 10/1, Titin 7/2, Zabala 1/1, Merino 1/6
Match time: 44 minutes
Balls hit: 321
Friday 15th January, Irun
MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-18
Martinz de Irujo and Zabaleta maintained their excellent record, and with it their place at the top of the tree, but despite clear early supremacy here they were forced to fight off a determined comeback from Ezkurdia and Zubieta, who looked a different pair as the game progressed. The favourites raced ahead almost immediately, going up 6-1, and built their advantage with ease. The game was at their mercy with the score at 18-9. Ezkurdia proved no match whatsoever for Irujo, who out-thought him time and again. The older player controlled the fronton and consistently found space into which he could hit winners, having worked his opponent out of position.
It was Ezkurdia finding his feet which sparked a near miraculous rival on behalf of the trailing pair. They put together a run of seven straight points, and even when Irujo and Zabaleta regained the serve and extended their lead back to three at 19-16, Ezkurdia and Zubieta rallied once more, standing a mere point behind at 19-18. The play in this late spell of the game was of the highest quality. Both defenders were excellent throughout but here raised their level even more, neither willing to budge an inch. Zubieta’s tail was up and the former champion goaded and cajoled his young partner into ever greater confidence and resolve. The change in their body language from the first half of the match was marked, and the crowd responded in kind, sensing a grandstand finish. However, unfortunately both for them and for the comeback kings, Irujo put all ambitions of an upset to bed, taking control as a great player can. Three straight points sealed the deal and the table toppers surged to their eight win of the campaign. Time is running out for Ezkurdia and Zubieta, who need to start winning again soon. Things are close in the middle of the table though and this recovery must give them confidence in both their skills and their fighting spirit.
Scoring sequence: 2-1/ 6-1/ 6-2/ 7-2/ 7-4/ 8-4/ 9-4/ 9-6/ 10-6/ 10-7/ 11-8/ 15-8/ 15-9/ 18-9/ 18-16/ 19-16/ 19-18/ 22-18
Winners/errors: Irujo 13/4, Ezkurdia 10/3, Zabaleta 1/4, Zubieta 0/3
Match time: 72 minutes with 32 minutes of actual play
Irujo on top
Friday 15th February, Irun
22:00 (CET) OLAZABAL – ARRUTI v LEMUNO – MENDIZABAL II* Promocion Pairs
Followed by MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA v EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA Pairs Championship
Sunday 17th February, Bilbao
17:00 (CET) RETEGI BI – LASKURAIN v IDOATE – PASCUAL
Followed by BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU v BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ Pairs Championship
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/
Tuesday 12th February, Tolosa
ARRETXE II – BEGINO beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-10
This year as last, there has been little joy in the Pairs Championship for Iker Arretxe and Aritz Begino, but the level they found in their game on Tuesday was something far more exalted. There is no question that Berasaluze and Albisu, who had put together a run of wins after a shaky start, were the favourites going into this match but their play was nervous and error strewn. In contrast, their opponents barely put a foot wrong. The game was close in the early stages and stood at 9-10 before Arretxe and Begino pulled away to win at a canter. This result means the table is now packed tightly, with the partnerships disputing fifth, sixth and seventh level on points and only one point off the qualifying spots. Arretxe and Begino are still bottom, but moving up is now a possibility; they are a mere two points off fourth place.
Scoring sequence: 1-0, 3-4, 6-6, 6-10, 9-11, 9-18, 10-18, 10-22
In the Promocion Championship, Gorka-Cecilio went clear at the top, beating Apezetxea-Larrinaga who were also previously undefeated. The margin of victory was 22-16. Elsewhere, Mendizabal III-Merino I beat Aritz Lasa (replacing Olazabal)-Arruti 22-6, Rico IV-Untoria beat Lemuno-Mendizabal II (replacing Aretxabaleta) 22-17 and Olaetxea (replacing Tainta)-Ladis Galarza beat Urrutikoetxea (replacing Elezkano II)-Larunbe 22-17. Their table can be seen here.
Ezkurdia and Zubieta yesterday registered their second win in a row, defeating Xala and Barriola comprehensively in a carnival atmosphere at Beotibar. The main protagonist was Ezkurdia, who played with impressive power and confidence. Perhaps some allowances can be made for Xala, returning to the fronton after a hamstring injury, but there was little he could do to stop the rampant young forward who has turned the fortunes of this pair on their heads after coming in to replace Gonzalez two weeks ago. The verve he has brought to the front appears to have pushed Zubieta to new heights. The defender has not played badly all championship, even with Gonzalez in tow, but in the past two weeks he has ridden the crest of a wave. Barriola was unsettled by him and ultimately outplayed. Ezkurdia and Zubieta were in control for the majority of the encounter, save for a period early in the game when their opponents came from 1-5 down to 6-5 up. From there on however, they put their stamp on the game, advancing to 6-13, and from that point, their lead never fell below four. Whatever happens in the match today, at the same venue, between Berasaluze-Albisu and Arretxe-Begino, Ezkurdia and Zubieta will have made giant strides up the table. A win for Arretxe and Begino could see them fifth and on the fringes of qualification, with all the chances in the world. This would have been unthinkable a mere two weeks ago.
Scoring sequence: 1-0, 1-5, 6-5, 6-13, 7-13, 7-15, 11-15, 11-18, 12-18, 12-20, 14-20, 14-22
Service winners/errors: Xala 1/0, Ezkurdia 3/0
Winners/errors: Xala 7/5, Ezkurdia 9/3, Barriola 0/5, Zubieta 0/3
Match time: 67 minutes
Balls hit: 559
There was high octane play in the Riojan capital of Logrono on Sunday evening as table toppers Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta came from behind to beat Titin III and Merino II 22-20 in a match that lasted almost an hour and a half. The momentum of the game changed on a sixpence many times over. The defending champions, playing front of a passionate home crowd, started the better, going 3-0 ahead. Even when they were pegged back and overtaken, they found the strength to forge on again, taking their lead to 10-6, 12-7 and 13-8. Irujo and Zabaleta fought back however, drawing level at fourteen and then sixteen apiece. Titin and Merino looked to have rediscovered their command of the situation when they took a 19-16 and 20-18 lead, but again they were undone with the increasingly powerful Irujo and Zabaleta coming through at the death to take four consecutive points, and with them the win. While there was much scintillating play to thrill the Adarraga crowd, there were also many mistakes, but these did not detract from the drama of the game. Especially engrossing was the tooth and nail fight at the back of the fronton between the two young defenders, who gave yet another demonstration of the youthful talent which fills Aspe’s roster.
Aimar Olaizola and Ibai Zabala moved up to second in the table on Saturday with a hard fought 22-19 victory over former top pair Bengoetxea VI and Beroiz. Labrit was full for this much anticipated encounter, as locals came in their droves to see whether the combined solidity of Bengoetxea and Beroiz would be enough to dampen the spark of Olaizola. Though the pair in blue pushed them all the way however, Goizueta’s most famous son proved once more that despite an inexperienced partner in tow, any pair with him at the helm will be very hard to stop. The game was very even from the start with the spoils shared at 3-3, but Olaizola and Zabala soon moved into a 6-3 lead. Beroiz failed to place enough pressure on Olaizola and fed him too many easy balls with which he was all too willing to mete out punishment; 6-3 became 8-3. Bengoetxea staged a fight back however, and with Beroiz in increasingly solid support seized the lead back at 9-10, and then 9-12, with some dominant shot play. It cost the red pair much effort to fight back but they scrapped their way to the lead again at 14-13. Deadlock ensued as the pairs could not be separated, tied at 17, 18 and 19. From this juncture thought, Olaizola stepped up a gear, and wasted little time in hitting his way to victory, 22-19 the final score. Bengoetxea and Beroiz, who looked invincible a few weeks back, are now on something of a losing run. Olaizola and Ibai Zabala, on the other hand, may now dare to dream of the semi-finals. There is a short highlights video on etb, here.
Meanwhile, in the Promocion Championship, Gorka and Cecilio became the only unbeaten pair in the competition, beating Apezetxea and Larrinaga 22-16 in Logrono. They now sit atop the table alone. At Labrit, Mendizabal III and Merino put Aritz Lasa (playing for Olazabal) and Arruti to the sword, winning 22-6.
Irujo and Zabaleta are in a position of strength
Photo: mine
