Apologies for yet more silence from the blog in the past week or so. Things have been difficult in many ways at my end, while the world of pelota has moved on apace. The semi-finalists are set and the first of the matches in the last four take place this weekend. Last week’s results were as follows:
Friday 22nd March, Mutilva: MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-8
Saturday 23rd March, Pamplona: BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ beat TITIN III – MERINO II 22-8
Saturday 23rd March, Bilbao: XALA – BARRIOLA beat BERASALUZE II – ALBISU 22-20
Sunday 24th March, Eibar: OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA beat EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA 22-11
Three of the semi-finalists, Irujo-Zabaleta, Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz and Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala had been set but the big story of the past two weeks has been the fight for the fourth spot between Berasaluze-Albisu and defending champions Titin-Merino. In the end, it was the former who squeezed in, ending the defence of the Riojans who suffered a heavy defeat in Pamplona. Berasaluze and Albisu also lost, but did enough given their superior points difference. The final table looks like this:
| Pair | Games | Won | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff. | |
| 1 | MTEZ IRUJO – ZABALETA | 14 | 11 | 3 | 291 | 224 | +67 |
| 2 | OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA | 14 | 10 | 4 | 287 | 209 | +78 |
| 3 | BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ | 14 | 10 | 4 | 283 | 244 | +39 |
| 4 | BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU | 14 | 6 | 8 | 256 | 271 | -15 |
| 5 | TITIN III – MERINO II | 14 | 6 | 8 | 243 | 284 | -41 |
| 6 | EZKURDIA – ZUBIETA | 14 | 5 | 9 | 254 | 255 | -1 |
| 7 | XALA – BARRIOLA | 14 | 5 | 9 | 241 | 287 | -46 |
| 8 | ARRETXE II – BEGINO | 14 | 3 | 11 | 210 | 291 | -81 |
The first semi-final pits Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala against Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Saturday) while Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz play Berasaluze II-Albisu in Eibar on Sunday. For a full round up of all the results from the round robin stages, see Aspe’s webpages.
Bengoetxea is in, but Titin is out
The Promocion championship has also reached the semi-final stage, with standout pair Gorka-Cecilio sitting proudly atop the table.
| Pair | Games | Won | Lost | Points for | Points against | Points diff. | |
| 1 | GORKA – CECILIO | 11 | 9 | 2 | 225 | 157 | 68 |
| 2 | APEZETXEA – LARRINAGA | 11 | 8 | 3 | 215 | 182 | 33 |
| 3 | RICO IV – UNTORIA | 11 | 7 | 4 | 215 | 184 | 31 |
| 4 | TAINTA – LADIS GALARZA | 11 | 6 | 5 | 215 | 195 | 20 |
| 5 | MENDIZABAL III – MERINO | 11 | 5 | 6 | 205 | 204 | 1 |
| 6 | OLAZABAL – ARRUTI | 11 | 3 | 8 | 177 | 209 | -32 |
| 7 | ELEZKANO II – LARUNBE | 11 | 3 | 8 | 159 | 205 | -46 |
| 8 | LEMUNO – ARETXABALETA | 11 | 3 | 8 | 148 | 223 | -75 |
Both of the opening semis take place on Saturday. Gorka and Cecilio get a home match in Ezkaray against Rico IV and Untoria, while Apezetxea and Larrinaga play Tainta and Ladis Galarza in Vitoria-Gasteiz. For all the results from the round robin, see here.
Untoria and Gorka will face off on Saturday
Photos: mine
