Tag Archives: Gonzalez

Pelota on ETB, 10th-12th May

Friday 10th May, Tolosa

22:00 (CEST) ARITZ LASA – LASKURAIN v EZKURDIA – PENAGARIKANO

Followed by BEROIZ v ALBISU Manomanista

Sunday 12th May, Eibar

17:00 (CEST) APEZETXEA – PENAGARIKANO v EZKURDIA – LARRINAGA

Followed by JAUNARENA v ZABALETA Manomanista

To watch, go to http://www.eitb.tvhttps://www.eitb.eus/es/television/etb-sat/or https://www.eitb.eus/es/deportes/deporte-en-directo/

Presenting the Finalists: Berasaluze II and Albisu

Pablo Berasaluze Zabala was born in 1977 in Berriz, a town of around 5000 inhabitants nestled between Durango and Zaldibar in Bizkaia. He made his professional debut in 1998 at the age of 20, at the Municipal Fronton of Bergara, after a successful amateur career which saw him take the Liga Vasca de Clubes title in 1994 and the Torneo El Diario Vasco pairs title in 1997. Although he has been a regular feature in the top flight of pelota for many years, Berasaluze has yet to win a major championship title. His Pairs Championship record is not a stellar one; he has reached the semi-finals on only two occasions in seven attempts, but the second of these appearances came last year with Albisu, his partner this time round. On that occasion they won only one of their semis in what was essentially a dead rubber against Titin III and Zabaleta (the latter replacing Merino II for the eventual champions). This year they have fought to the death and come through against all the odds, testament to the fighting spirit for which Berasaluze is famous. He plays with commitment and extraordinary verve, his small stature combined with his determination reminding one of a terrier at work. A terrific player who has bloomed late in his career, Berasaluze surely deserves at least one major championship txapela to show for his efforts and in the year when he changed his playing name from Berasaluze VIII to Berasaluze II in honour of his late father, a win on Sunday would be a fitting tribute.

Pairs record
2003 with Beloki, group stages
2004 with Zearra, group stages
2005 with Patxi Ruiz, group stages
2009 with Zearra, semi-finals
2010 with Begino, group stages
2011 with Apraiz, group stages
2012 with Albisu, semi-finals

Previous professional titles
None

Jon Ander Albisu is, at the age of 22, a pelotari just coming into his own. Regarded since the start of his career as a huge talent who could not find consistency, this tournament has represented a watershed; his playing has at times been erratic but at times inspired and coupled with the dynamism of Berasaluze his determination has seen him through. Albisu was born in Ataun, in the Goierri region of Gipuzkoa. He has an impressive amateur palmares which includes the Torneo del Antiguo pairs title in 2008, the championship of Euskadi individual titles in 2009 and 2010 and the GRAVN individual crown in 2010. These showings were enough to merit a contract with Asegarce, with whom he made his debut in July 2010 in Tolosa. A year later he took his only professional title to date, winning the Promocion Pairs Championship with Olaetxea, beating Gorka and Merino I in the final. In 2012 he was promoted to the top tier tournament, making the semi-finals with current partner Berasaluze. Whatever happens on Sunday, the 2013 Pairs final will be a defining moment in Albisu’s career, the moment he moved from promising young player to genuine title contender. He has shown a great deal of grit in this championship, absorbing much criticism in the press to come good when it matters. He will be scrutinised more than anyone else, for Asegarce’s victory bid rests on which Albisu takes to the fronton, the confident new star or the inconsistent youngster.

Pairs record
2012 with Berasaluze II, semi-finals

Previous professional titles
2011 Promocion Pairs Championship, with Olaetxea

Photos: mine

Aspe pull Gonzalez from the Pairs Championship

There was controversial news this week as Aspe invoked the new rule, agreed between the empresas before the Pairs Championship, which states a player can be replaced if his performance falls below the standard expected. They have taken Sebastien Gonzalez out of the competition, citing a poor showing and lack of sporting conduct. He will be replaced for the rest of the championship by Joseba Ezkurdia, who makes his debut. Word is that the empresa decided late on whether to enter Gonzalez or Ezkurdia in the first instance and now clearly believe they made the wrong decision. Ezkurdia’s surprisingly swift recovery from a shoulder injury sustained last week opens the door for his appearance alongside Zubieta from the seventh rotation onwards. He will have his work cut out to help Zubieta qualify, with his pair having lost five games and won only one.

This news represents the latest in a series of rifts between Gonzalez and Aspe. Last year, the forward was publicly critical of the inclusion of Aritz Lasa in the championship at his expense and was later forced to apologise. The chance he was given this year was presumably his final one to prove his worth as a top tier player and he has been unavailable for comment ever since the decision to replace him was announced. It is hard to see how he can work with Aspe in the future.

Pairs Championship week 6: Irujo and Zabaleta go top

There was a changing of the guard at the top of the Pairs Championship standings as Bengoetxea VI and Beroiz suffered their first defeat, at the hands of Titin III and Merino II. They lost 22-20 in a very evenly matched game at Adarraga. After having been tied at five and seven, the Asegarce pair looked to have established some supremacy at 16-12, but the Riojans, enjoying their home advantage, fought back. The pairs were tied again at 19 and 20 and there was some controversy when Bengoetxea and Beroiz felt that two crucial refereeing calls had gone against them on 19-20 and 19-21. These were alluded to by Bengoetxea in the subsequent press conference, where he also admitted to nerves as he struggled to overcome Titin. Titin was indeed marginally the better of the forwards, but the player of the match, with his three winners to a single error, was Beroiz.
Scoring sequence: 0-1, 2-1, 5-5, 7-7, 10-12, 16-12, 16-16, 17-19, 19-19, 19-20, 20-20, 20-22
Winners/errors: Titin 8/4, Bengoetxea 9/8
Balls hit: 678

Bengoetxea and Beroiz’s loss means that Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta go top of the table on points difference. They got the better of Arretxe II and Begino in Pamplona. The favourites outdid their opponents for pace and set the tone right from the outset, racing to 7-0, 10-2 and 13-3. Arretxe and Begino made a brave attempt at a counterattack, closing a little to 14-7, but the eventual winners did not let up for long and closed the match out 22-14 with the minimum of fuss.

The match in Hendaye on Friday was presumably designed as a showcase for Xala in front of his local Iparralde fans, but it was not to be as injury forced his replacement by Jon Jaunarena. Jaunarena, making his debut in a top tier championship, acquitted himself very well indeed, despite the eventual loss suffered by he and Barriola. They were undone 22-19 at the hands of Berasaluze VIII and Albisu who seem finally to be finding their feet in this tournament. This is a second win on the bounce for the Asegarce pair, who have now succeeded in pulling themselves into sixth in the table. Berasaluze was the difference in the final analysis, though Jaunarena only allowed matters to slip in the final few points with some errors of inexperience. Both defenders were solid but fairly unspectacular.
Winners/errors: Berasaluze 13/4, Jaunarena 10/6, Albisu 1/3, Barriola ½
Match time: 50 minutes with 16 minutes of actual play
Balls hit: 330

Ibai Zabala sat out this round of the competition with a hand problem. He was replaced by Alexis Apraiz who assisted Olaizola II to a comfortable win over Gonzalez and Zubieta in Eibar. The vast disparity in this match came in the forwards, where Olaizola ran rings around Gonzalez. Gonzalez, for his part was highly ineffectual, managing only one winner to four errors. In contrast, Zubieta played well behind while Apraiz leaked errors. The initial closeness of the game, which stood at 7-7, was due largely to the unsteadiness of Apraiz, but once he had settled, Olaizola dominated and there was no way back for the Aspe duo, who now languish in 7th. The victors rise to 4th, a trajectory they will hope to continue when Zabala returns this weekend.
Scoring sequence: 0-1/ 1/ 4-1/ 4-2/ 5-2/ 5/ 6-5/ 7-5/ 7/ 8-7/ 10-7/ 10-8/ 16-8/ 16-12/ 17-12/ 17-13
Winners/errors: Olaizola 12/1, Gonzalez 1/4, Apraiz 0/9, Zubieta 2/5
Match time: 60 minutes with 23 minutes of actual play

Pair Played Won Lost Points for Points against Points diff
1 Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta 6 5 1 131 92 39
2 Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz 6 5 1 130 120 10
3 Titin III-Merino II 6 4 2 121 122 -1
4 Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala 6 3 2 122 108 14
5 Xala-Barriola 6 3 3 121 118 3
6 Berasaluze VIII-Albisu 6 2 3 110 123 -13
7 Gonzalez-Zubieta 6 1 5 99 116 -17
8 Arretxe II-Begino 6 1 5 95 130 -35

In the Promocion Championship, the results were:

Gorka-Cecilio beat Olazabal-Arruti 22-15
Apezetxea-Larrinaga beat Mendizabal III-Merino I 22-21
Rico IV-Untoria beat Tainta-Ladis Galarza 22-8
The game between Lemuno-Aretxeabaleta and Elezkano II-Larunbe has been postponed due to injury. For the latest standings, see here.

Pairs Week 5: Xala injured as status quo is maintained at the top

Pablo Berasaluze and Jon Ander Albisu finally grabbed their first point of the championships on Friday in Mungia, defeating Sebastien Gonzalez and Aitor Zubieta 22-16. The match was coloured by the state of Gonzalez’s health; the Aspe forward was indisposed and obviously hampered by a gastrointestinal problem. Despite a string of winners from Berasaluze, taking advantage of his less than healthy opponent, the defenders were the stars of the show, with Zubieta showing the greater consistency. Unfortunately for him though, the win was out of reach. Both pairs have now won one match and lost four, and must lift themselves before their deficit on the top pairings becomes insurmountable.
Scoring sequence: 0-1/1/4-1/4-2/7-2/7-4/9-4/9-6/10-6/10-8/13-8/13-10/14-10/14/15/19-13/19-16/22-16/
Winners/errors: Berasaluze 13/4 (including 3 service winners), Gonzalez 7/7 (including one service winner and one service fault), Albisu 1/4, Zubieta 1/1
Match time: 75 minutes with 25 minutes of actual play
Balls hit: 496

Victory for Pablo Berasaluze

Victory for Pablo Berasaluze

Oinatz Bengoetxea and Mikel Beroiz maintained their unbeaten record in Eibar on Sunday, though in rather unusual circumstances. The top pair ran out 22-16 winners over Xala and Barriola in an official sense, but the game was brought to a premature halt with the latter pair leading 16-15 following an injury to Xala. The game had been an extraordinary one, cheered to the rafters of Astelena by an enthusiastic crowd. Bengoetxea and Beroiz opened their account in dominating fashion, racing to a 13-2 lead. Once Xala and Barriola hit their stride however, the momentum swung entirely as they seized thirteen points in a row to tie affairs at 13-13, before going ahead 14-13 and 16-14. Xala was the star of the show, racking up ten winners in this run and repeatedly beating Bengoetxea into submission. However, it all fell apart for the resurgent forward as he was forced to leave the fronton with pain in his leg. He returned to the fray, giving hope that his disappearance had been a false alarm, but he proved unable to continue. He has since been diagnosed with a partial tear of the hamstring and will be out of action for between three and four weeks. Jon Jaunarena, last year’s triple promocion txapela winner, will replace him on Friday against Berasaluze and Albisu.
Scoring sequence: 1-0/ 1/ 1-6/ 2-6/ 2-11/ 3-11/ 2-13/ 13/ 14-13/ 14/ 16-14/ 16-15
Winners/errors: Xala 10/2, Bengoetxea 10/5 (including 2 service winners), Barriola 0/3, Beroiz 1/0
Match time: 63 minutes with 22 minutes of actual play

Abel Barriola: stopped in his tracks by Xalas injury

Abel Barriola: stopped in his tracks by Xala's injury

Zabaleta was the MVP as he and Juan Martinez de Irujo defeated Aimar Olaizola and Ibai Zabala 22-16 in Bilbao. The blue pair succeeded where others have struggled in essentially removing Olaizola from the game. Ibai Zabala has played better than many had expected thus far in the tournament but until now he had never really been exposed, with Olaizola shouldering the lion’s share of the work. However, Irujo and Zabaleta came into the match with a  clear strategy and had the skill to see it through; there was very little Olaizola, repeatedly bypassed at the front, could do to rescue Zabala from the bombing meted out to him by Zabaleta, a championship debutante who is truly coming of age. The Asegarce pair held on well until the mid-point, indeed they went ahead 12-8. Olaizola and Irujo fought tooth and nail but neither could create a decisive break, while Zabala held his own with Zabaleta. However, once their opponents had pulled it back to 14-14 there was no looking back as Zabaleta pulled them into the ascendancy. It was a plan excellently conceived and perfectly executed, which led to a deserved win. This is the fourth triumph form Irujo and Zabaleta, who look to be coming to the boil nicely. The jury is still out on the pairing of Olaizola and Ibai Zabala; they have won two and lost three, one of which was agonisingly close to a win, and their path could still go one of two ways. Will more pairs be able to expose Zabala while obviating his great partner?
Scoring sequence: 2-1/3-2/3-3/4-4/6-5/7-7/9-8/10-8/12-9/13-13/14-14/15-17/15-18/16-20/16-22
Winners/errors:
Olaizola 7/3 (including 4 service winners), Irujo 12/5 (including 1 service winner), Zabala 2/3, Zabaleta 2/2
Match time:
73.23 minutes with 34.27 of actual play
Balls hit:
624

Jose Javier Zabaleta played his part to perfection

Jose Javier Zabaleta played his part to perfection

Defending champions Titin III and Merino II made the most of their home advantage in Logrono but were pushed hard in their 22-18 win over Arretxe II and Begino on Sunday. The Riojans started strongly, going up 6-1 and then 10-5. Arretxe and Begino were slow to get into the game but when they did, they fought hard to try and close the gap, something they did not quite manage though they came to within two points at 13-15. Titin and Merino halted the comeback and began to eke out a bigger advantage, looking on the cusp of victory at 19-14. However, Arrexte and Begino refused to lie down and struck three times in a row to close to 18-21. However, it was too little too late; while forced to react to their dogged play, the champions had always kept their rivals at arm’s reach and held on for a 22-18 win. This is their third victory of the campaign and it keeps them in the mix in third place in the table. Arretxe and Begino, with a lone win to their name, are bottom.

Home win in La Rioja for David Merino

Home win in La Rioja for David Merino

(All photos are mine)

Table after five weeks:

Pair Played Won Lost Points for Points against Points diff
1 Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz 5 5 0 110 98 12
2 Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta 5 4 1 109 78 31
3 Titin III-Merino II 5 3 2 99 102 -3
4 Xala-Barriola 5 3 2 102 96 6
5 Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala 5 2 3 100 95 5
6 Gonzalez-Zubieta 5 1 4 86 94 -8
7 Berasaluze VIII-Albisu 5 1 2 88 104 -16
8 Arretxe II-Begino 5 1 2 81 108 -27

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

First win for Gonzalez-Zubieta as Arretxe-Begino stumble

Monday 7th January, Tolosa
GONZALEZ  – ZUBIETA beat ARRETXE II – BEGINO 22-6

Sebastian Gonzalez and Aitor Zubieta took their first win of the championship last night as Iker Arretxe and Aritz Begino reverted to their 2012 form. The least impressive partnership of last year’s championship had started this one more brightly, having troubled Xala and Barriola before beating Berasaluze and Albisu, but this was a heavy blow. Gonzalez played well, sending winners to all corners, and Zubieta was solid and accurate, but it was the mistakes of Begino which characterised the game. The defender had a jour sans and there was little Arretxe, also off form, could do to dig him out of his self-imposed hole. Gonzalez and Zubieta move up to 5th, while Arretxe and Begino are 7th.

Scoring sequence: 0-1/1/7-1/7-2/15-2/15-3/17-3/17-6/22-6
Winners/errors: Gonzalez 12/4, Arretxe 1/4, Zubieta 0/1, Begino 0/6
Balls hit: 378
Match time: 48 minutes

Aitor Zubieta: solid

Aitor Zubieta: solid

Three weeks into the championship, with all this week’s matches completed, the table looks like this:

Pair Played Won Lost Points for Points against Points diff
1 Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz 3 3 0 66 61 5
2 Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta 3 2 1 65 52 13
3 Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala 3 2 1 63 51 12
4 Xala-Barriola 3 2 1 64 53 11
5 Gonzalez-Zubieta 3 1 2 59 50 0
6 Titin III-Merino II 3 1 2 55 64 -9
7 Arretxe II-Begino 3 1 2 42 64 -22
8 Berasaluze VIII-Albisu 3 0 3 56 66 -10

Pairs Championship: week two movers and shakers

The second rotation of the Pairs Championship is not quite over, with Martinez de Irujo and Zabaleta playing Titin and Merino tomorrow, but here is a run down of what has happened so far this week, of who is up and who is down.

The first game of the rotation took place on Friday in Tolosa, and saw a 22-17 win for Xala and Barriola over Gonzalez and Zubieta. This constitutes a second win for the former and a second loss for the latter. This was a marathon of a match characterised by some rallies which seemed as if they would never end. In all, the ball was struck 714 times in a game of an hour and a half, thirty six minutes of which was actual playing time. The two pairs were very closely matched in most of these attritional rallies but overall, Xala and Barriola had the edge. No one player had an excellent game as errors were a greater contributor to the final tallies than were winners, but Xala’s greater accuracy at the front proved crucial. Gonzalez failed to find any sort of stride until the second part of the game, when he and Zubieta managed to close in from 9-18 to 15-19. He proved in this passage that he is capabale of stunning winners but all too often in the game as a whole he missed shots which should have been winners. Barriola probably comes out of the game with the most credit; in such a contest, three errors is not a high total, especially when balanced with one winner, and he defended with his usual solidity. Zubieta also played well on occasion but was prone to let the odd ball slip through his net. Xala and Barriola therefore march onwards with little stress, while Gonzalez and Zubieta must find a way to win. They will be encouraged however that for much of this game they looked like a solid unit, undone by the fact that the difference between winning and losing any point can be very small.

In Pamplona on Saturday, Aimar Olaizola demonstrated his human side as Bengoetxea VI and Beroiz beat Olaizola II and Ibai Zabala 22-19. All four pelotraris played an excellent match. Olaizola and Zabala had the early upper hand, going ahead 9-4 as the former continued in his dominating ways. However, Bengoetxea moved into attack mode, taking the game to his rival, and with the help of Beroiz who was solid as a rock took his pair into an 18-15 lead. Olaizola had several lapses which gave the blues room to breathe. The game remained very tight until the death, with the scoreboard reaching 17-18 and 18-19, but from this juncture, Bengoetxea’s determination coupled with Beroiz’s potent hitting from the back took them to the line. It is a combination of skills which promises to take them far, and though it is early days, they must be considered one of the favourites for this title. Olaizola and Zabala, though they lost out, can be encouraged by another good display. Zabala played well and has already done much to silence the doubters. The question is whether he can continue to play at the requisite level, week upon week.

There was a surprise on Sunday in Eibar as Arretxe II and Begino proved the undoing of Berasaluze VIII and Albisu, winning 22-20.The underdogs counfounded all expectations by going ahead early and staying there for much of the match, leading 1-4, 6-10 and 9-14. It seemed inevitable that the dogged Berasaluze wold find a way to come back into it and so he did, leading from the front to take his pair to parity at 15-15. The momentum swing seemed terminal, and the 2011-12 version of Arretxe and Begino would surely have folded at this point. However, perhaps determined to prove his worth, Arretxe found some considerable fire in the belly to halt Berasaluze in his tracks, turning 15-17 into 19-17. Thanks to a string of unfortunate mistakes from Albisu, who repeatedly did all the hard wirk before blowing the denouement, they were able to hold out for a shock win. Maybe their 2013 vintage will be a better one. Berasaluze and Albisu, on paper such an attractive pair, now have two losses and much watch their step.

Pairs Championship: first week wins for Irujo-Zabaleta and Bengoetxea-Beroiz

Also victorious in the first round of Pairs Championsip matches were Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta and Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz. Irujo and debutant Zabaleta were not overly stretched in beating Gonzalez and Zubieta at Labrit last Sunday, running out 22-11 winners. Far closer was Bengoetxea and Beroiz’s win over Berasaluze VIII and Albisu, which finished 22-21. This looked like the most enticing of the first rotation’s matches on paper, with two evenly matched pairs featuring two of the most dynamic forwards on the circuit. Bengoetxea and Berasaluze have both been in great form recently, coming second and third respectively in the Cuatro y Medio and they put on a great show at a buzzing Bizkaia. For the first part of the match, affairs were extremely close with the eventual winners pegged back from 7-4 to 7-8 before the pairs were locked in combat on eight, nine and ten. Beraslauze and Albisu edged ahead 12-10 before Bengoetxea and Beroiz began to exert pressure and looked to be heading for a reasonably comfortable triumph. Thanks to the potency of Bengoetxea’s shot play and the rock solid defence of Beroiz, they forged ahead to 16-12 and 19-14. However, Berasaluze is nothing if not tenacious and, audibly goading Albisu on, he led a revival. They closed to 17-19 before Bengoetxea and Beroiz steadied the ship, giving themselves four shots at match point on 21-17. However, again their rivals fought back, setting up a winner-takes-all final point from 21-21. In a point of high tension, it was Berasaluze who fell first, handing the game to Bengoetxea and Beroiz when his strike fell agonisingly low. We will surely here much more from both couples as the championship progresses.

Victory in Bilbao for Oinatz Bengoetxea

Victory in Bilbao for Oinatz Bengoetxea

2013 Pairs Championship line up creates talking points aplenty

The combinations for the 2013 Pairs Championship were announced yesterday at the Hotel Karlos Arguiñano in Zarautz. They are as follows:

For Asegarce: Olaizola II-Ibai Zabala, Bengoetxea VI-Beroiz, Berasaluze VIII-Albisu, Arretxe II-Begino
For Aspe: Martinez de Irujo-Zabaleta, Xala-Barriola, Gonzalez-Zubieta, Titin III-Merino II

The empresas usually spring some surprises with their line ups, but this year’s pairs give rise to more discussion points than is common. The most obvious place to start is the pairing of Aimar Olaizola with Ibai Zabala. Zabala is a debutant in the championship and has rarely played at this level even in matches which matter for little. His inclusion is a major surprise, as he has apparently done very little in the past year to press for selection. Alexis Apraiz will feel aggrieved and not without reason; he himself has rarely set the world on fire this year but has consistently played on a higher level than Zabala, and is far more experienced. Also unexpected is the fact that Zabala plays Olaizola. Olaizola and Beroiz were nigh on unbeatable as a combination in the 2012 championship, only falling in the semi finals where Beroiz was badly hampered by hand problems. They won all of their round robin matches, an unprecedented feat. It is puzzling as to why Asegarce would not give them another shot but more confusing is why Olaizola would be given Zabala as a partner instead. There is little sense in putting a debutant with an inexperienced partner, and thus Zabala must feel all his Christmases have come at once, but it is hard to see this partnership going all the way, even with Olaizola at the helm. Olaizola is Asegarce’s golden goose but they seem to have shot themselves in the foot here by severely denting his chances of winning another title.

The other Asegarce pairings are less of a shock; one could argue for Beroiz being teamed with Olaizola again, but with Bengoetxea he should go far nonetheless. This looks like one of the strongest teams on paper. Berasaluze and Albisu resume their partnership from 2012 when they very nearly made the final. Slightly puzzling though is the second chance being afforded to Arretxe and Begino, who were very poor last year in winning only three of their fourteen matches in the opening stage and suffering a string of very heavy losses. There was a definite case here for giving a younger player such as Urrutikoetxea a shot at the highest level, and many would argue for retaining Apraiz over Begino who has never regained the level which saw him win the title with Olaizola in 2011.

There are two major talking points in the Aspe line up. The first of these is the debut of Zabaleta, which is well deserved. The empresa has clearly been grooming him for the big league and his recent performances hinted at a forthcoming selection. The fact that they have paired him with Irujo is a major vote of confidence and it is easy to see them going far here. Laskurain is the victim in this, as the defender forced to make way from last year’s selection. He may have cause to complain after finishing a slightly unexpected runner-up with Xala last year, but on current form it is unsurprising that he was the one to go.

The other main topic for discussion as far as Aspe are concerned, and perhaps the biggest surprise, is the inclusion of Gonzalez over a whole string of young pretenders with excellent claims. Gonzalez was left out in 2012 in favour of Aritz Lasa and made his hurt very evident in the press, later being forced to apologise to his employers for his words. Throughout the intervening year he has done very little to prove that their decision was ill advised, having very rarely been at his best, if at all. Aspe has an embarrassment of riches on the forward front and four other players legitimately made their cases for selection. Jon Jaunarena is young and perhaps they wish to bring him on more slowly, but he has won all three Promocion titles this year as well as embarrassing many far older players. There is nothing more he could have done to present his case. Also banging on the door was Joseba Ezkurdia who looked to be on a fast track to the top level, being blooded repeatedly in headline matches and more than holding his own. Perhaps Aspe thought that he, too, needed more time. If they were reluctant to gamble on a very young player though, the time was surely right for Retegi Bi, and especially for Idoate. These two seem stuck in limbo, surely good enough to be given a chance at the main championship but too experienced for the Promocion. If Aspe wanted to look to the future and develop the players who will be amongst their stalwarts in the years to come, giving one or other of them the chance to shine now would have seemed prudent. Their only consolation is that neither Gonzalez nor Titin can go on for ever, but then again, if Jaunarena and Ezkurdia fulfil their promise they may miss their chance entirely, condemned to inhabit the gap between the upper and lower level in perpetuity. Xala and Barriola will be solid and there is little about which to argue here, although given the past successes and clear chemistry of Xala and Zubieta as a pair, one could have argued for that. Finally, Titin and Merino get the chance to defend their title, which is right, proper and fair.

It is four months before we will know which of these pairs will prove the best. The Pairs Championship always produces surprises, pairs who exceed the sum of their parts and stellar combinations which never quite gel. Whatever one makes of the pairs presented in December, the journey is always a fascinating one, and very definitely a marathon rather than a sprint. The fun kicks off this Friday and there will be much to entertain us over the Christmas:

Friday 21st December, Najera: XALA – BARRIOLA v ARRETXE II – BEGINO
Saturday 22nd December, Pamplona:
GONZALEZ – ZUBIETA v MARTINEZ DE IRUJO – ZABALETA
Sunday 23rd December, Bilbao:
BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU v BENGOETXEA VI – BEROIZ
Tuesday 25th December, Eibar:
OLAIZOLA II – IBAI ZABALA v TITIN III – MERINO II

Can the Riojans take the top step again in 2013?

Can the Riojans take the top step again in 2013?

Photo: mine