MARTINEZ DE IRUJO –BARRIOLA beat BERASALUZE VIII – ALBISU 22-13
A narrow loss to Titin and Merino last week aside, Berasaluze and Albisu had been going excellently in recent rotations. They must surely have come into this match at a teeming Idiazabal with high hopes of toppling Irujo and Barriola, who were looking to stave off a third loss on the bounce. However, in a match which was not always pretty, the favourites battled from 2-6 to 15-8 and maintained a comfortable margin to the end. Irujo clearly had the better of Berasaluze, who was too error prone to maintain any lasting pressure. He managed nine winners to three errors, and while his forward rival beat him nine times, he also lapsed on seven occasions. The defenders were slightly more evenly matched, but the figures give an accurate indication of a Barriola who was more in control than his young counterpart Albisu. Irujo and Barriola rise to second, while Berasaluze and Albisu slip below them into third.
Scoring sequence: 1-0/5-1/6-2/7/8-15/10-15/11-17/13-18/13-22
Winners/errors: Irujo 9/3, Berasaluze 9/7, Barriola 2/1, Albisu 0/3
Match time: 52 minutes with 21 minutes of actual play. Balls hit: 449
OLAIZOLA II-BEROIZ v ARITZ LASA-PASCUAL* Suspended at 14-9 due to an injury to Pascual
Aitor Zubieta was replaced by Inigo Pascual in Tolosa due to an injured hand, and it was extraordinary bad luck for he and partner Aritz Lasa that his replacement succumbed to a strained back soon after. Lasa and Zubieta badly need points and this misfortune robbed them of any chance, though in reality a win against the top pair would have been unlikely. Neither has it done much for their points difference; while Olaizola and Beroiz had begun to accelerate away when the injury occurred, they were not completely out of the running and would likely have minimised the damage at the least. As it is, Olaizola and Beroiz now have their seventh win and stay resolutely on top, while Lasa and Zubieta only have two and are second from bottom.
TITIN III-MERINO* beat ARRETXE II-BEGINO 22-12
Arretxe and Begino travelled to Logrono with a mountain to climb if they wished to secure their first win of the competition. Titin and Miguel Merino, playing in place of his brother David who has an injured hand, were the favourites here and had the added advantage of a home Riojan crowd. The underdogs started well and tracked their rivals closely before drawing alongside them at 8-8. Begino showed some of his true class early on, taking the game to Merino but when the latter found his form, Begino had Little answer.Titin was far more potent tan Arretxe, who continues to appear rather out of his depth in the top flight.
Scoring sequence: 4-0/ 4/ 7-4/ 7-5/ 7/ 8-7/ 8/ 14-8/ 14-9/ 16-9/ 16-10/ 20-10/ 20-11/ 21-12/ 22-12
Winners/errors: Titin 12/2, Arretxe 8/4, Merino 2/2, Begino 1/4
Match time: 56 minutes, Balls hit: 488
Titin III out did Arretxe II with ease
In the Promocion Championship, Urrutikoetxea-Otxandorena* beat Gorka-Arruti 22-13, Mendizabal III-Penagarikano beat Lemuno-Aretxabaleta 22-14, Apezetxea*-Larrinaga beat Tainta-Mendizabal II* 22-10, and Ongay*-Cecilio beat Rico IV-Untoria 22-17.
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|
PAREJA |
JUG. |
GAN. |
PERD. |
Tf |
Tc |
COEF |
| 1 | Jaunarena-Cecilio | 5 | 4 | 1 | 102 | 70 | 32 |
| 2 | Olazabal-Larrinaga | 5 | 4 | 1 | 94 | 74 | 20 |
| 3 | Urrutikoetxea-Iza | 5 | 3 | 2 | 97 | 86 | 11 |
| 4 | Rico-Untoria | 5 | 3 | 2 | 101 | 100 | 1 |
| 5 | Mendizabal III-Ladis Galarza | 5 | 2 | 3 | 87 | 101 | -14 |
| 6 | Gorka-Arruti | 5 | 2 | 3 | 72 | 99 | -27 |
| 7 | Tainta-Argote | 5 | 1 | 4 | 84 | 99 | -15 |
| 8 | Lemuno-Aretxabaleta | 5 | 1 | 4 | 80 | 99 | -19 |
Photo: mine
