“Nobody gifted me anything”

Clenched fists and a cry that was heard throughout the Bizkaia fronton. This is how Erik Jaka celebrated his first Manomanista. Then he lay face down on the floor for a few seconds to try to digest what he had accomplished, but minutes later, when he showed up in the press room, he still hadn’t. “I do not know how I am. If beating Urrutikoetxea I was floating, and when I surpassed Elezkano II I was in heaven, imagine now. I think that I am still not aware of what I have achieved and with the days I may give it the value it has. I have achieved a hand-to-hand txapela, the greatest achievement of professional ball, “he said.

He is at the top, so that of Lizartza was “very proud of myself” because few had him. “But the work that I have been doing in recent years has paid off. Nobody has given me anything and I have achieved it trusting in my possibilities », said. After the victory, the champion did not want to forget his surroundings, his coaches “and Jokin, who is a wonderful person and if I am here today it is also thanks to him.” He also had words for the people he lacks “like my mistress and my uncle Joxe”, and for those who put up with him every day like “my girlfriend and my father.”

From his point of view, the key was that he knew how to play his rival after starting focused, “get him out of his place, because if he has a thousandth to think, he will dominate and do you both”, he admitted. He managed to dominate during most of the contest and although it was difficult for him to close it, “in general it is to be happy.”

Jaka suffered a contracture in the quadriceps femoris of his left leg, according to the first diagnosis made by the doctor José María Urrutia, due to the effort made. There does not appear to be a tear, but tests will be done throughout the week if the injury does not progress properly. «Halfway through the game I started to feel a discomfort in my left thigh. After goal 18, when we sat down, I was stiff and thankfully I had the serve and I made three quick goals. Then, in most of the serves that Altuna has given me, I couldn’t force myself, but they are things that happen. You have to play with what you have, “said the champion.

Altuna III’s tears

Jokin Altuna couldn’t hold back his tears as soon as he was defeated. He had to take several breaths before speaking to the media. It was broken. «I have not given my level. He has pressured me a lot from the beginning, that’s why he beat me », he managed to say. For the match held, he considered that “Jaka deserved to win. It couldn’t be that I play without hitting the ball, it was a disaster. I have not recognized myself on the court and it is very sad, “he said. He did not raise his head. To the point of admitting that at that moment he did not know if he was “going to play Four and a Half.”