Martija and Altuna celebrate their victory this afternoon at Bilbao’s Bizkaia fronton. /
The man from Amezket already has the triple crown after an epic victory together with a heroic Martija over Laso and Imaz, who wasted an 11-17
Surely the four finalists, very young, have not seen the late Juan Gómez ‘Juanito’ play football. Perhaps you have heard of the temperamental Real Madrid player who one day stepped on the head of the German Lothar Matthaus, another received a bottle in Belgrade after making the gesture of defeat to the then Yugoslav public and one afternoon he was fired with a standing ovation in the Atotxa field . That character coined the phrase that the matches at the Bernabéu are ‘molto longos’, in less fine Italian than that of the Tuscans. Team that visited the stadium, team that they traced back to. We all know how the referees spend it there and how much they extend the discounts if necessary.
Laso begins to think the same about the finals against Jokin Altuna. They are very long. And it is not even necessary for the judges to side with the Amezketarra. The one from Bizkarreta sees the victory close, caresses it with the tips of his fingers, does not finish closing it and it escapes him. With yesterday’s there are already three with the same result, 22-20. The first in the Navarran Four and a half in the Labrit, the second with the official title of the Four and a half at stake in Bizkaia and the third in the Couples Championship, again in Bilbao. In Astelena, during the first phase of this tournament, he raised a 21-17. Once again he escapes alive.
20
LASO IMAZ
22
ALTUNA III MARTIA
3 – 7
First advantage for Laso and Imaz. Hard start. They have 209 good balls at this point in the game.8 – 7
Reaction of Altuna and Martija, who not only raise the 7-7 to the electronic, but also take the lead.10 – 8
The Colorados increase their advantage, but the balance is maximum and they have already reached 400 balls. Altuna III does not finish booting.11 – 17
Imaz begins to hit more from the right and Martija accuses the trot. Laso’s right makes a difference in the game.21 – 17
Absolute turnaround on the scoreboard thanks to a run of ten goals. Some grow up. The others fail more than necessary and shrink.22 – 20
One hundred and two minutes after starting, Altuna III closes the match with an unanswered besagain.Breaks:
Both couples exhausted the two that the regulation grants them apart from the mandatory points 12 and 18.Exit odds:
on par with a trend for Altuna-Martija. 70-80 to 100 below.Incidents:
Bilbao’s Bizkaia reached a full capacity with 2,895 spectators and experienced the atmosphere of the great evenings of pelota. The judges withdrew a ball after 2-1.
Never had the txapela been so close as on this occasion. Unai Laso and Ander Imaz not only acquired an advantage of six goals at 11-17. They completely dominated the game, Martija already accused the trot and Altuna III, too conservative, had greater difficulties to enter the game, almost never near the front.
But the Amezketarra clings to the finals like a limpet, forces the opponent to do almost everything right and takes advantage of the concessions. If on top of that the opponents lose six of the last twelve goals, the comeback goes from impossible to feasible. It happened in Bizkaia, where Altuna III and Martija turned the 11-17 against into 21-17 in favor when they painted enough for them. And they finished it off with a 22-20 as incredible as it was real.
It is shown again that the champions have something that distinguishes them and that one does not quite discern what it really is. The facts and the results confirm that there is an added difficulty in defeating pelotaris of this lineage. That well appears when they need it most. Like yesterday.
ill-timed gifts
Two clear errors by Imaz and one by Laso halved their lead of six goals. Altuna signed two goals from left serve-shot, among which Imaz made another gift: 17 equals. Not only that. The blues lost those papers that they had managed so well up to that moment.
Not even the cramps that forced Martija to go lame to the locker room after an incredible hit in the txoko stopped the rivals’ bleeding. The tints were dramatic for a moment, as it gave the impression that she had hurt her knee. Laso sent a volley wide with Etxeberri’s defender on the ground (20-17). He returned decimated five minutes later and the one from Bizkarreta received him with a hook to the plate (21-17).
The notes
7 lasso.
The best and most influential in the game until 11-16. He tarnished his performance with precipitation errors in the final stretch.7 Imaz.
He dominated more and more clearly behind and missed two balls in a row after 11-17. He gave life to opponents and they paid for it.6 Altuna III.
Different from the usual. Too conservative. However, he had the virtue of appearing at decisive moments.8 Martha.
Huge effort. He kept the couple on their feet. He went down from the middle of the match due to the pressure exerted by Laso.
The streak was cut short by a forced shot from Altuna in the txoko that hit under sheet metal. 21-18 and hope. Imaz called for medical assistance with a stiff finger on his right hand. Two goals later, it was Laso who stopped due to cramps. The most complete was Altuna III. Also the one who had intervened the least. And he was noted for good.
More epic than good, the final had already exceeded an hour and a half in length. The tension and effort displayed made a dent in the two couples, emptied. They gave more than 800 balls to good, specifically 822. They stayed three minutes from the hour and three quarters. Altuna III resolved with a besagain without a positive response from Laso.
The Amezketarra already has the triple crown. He is the first Gipuzkoan to get it. His name appears alongside those of Retegi II, Arretxe, Olaizola II, Martínez de Irujo, Barriola, Urrutikoetxea and Bengoetxea VI. As he said a few days ago, he is not a better player for winning this final. However, I am convinced that he saw the opportunity and brooded over the obsession within himself. He takes off a weight that he charged. It wasn’t Jokin this time. But he won.
