Thursday, December 18, 2025, 10:47 p.m.
They go from less to more. Jon Mariezkurrena and Iker Larrazabal have redirected the course in Couples. The first two matches narrowly escaped them, but in the remaining two they have managed to reach score 22, which has given them the necessary peace of mind to face a key stage in the competition in the next three weeks. This Friday (8:45 p.m.) they begin an intense schedule in Zalla that will take them to play five games in 21 days. «I’m not going to complain because other years it has been worse. The tightest days are from the 26th to the 30th, for the other matches we have more days of rest,” says the Baiko defender. From his point of view, «it is a beautiful time because the frontons are usually happy, but at the same time complicated and hard. If you leave too many points behind, you can be condemned,” he warns.
It is the comment that is floating around these days in the tables of both companies. «If you are a little careless, the championship is gone. They are very important dates on which you have to be very focused. “You have to get the maximum number of points possible to continue in the fight.” At 26 years old, in this tournament he had to wear the stripes of the combination. His company has assigned the Alava striker as a partner, who is making his debut in the most demanding competition. They had already played several summer tournaments before. Two years ago they reached the San Fermín final and in August they won the La Blanca final, “but Parejas is not the same,” he emphasizes.
For Olabezar it is not easy either. «Going from the lights from second to first there is a big difference. In the first two games I saw him a little nervous and when he missed a ball he was crestfallen, but we talk every week and I already tell him that if one of us is sad we are not going to win,” he emphasizes. With the current one, the one from Berriozar has already accumulated eight championships and knows that there is still a lot of fabric to be cut. «We have to look forward. I encourage you to bring out your game because it is what has allowed you to be here. He has earned his position. I think that little by little it will get better and now we have to join together as a couple.
The striker is a pelota player who lets himself go. «He asks me a lot about everything. He lets me do, even too much. This is a couple and if we are both united this will go much better. Little by little we are understanding each other better and that is important,” he points out.
Mariezkurrena II is “comfortable” with his game. He has been fine since the summer. The hand problems that once caused him a big headache have taken a backseat. «In the end there is always someone. These days I’m not at 100% either, but I’ve been learning how to put on heels for many years because I’ve had some good ordeals. Now I do it in a different way and you also play in a different way, something that makes them last longer,” he summarizes.
break the ball
The first tournaments I always wanted to break the ball, “hit the other defender” and hit the ball from all sides. And so in addition to failing more, he punished himself a lot. «I have improved that. Before I played every game at 200%, and now I try to dose it a little more. Hold on longer. And that is very noticeable for the hands and from a physical point of view,” he adds.
Tonight he will have Zabala and Martija as rivals at Mimetiz de Zalla, a combination with which they are tied at two wins. «They are a very tough couple. Unpredictable. It can be very rocky because Martija gives it that security. Aside from the first game in which I saw him a little fairer, he has played the other three very well. Zabala is the one who manages the game a little. He has always had those ups and downs that such an explosive pelota player has, but now he is in a very good moment of play,” he concludes.
