![Filling Deserved More: [Topic Keyword]](https://s2.ppllstatics.com/diariovasco/www/multimedia/2025/12/25/IMG-20251225-WA0006-kG4H-U240665541379LCE-1200x840@Diario%20Vasco.jpg "Filling Deserved More: [Topic Keyword]")
Turronero was the adjective that bad matches received during the Christmas period before the companies bet on the Couples Championship to … cover this stretch of the calendar. The significance of the points seemed enough to erase that epithet and make it disappear from the baseball vocabulary. However, some embers must remain according to what was seen this Thursday in a packed Astelena and with a gala atmosphere.
Such a response from the public and a full house of this caliber deserved much more. The 1,110 ball players present attended a poor stellar performance. It ended with whistles, few and far between. No one made firewood from the fallen tree.
-
Playing time:
37 minutes and 14 seconds. -
Good shots:
225 -
Serving points:
Artola, 1. Elordi, 4. -
Serving faults:
Artola, 0. Elordi, 0. -
So many at stake:
Artola, 1. Imaz, 0. Elordi, 8. Zabaleta, 4. -
So many losses:
Artola, 2. Imaz, 4. Elordi, 4. Zabaleta, 0. -
Marker:
2-0, 2-13, 4-13, 4-18, 5-18, 5-19, 6-19 y 6-22. -
Exit odds:
100 to 80 in favor of Elordi and Zabaleta. 60 to 100 below. -
Incidences:
Spectacular full house at the Astelena in Eibar for the traditional performance on December 25. 1,100 spectators. Lots of young people. In the opening act, Gabirondo knocked down the bookmaker Benjamín Lazkano on the counter-court boards by diving to the ground for a ball. There were no injuries.
No sign of Artola and Imaz on the field. The couple, whose combative spirit characterizes them precisely, was only physically present. They received a resounding blow from Elordi and Zabaleta, reflected in the final 6-22, a respite for the Aspe hosts after a barren weekend in which they did not add any victory.
They finished in 37 minutes and 225 shots. It could have been even worse because they reached the halfway point of the match in less than a quarter of an hour despite the fact that Artola and Imaz had already requested a break and had only hit each other 87 times. A similar second half would have led to a clash lasting less than 30 minutes and around 175 shots.
Two breaks before regulation
The helplessness and desperation of Artola and Imaz reached such a level that before the first stoppage required by the regulations in the twelfth score they had already consumed the two that the regulations grant to each pair, the first at 2-8 and the second at 2-11. The two left-footed walls with which Artola stopped the thirteen-goal run by Elordi and Zabaleta caused the usual reaction among the noisy parish, which sides with the weak or the laggard on the scoreboard. However, Baiko’s duo gave so few reasons to trust her that the hint of enthusiasm remained just that, a hint. No more sign of reaction.
The crash leaves eloquent data to understand what happened at Astelena. Five of the losers’ six goals were the result of errors by the winning team. Elordi missed four balls, three in clear attacking positions and two of them right at the start (1-0 and 2-0). Zabaleta sent the return of a serve from Artola to the top mattress with his left foot. The offensive production of the red couple was limited to a solitary shot by the Alegia forward.
Elordi and Zabaleta add their fourth point and tie in the lead with Laso and Albisu, pending to play on Sunday against Altuna and Ezkurdia within this day. Artola, blurred from beginning to end, and Ander Imaz, dominated by Zabaleta who unleashed his right hand with spark, must turn the page. Even the oiartzuarra’s self-love failed him, this time lacking a defensive response.
