Monday, December 15, 2025
Urrutia and Del Río gave the surprise this Monday in the Gernika Punta Cana Winter Series. Their comeback against Urreisti and López means that they keep their chances of being in the semifinals of the competition intact. The Basque-French and the Alava player made their debut in the tournament after the forward had finished his season at the Magic City fronton in Miami. He arrived on Saturday and rehearsed in Saint Jean de Luz. He jumped onto the demanding court of the town without having set foot on it since last year. But it more than met expectations.
Del Río accompanied him perfectly. It is true that he made some bad decisions that cost them the first set, but the Victorian recovered, brought a lot of shine to his forehand and performed at a high level. This victory is a huge morale boost for both and a serious warning for Barandika and Basque, with whom they will be fighting for second place in the group.
Urreisti and López were already qualified for the next round, but they missed a nice opportunity to close the first phase with a good feeling. They miraculously saved the first game, and gave in to the greater ambition of their rivals in the remaining two.
Urrutia and Del Río cleared up any unknowns from the beginning of the contest to which they held on through work and self-confidence. The best start by the Mutriku striker, who exploited the two walls to perfection, gave the Gipuzkoans a three-goal advantage in the first break (8-5), but the return to the field of their opponents was forceful. Urrutia opted for the drop to the ‘txoko’ seeing that his rival was quick on his legs in the width, and his defender began to strike better with his right foot to find spaces and raise doubts in his rivals. Urreisti missed several balls without much mystery outside, and those who dressed in brown chained six goals in a row that added a lot of spice to the set. Anxiety got the better of the Basque-French next, but it was temporary because the Alava player helped him get back into the match and they ended up with a 12-14 lead. However, they saw how the game slipped away from them by just the bare minimum (14-15).
The second lost in quality. The goals were short because the forwards were in a hurry and errors occurred. Urrutia moved better in this position, while in the long frames the forces were more equal. They maintained equality until they tied at ten, and Del Río removed the thorn with a great finish in which he broke the tiebreaker with a two-wall from the eleventh frame and with a perfect cut that closed the set (12-15).
New reaction
With swords raised high, the last match began, in which the defeated team had a 2-0 lead at the start. Urrutia and Del Río ran out of margin for error but responded perfectly. The electric forward took a risk and scored three goals, two from the side and one from the right back, impeccable. Their defender once again put in a right-handed shot without response that marked the fourth goal, but he dropped a backhanded ball on the rebound. However, he remained focused and closed the match with another right cross (4-5).
