Remonte--Euskal Jai Berri--XIV Tourneo Individual de Remonte de Navidad Semi-finals and Final

Euskal Jai Berri will  shortly announce its schedule of Tournaments and independent matches for 2019.

Except for the San Fermin Tournament (links are to the 2018 tournament)

Match Article (Oriamendi2010)
Full Match Video (EITB--which includes a beautiful ceremony celebrating the career of the legendary Koteto Ezkurra)

it is exclusively a short court circuit. We will keep track of this schedule along with cumulative player records here (see under pages on the right side of the blog). Tournament finals and semi-finals will be covered in the main blog as well.  The Euskal Jai Berri page is designed to complement the recurring Galarreta Star Match Page (also on the right side of the blog) for a more full picture of professional Remonte in the South Basque Country.

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January 12, 2019

Torneo Individual de Remonte de Navidad

Final:

Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona (1) (2)

Urriza (front) 30 Urtasun (front) 28

Preview article (Euskal Jai Berri via Oriamendi2010)

Match article (Euskal Jai Berri via Oriamendi2010)

Selected linescore (winner always listed first)

5-2; 7-7; 7-9; 9-11; 11-17; 17-17; 21-21; 22-22; 24-22; 26-23; 26-27; 27-27; 29-28: 30-28

The final of the 14th edition of this short court tournament was the first to be held outside the confines of Labrit Fronton, Iruna (Pamplona), Navarre. It was held in Barcelona, Catalunya. Described by the match article as "espectacular", it was exactly that. Urriza, the best front man in the sport today, aimed to defend his championship against long time short court specialist Urtasun, who came back to the sport after a four year hiatus, specifically to win tournaments like this. And he almost did. He dominated the proceedings from 2-5 to 17-11, putting Urriza on the defensive. But Urriza then showed just how tenacious a player he is by winning the next 6 points to equal the score. From there it was a battle to the finish, with Urriza finally getting a 26-23 lead, only to have Urtasun score 4 straight points to take back the initiative. The next point was pivotal and very difficult, finally won by Urriza to tie the score. He then served two aces(?).

"Ese tanto dio alas a Urriza, que hizo los dos siguientes después de sendos buenos saques, y le pusieron el partido en la mano."

But Urtasun won the next point before Urriza finally put the match away with a winner. Both players received a standing ovation at the end of the match.

January 4, 2019

Semi-finals:

Labrit, Iruna (Pamplona) (1)(2)

Urtasun (front) 30 Barrenatxea IV (back) 25

Selected linescore; winners always listed first

5-10; 7-11; 10-16; 15-16; 19-19; 20-20; 23-23; 30-25

Urriza (front) 30 Ezkurra II (front) 18

5-1; 9-3; 16-4; 26-8; 30-18

Match article for both matches: (Noticias de Navarra)

These two matches begin the 2019 Remonte season, but are actually an extension of the 2018 final Euskal Jai Berri tournament. For purposes of EJB records we will start here. The results of the two semi finals set up what should be a fascinating final between two front courters,  a short court specialist and The front courter in Remonte at present. Urtasun earned a gritty, determined victory during which he dominated the second half of the match. He outscored Barrenetxea IV 15-9 after trailing 16-15. Even more impressive, he ran the match out with a 7-2 run at the end. Urriza dominated as only he can on the short court, using 7-1 and 10-4 runs to win easily. The final will be played in Barcelona on January 12.

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Euskal Jai Berri Remonte Table Through January 12, 2019

Key: Player; Position (d-delantero (front), z-zaguero (back); match record; points for and against, + (winning) - (losing) streak, tournaments won. Players will be ordered by match winning percentage. 1st tie breaker is most wins. 2nd tie breaker is point differential. 3rd tie breaker is point differential percentage.

A: Torneo Individual Remonte de Navidad.

Urriza(d)--2-0...60-56...+2..1(A)
Urtasun(d)--1-1...58-55...-1
Ezkurra II(d)--0-1...18-30...-1

Barrenetxea IV(z)--0-1...18-30...-1

This post, along with all other posts concerning Euskal Jai Berri short court Remonte tournaments (along with a brief recap of all 2018 tournament results) is available via the Euskal Jai Berri recurring results and cumulative player table page on the right side of the blog..