Necol--Ibai-Perez defeated Zubiri--Imanol 3-1 (10-6, 5-10, 10-8, 10-9) at Bizkaia (Bilbo (Bilbao)) on June 18, 2016
Full Match Video (Source: EITB) Match begins at 1 hour, 6 minutes, 36 seconds on the recording.
This was a match that was much closer than the score indicated. It could easily have gone 5 jokos. Or the team the lost could have just as easily won in 4. When it was over, Zuberi-Imanol, who had won all 7 of their matches going into this one, had their winning streak ended.
Line Scores (winner of the match listed 1st)
Joko 1: 1-0; 1-1; 3-1; 3-3; 4-3; 4-4; 7-4; 7-5; 8-5; 8-6; 10-6 N--I-P
Joko 2: 1-0; 1-5; 2-5; 2-6; 5-6; 5-10 Z-I
Joko 3: 3-0; 3-3; 5-3; 5-4; 6-4; 6-8; 10-8 N--I-P
Joko 4: 2-0; 2-1; 5-1; 5-2; 7-2; 7-5; 8-5; 8-9; 10-9 N--I-P
Note that the largest run in the match was 5 points (Joko 2). The serve changed hands 29 times. The total point match score was 35-33 N--I-P. And yet they were able to win the match in 4 jokos.
Front Courters
Necol: 14 eginaks, 9 galduaks; Zubiri: 6, 8
Back Courters
Ibai-Perez: 5, 7; Imanol 11, 8
Note the mirror image scoring of the two teams. Imanol had a big day and kept his team in the game repeatedly, with excellent winners (for a breakdown of the types of winners see the full match video recording starting at 2 hours, 8 minutes, 30 seconds and going to 2:09;37, just preceding the post-match ceremony). The ratio of e-g's were almost the same for front and back courters. And the match played just as competitively as the statistics indicated.
It was a match that featured some stupendous points: Joko 1: point beginning at 7-5 consumed 38 balls in play. Joko 2: point beginning at 2-1 consumed 33. Joko 3: point beginning at 2-0 consumed 49, the longest point of the match. In total 16 points consumed over 10 balls in play. I have not researched which modalities average the largest number of balls in play per point, the largest numbers for any point, or what the average topcoding for balls in play would be. I suspect that this brand of Pala would not be highly ranked for any of these. Errors occur with some regularity in Pala matches. Controlling where you hit the ball with the bat Pala players use is extremely difficult. Keeping the ball in play in a match of this significance; knowing when not to go for winners; accuracy and playing within oneself; getting to balls which one shouldn't be able to get to (which all four players did magnificently); all are marks of excellent play. There was a lot of excellent play in this match.
If there was a turning point, it came in the third set, when N--I-P were able, with a little help from a Zubiri mistake, to overcome an 8-6 deficit to win. That might have broken many teams. It looked for a while like it would break Z-I. Down 7-2 in the 4th Joko, they roared back to take a 9-8 lead. But the effort was just short and N--I-P were able to take the last 2 points to win the match. I was disappointed. I wanted another Joko. Pala is an incredibly compelling game when it is played at this level.
