Tournois Ossau Iraty Final:
Aguirre-Lazcano defeated Elgart-Lucu* 40-39
Cedric Lucu, a back courter who I became aware of during this year's Coup de Chasseurs Tournament, being played at Trinquet Garat, Donibane Garazi (Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) (1)(2) (see coverage at Main Nue recurring 50 point match results on the right side of the blog), played an outstanding match in this final.
Lucu is in the back court of the red team, the only one without a name on the back of his shirt. He had been noted for excellent play in the short summary of the CdC semi-final, but there was no match video or statistics. In this final there was match video, so I watched (3 of the players, all but Lazcano, will be featured in the CdC final) and charted the match point by point, in order to keep score, assign winners and errors, and make an enhanced linescore. I don't feel the need to reproduce the entire linescore, but Lucu played an impressive game and I thought you might like to see his highlights. He had 17 winners, a large number for a back courter, and only 1 less than his partner. He also had 5 errors, including the error that ended the game. But I think he shows great promise and that you will enjoy watching him progress.
Links and context of each of his winners are provided below. Note that he doesn't get into the scoring column until the 28th point of the game. But then see how crucial his play is to getting his team back into the game.
Note: I judged these points as Lucu winners. You may disagree with some of these judgements. Feedback is welcome. Please send any to
jbsolock1@gmail.com
1-2. Point begins 19-8 A-La, ends 19-9. 10 balls in play. Followed by the next point ending at 19-10. 5 balls in play.
3. Point begins at 20-12 A-La, ends at 20-13. 3 balls in play.
4. Point begins at 22-16 A-La, ends at 22-17. 19 balls in play.
5-6. Point begins at 23-17 A-La. Ends at 23-18. 4 balls in play. Followed by the next point ending at 23-19, 21 balls inplay.
7-8. Point begins at 23-20 A-La. Ends at 23-21. 11 balls in play. Followed by the next point ending at 23-22. 17 balls in play
9. Point begins at 23-23. Ends at 23-24 E-Lu. 7 balls in play.
10-11. Point begins at 25-24 A-La. Ends at 25-25. 20 balls in play. Followed by the next point ending at 25-26 E-Lu. 19 balls in play.
12. Point beginning at 27-26 A-La. Ends at 27-27. 6 balls in play.
13. Point beginning at 31-28 A-La. Ends at 31-29. 40 balls in play.
14. Point beginning at 32-31 A-La. Ends at 32-32. 4 balls in play.
15. Point beginning at 35-32 A-La. Ends at 35-33. 22 balls in play.
16. Point beginning at 35-34 A-La. Ends at 35-35. 13 balls in play.
17. Point beginning at 36-36. Ends at 36-37 E-Lu. 2 balls in play.
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Showing posts with label Main Nue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Main Nue. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Main Nue--Turnois de Larrau--Trophee Betzula--Enhanced linescore, commentary, and some background on how Larralde and Ducassou got to this point.
Note: the match record information below is based on the Esku Pilota results pages for 2016. This may or may not be all the times Larralde and Ducassou have faced each other this year. It may or may not be all the matches they have played this year.
This match marked the end of Peio Larralde's reign at the top of the EP rankings. Baptiste Ducassou replaced him. It also marked the end of a long and often frustrating chase for Ducassou, a chase that has lasted through much of 2016. For the year, Larralde and Ducassou are now 3-3 in pairs matches they have played against each other. In championship finals, Larralde now leads Ducassou 3-1 in pairs and 1-0 in singles (the individual Championnat de France). But Ducassou has stayed close enough that this match could change the table. They are both far and away the highest ranked players.
For Larralde, it broke a 12 match winning streak that began after a loss in a Lundi Garat match on May 30 (Etchegaray-Guichandut 50, Larralde-de Ezcurra 43). He also had a tournament final winning streak of 5 snapped. For the year 2016 he is now 20-4, and 6-1 in tournament finals.
For Ducassou, the victory raised his match record for 2016 to 25-5 and his tournament final record to 5-5.
Larralde v Ducassou in 2016 (Larralde 4 Ducassou 3)
Championnat de France Individuel Final Feb. 7: L 40, D 22
Championnat de France Pairs Group A match Mar. 12: Beille-Ducassou 40, Larralde-Guichandut 14
Pilotariat Anglet Semi-Final Apr. 29: Etchegaray-Ducassou 40, Larralde-Guichandut 30
Trophee Atharri Final May 14: Larralde-Guichandut 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 38 (Full match video)
Trophee Elhina Final June 26: Larralde-Harismendy 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 33 (Full match video)
Masters de Bayonne Final July 31: Larralde-Guichandut 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 17 (Full match video)
Turnois de Larrau Final August 21: Ospital-Ducassou 40, Larralde-de Ezcurra 33
(Full match video)
Ducassou now holds a 450 point lead over Larralde at the top of the EP rankings table. Both of them are between 4,400 and 4,800 points ahead of the third ranked player, Mathieu Ospital. To put it another way, Ospital is 5 EP 1000 tournaments behind the top two. Things can change rapidly in the course of a few tournaments, but there is a yawning gap at the moment between Ducassou/Larralde and the rest of the EP roster.
================================
Turnois de Larrau Final August 21: Ospital-Ducassou defeated Larralde-de Ezcurra 40-33
(Full match video)
The fact that 36 of the 70 complete points on the video consumed 10 or more balls, 20 consumed 20 or more, and 10 consumed 30 or more (see balls in play-number of points table below) gives an indication of how hard fought this match was. O-D never trailed but this was perhaps a closer match than the final score indicated. The match turned on three consecutive points, the points beginning at 25-23 (49:54-51:40 on the recording), 25-24 (52:07-53:07) , and 26-24 (54:30-56:44), which consumed 41, 24, and 47 balls respectively. The first and third of these were the longest points of the match. L-D scored 7 straight points to bring the score to 25-24, with 4 Larralde winners and two services aces accounting for the the first 6. After the 49th point was terminated by a marginal error by Ospital, L-A were ready to "take the driver's seat." But it never happened. At the end of the 50th point de Ezcurra was pinned to 5th filet section from the front wall to make a return on an excellent Ospital shot. de Ezcurra had to go into the mesh and pushed off after the return. But he then hesitated and and was nowhere near the right side to cover when Ospital shot a beautiful cross court winner that beat Larralde. Larralde cried out as if he were asking de Ezurra where he was. He then truncated the cry, probably realizing the protocol he may have violated.
Whether de Ezcurra would have had any chance to get the ball is quite problematic. Judge for yourself. I think Ospital made two excellent plays to stop the bleeding and that was that.
What is amazing is that these three points took about 5 minutes to play. When they were over, O-D had re-established a three point lead. They very slowly built on that lead to the end of the match.
Long points are long because great plays are made during them. This match had its share of great plays. Ducassou continually impresses with his court coverage, speed in retreat when chasing a ball on the dugout roof, ability to play great defense off the back foot from the nether reaches of the court, and ability to put points on the scoreboard. Ospital played a great game, staying with Larralde throughout. de Ezcurra was yeoman like in defense. In the end it was Ducassou's offense that made the difference (see scoring summary below).
================================
Since there were no statistics given in the match video or at Esku Pilota, I created some myself.
Enhanced line score and basic statistics.:
Key: Server O-Ospital, L=Larralde; number of balls in play (includes serves, does not include Ospital's one pasa); Score, Player O=Ospital, D=Ducassou, L=Larralde, E= de Ezcurra; +=winner, +a=service ace, - =error. Note that O-D lead the match from start to finish. Winning team is always listed first in the enhanced linescore.
All judgments are my own. Yours may be different. Let this linescore be a point of departure. All serves not returned are scored as service aces. Balls in play count ends when one team does not keep a ball in play.
Linescore is given in decades for convenience.
The match video begins in the middle of the third point of the match.
Toss ?
(0:00-7:48 on the recording)
*incomplete video of the point
?....?........1-0......?
O....?........2-0......?
O...22*.......3-0......O+
O...13........4-0......D+
O....6........4-1......L+
L....1........4-2......L+a
L...16........5-2......O+
O....1........6-2......O+a
O...21........7-2......D+
O...14........7-3......O-
(7:48-18:42 on the recording)
L...30........8-3......D+
O....4........8-4......L+
L...34........9-4......E-
O...14........9-5......L+
L....6.......10-5......O+
O...17.......11-5......D+
O....8.......11-6......L+
L....3.......11-7......L+
L....8.......12-7......D+
O....1.......13-7......O+a
(18:42-30:30 on the recording)
O....1.......14-7......O+a (O: Pasa 1)
O...15.......15-7......O+
O....9.......16-7......L-
O...16.......16-8......O-
L....6.......17-8......O+
O....2.......17-9......E+
L....9......17-10......L+
L....4......18-10......O+
O....9......19-10......D+
O...20......19-11......L+
(30:30-41:38 on the recording)
L...29......19-12......D-
L...18......20-12......O+
O...13......21-12......O+
O....1......22-12......O+a
O...12......22-13......E+
L....5......22-14......L+
L....1......22-15......L+a
L....9......22-16......L+
L...10......23-16......O+
O....3......23-17......E+
(41:38-54:30 on the recording)
L...32......24-17......D+
O....3......25-17......D+
O...12......25-18......L+
L....1......25-19......L+a
L...33......25-20......L+
L....3......25-21......L+
L...35......25-22......L+
L....1......25-23......L+a
The three crucial points
L...41......25-24......O- (49:54-51:40)
L...24......26-24......O+ (52:07-53:07)
(54:30-1:07:45 on the recording)
O...47......27-24......O+ (54:30-56:44)
O...11......28-24......D+
O...14......28-25......L+
L...15......28-26......L+
L...10......29-26......O+
O....7......30-26......O+
O....1......31-26......O+a
O....8......31-27......O-
L...25......31-28......L+
L...32......32-28......D+
(1:07:45--) Note: in the middle of the point starting at 33-29, the sound stops on the recording. From the the point that starts at 33-29 until the end of the match IS REPEATED from 1:22:39-1:35:45, with sound. The dance after the match is also repeated with sound). The comments under the Youtube version of the match explain exactly where to switch to the repeated points with sound.
O....4......32-29......L+
L...20......33-29......O+
O...19......34-29......O+
O...11......35-29......D+
O....1......36-29......O+a
O...16......36-30......L+
L....6......37-30......O+
O....1......38-30......O+a
O....4......38-31......L+
L...35......38-32......L+
L....3......38-33......L+
L...14......39-33......O+
O....4......40-33......L-
Scoring
Ospital...+24(including 7 service aces)...-4
Larralde..+25(including 4 service aces)...-2
Ducassou......+11..-1
de Ezcurra.....+3..-1
=38-33. The first two points of the match (both scored by O-D) were not on the video.
Balls in play (seen on the video): 907. The first two points and part of the third point were not on the video.
Balls in play----Number of points
0-4----21
5-9----13
10-14--12
15-19---8
20-24---4
25-29---2
30-34---6
35-39---2
40-44---1
45-49---1
Note: There are only 70 coded points. The first point on the recording shows 22 balls in play. However, the point is already in play when the recording begins.The longest point of the match was 47 balls in play, the point that began at 26-24 O-D and ended at 27-24 O-D.
Back to the update
This match marked the end of Peio Larralde's reign at the top of the EP rankings. Baptiste Ducassou replaced him. It also marked the end of a long and often frustrating chase for Ducassou, a chase that has lasted through much of 2016. For the year, Larralde and Ducassou are now 3-3 in pairs matches they have played against each other. In championship finals, Larralde now leads Ducassou 3-1 in pairs and 1-0 in singles (the individual Championnat de France). But Ducassou has stayed close enough that this match could change the table. They are both far and away the highest ranked players.
For Larralde, it broke a 12 match winning streak that began after a loss in a Lundi Garat match on May 30 (Etchegaray-Guichandut 50, Larralde-de Ezcurra 43). He also had a tournament final winning streak of 5 snapped. For the year 2016 he is now 20-4, and 6-1 in tournament finals.
For Ducassou, the victory raised his match record for 2016 to 25-5 and his tournament final record to 5-5.
Championnat de France Individuel Final Feb. 7: L 40, D 22
Championnat de France Pairs Group A match Mar. 12: Beille-Ducassou 40, Larralde-Guichandut 14
Pilotariat Anglet Semi-Final Apr. 29: Etchegaray-Ducassou 40, Larralde-Guichandut 30
Trophee Atharri Final May 14: Larralde-Guichandut 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 38 (Full match video)
Trophee Elhina Final June 26: Larralde-Harismendy 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 33 (Full match video)
Masters de Bayonne Final July 31: Larralde-Guichandut 40, Etchegaray-Ducassou 17 (Full match video)
Turnois de Larrau Final August 21: Ospital-Ducassou 40, Larralde-de Ezcurra 33
(Full match video)
Ducassou now holds a 450 point lead over Larralde at the top of the EP rankings table. Both of them are between 4,400 and 4,800 points ahead of the third ranked player, Mathieu Ospital. To put it another way, Ospital is 5 EP 1000 tournaments behind the top two. Things can change rapidly in the course of a few tournaments, but there is a yawning gap at the moment between Ducassou/Larralde and the rest of the EP roster.
================================
Turnois de Larrau Final August 21: Ospital-Ducassou defeated Larralde-de Ezcurra 40-33
(Full match video)
The fact that 36 of the 70 complete points on the video consumed 10 or more balls, 20 consumed 20 or more, and 10 consumed 30 or more (see balls in play-number of points table below) gives an indication of how hard fought this match was. O-D never trailed but this was perhaps a closer match than the final score indicated. The match turned on three consecutive points, the points beginning at 25-23 (49:54-51:40 on the recording), 25-24 (52:07-53:07) , and 26-24 (54:30-56:44), which consumed 41, 24, and 47 balls respectively. The first and third of these were the longest points of the match. L-D scored 7 straight points to bring the score to 25-24, with 4 Larralde winners and two services aces accounting for the the first 6. After the 49th point was terminated by a marginal error by Ospital, L-A were ready to "take the driver's seat." But it never happened. At the end of the 50th point de Ezcurra was pinned to 5th filet section from the front wall to make a return on an excellent Ospital shot. de Ezcurra had to go into the mesh and pushed off after the return. But he then hesitated and and was nowhere near the right side to cover when Ospital shot a beautiful cross court winner that beat Larralde. Larralde cried out as if he were asking de Ezurra where he was. He then truncated the cry, probably realizing the protocol he may have violated.
Whether de Ezcurra would have had any chance to get the ball is quite problematic. Judge for yourself. I think Ospital made two excellent plays to stop the bleeding and that was that.
What is amazing is that these three points took about 5 minutes to play. When they were over, O-D had re-established a three point lead. They very slowly built on that lead to the end of the match.
Long points are long because great plays are made during them. This match had its share of great plays. Ducassou continually impresses with his court coverage, speed in retreat when chasing a ball on the dugout roof, ability to play great defense off the back foot from the nether reaches of the court, and ability to put points on the scoreboard. Ospital played a great game, staying with Larralde throughout. de Ezcurra was yeoman like in defense. In the end it was Ducassou's offense that made the difference (see scoring summary below).
================================
Since there were no statistics given in the match video or at Esku Pilota, I created some myself.
Enhanced line score and basic statistics.:
Key: Server O-Ospital, L=Larralde; number of balls in play (includes serves, does not include Ospital's one pasa); Score, Player O=Ospital, D=Ducassou, L=Larralde, E= de Ezcurra; +=winner, +a=service ace, - =error. Note that O-D lead the match from start to finish. Winning team is always listed first in the enhanced linescore.
All judgments are my own. Yours may be different. Let this linescore be a point of departure. All serves not returned are scored as service aces. Balls in play count ends when one team does not keep a ball in play.
Linescore is given in decades for convenience.
The match video begins in the middle of the third point of the match.
Toss ?
(0:00-7:48 on the recording)
*incomplete video of the point
?....?........1-0......?
O....?........2-0......?
O...22*.......3-0......O+
O...13........4-0......D+
O....6........4-1......L+
L....1........4-2......L+a
L...16........5-2......O+
O....1........6-2......O+a
O...21........7-2......D+
O...14........7-3......O-
(7:48-18:42 on the recording)
L...30........8-3......D+
O....4........8-4......L+
L...34........9-4......E-
O...14........9-5......L+
L....6.......10-5......O+
O...17.......11-5......D+
O....8.......11-6......L+
L....3.......11-7......L+
L....8.......12-7......D+
O....1.......13-7......O+a
(18:42-30:30 on the recording)
O....1.......14-7......O+a (O: Pasa 1)
O...15.......15-7......O+
O....9.......16-7......L-
O...16.......16-8......O-
L....6.......17-8......O+
O....2.......17-9......E+
L....9......17-10......L+
L....4......18-10......O+
O....9......19-10......D+
O...20......19-11......L+
(30:30-41:38 on the recording)
L...29......19-12......D-
L...18......20-12......O+
O...13......21-12......O+
O....1......22-12......O+a
O...12......22-13......E+
L....5......22-14......L+
L....1......22-15......L+a
L....9......22-16......L+
L...10......23-16......O+
O....3......23-17......E+
(41:38-54:30 on the recording)
L...32......24-17......D+
O....3......25-17......D+
O...12......25-18......L+
L....1......25-19......L+a
L...33......25-20......L+
L....3......25-21......L+
L...35......25-22......L+
L....1......25-23......L+a
The three crucial points
L...41......25-24......O- (49:54-51:40)
L...24......26-24......O+ (52:07-53:07)
(54:30-1:07:45 on the recording)
O...47......27-24......O+ (54:30-56:44)
O...11......28-24......D+
O...14......28-25......L+
L...15......28-26......L+
L...10......29-26......O+
O....7......30-26......O+
O....1......31-26......O+a
O....8......31-27......O-
L...25......31-28......L+
L...32......32-28......D+
(1:07:45--) Note: in the middle of the point starting at 33-29, the sound stops on the recording. From the the point that starts at 33-29 until the end of the match IS REPEATED from 1:22:39-1:35:45, with sound. The dance after the match is also repeated with sound). The comments under the Youtube version of the match explain exactly where to switch to the repeated points with sound.
O....4......32-29......L+
L...20......33-29......O+
O...19......34-29......O+
O...11......35-29......D+
O....1......36-29......O+a
O...16......36-30......L+
L....6......37-30......O+
O....1......38-30......O+a
O....4......38-31......L+
L...35......38-32......L+
L....3......38-33......L+
L...14......39-33......O+
O....4......40-33......L-
Scoring
Ospital...+24(including 7 service aces)...-4
Larralde..+25(including 4 service aces)...-2
Ducassou......+11..-1
de Ezcurra.....+3..-1
=38-33. The first two points of the match (both scored by O-D) were not on the video.
Balls in play (seen on the video): 907. The first two points and part of the third point were not on the video.
Balls in play----Number of points
0-4----21
5-9----13
10-14--12
15-19---8
20-24---4
25-29---2
30-34---6
35-39---2
40-44---1
45-49---1
Note: There are only 70 coded points. The first point on the recording shows 22 balls in play. However, the point is already in play when the recording begins.The longest point of the match was 47 balls in play, the point that began at 26-24 O-D and ended at 27-24 O-D.
Back to the update
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Main Nue--Trophee de la Rune--Match Summary and Comparison between singles Mano and Main Neu
Full Match Video (Source: Esku Pilota Youtube site)
Note: as always, when I judge winners and errors, as opposed to pointing to an official accounting of them, the judgments are completely subjective. Yours may be different. I would love any feedback that would help me judge winners and errors better.
Ducassou started this match with a bang: 4 consecutive service aces. And while some excellent play by Guichandot (6 winners and 2 aces) allowed him to close from 9-2 to 12-10, that was the closest he got. Ducassou answered this challenge with a 15 point run, and cruised home from there. According to the scoring judgments I made, Ducassou had 35 winners (inlcuding 8 service aces) and 2 errors (including 1 service fault). Guichandut had 17 winners (including 2 service aces) and 4 errors (including 1 service fault). There was one point (the 30th point of the match, won by Ducassou to make the score 20-10) that I could not see the outcome of). So it was a remarkably error free match. Ducassou had to earn everything he got.
This match makes a fascinating comparison with the Mano singles matches discussed above. This match was between two back courters. Everyone in the tournament was a back courter. In the San Fermin 4/12 tournament all except one of the contestants (Urrutikoetxea) was a front courter. In the Buruz Buruko Txapelketa front courters dominated the proceedings. I am not sure, but I suspect this has everything to do with the different geographies of the courts. The back courters are much more quick and mobile, for the most part, in Main Neu than in Mano. Various strategies have to be worked out. In the Buruz Buruko a single, brutal, and constant strategy of power was applied (until the last match) for victory by Irribarria because he knew that front courters wouldn't have the range to play from deep in the court. In the San Fermin, more subtle strategies are applied, but they basically apply to a half-court game. In the Trophee de la Rune final, we saw both power and finesse. The whole court is in use and can be used offensively or defensively. It's a fascinating comparison and you may disagree, but it makes for very interesting watching.
Back to the update
Note: as always, when I judge winners and errors, as opposed to pointing to an official accounting of them, the judgments are completely subjective. Yours may be different. I would love any feedback that would help me judge winners and errors better.
Ducassou started this match with a bang: 4 consecutive service aces. And while some excellent play by Guichandot (6 winners and 2 aces) allowed him to close from 9-2 to 12-10, that was the closest he got. Ducassou answered this challenge with a 15 point run, and cruised home from there. According to the scoring judgments I made, Ducassou had 35 winners (inlcuding 8 service aces) and 2 errors (including 1 service fault). Guichandut had 17 winners (including 2 service aces) and 4 errors (including 1 service fault). There was one point (the 30th point of the match, won by Ducassou to make the score 20-10) that I could not see the outcome of). So it was a remarkably error free match. Ducassou had to earn everything he got.
This match makes a fascinating comparison with the Mano singles matches discussed above. This match was between two back courters. Everyone in the tournament was a back courter. In the San Fermin 4/12 tournament all except one of the contestants (Urrutikoetxea) was a front courter. In the Buruz Buruko Txapelketa front courters dominated the proceedings. I am not sure, but I suspect this has everything to do with the different geographies of the courts. The back courters are much more quick and mobile, for the most part, in Main Neu than in Mano. Various strategies have to be worked out. In the Buruz Buruko a single, brutal, and constant strategy of power was applied (until the last match) for victory by Irribarria because he knew that front courters wouldn't have the range to play from deep in the court. In the San Fermin, more subtle strategies are applied, but they basically apply to a half-court game. In the Trophee de la Rune final, we saw both power and finesse. The whole court is in use and can be used offensively or defensively. It's a fascinating comparison and you may disagree, but it makes for very interesting watching.
Back to the update
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