Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 18:45
He has had a cold for two days, but he hopes to be fit for Saturday’s game at Labrit. Unai Laso and Aitor Elordi play it in the Cuatro y Medio. Whoever wins will be in the semifinals. It is a meeting that “excites him because what is at stake is precious”, but he knows that this time there is no margin for error. He arrives well after being left with “a bittersweet feeling” after the defeat he suffered last Saturday on the same stage. Without taking credit away from Peio Etxeberria, the one from Baiko considers that “he should have beaten him. Since it was such a tough game, maybe I threw in the towel earlier than I should have. It will help me learn for the next ones,” he admits.
The one from Bizkarreta-Gerendiain will face a rival like the Biscayan and needs to avoid his aggressive play “which can be deadly.” «He is a pelota player who can break you with a big blow. “He serves very well and does not forgive in the auction.” His first shot is what he fears the most because “he throws himself well, he hits the ball almost from the two and a half square and a little from the width to hit the ball well into the wall,” he emphasizes. The one from Mallabia has always been a good server and on the Navarrese court with this play “a lot of damage can be done,” says Laso.
From his point of view the tie is 50/50. “We are on equal terms because we have won the same matches.” The difference is that Aspe’s player arrives after better managing a very tight finish against Peña II “and that does a lot for confidence.” “A defeat hurts you, and even more so because of how my match went, but this will be another duel in which there is a lot to win,” he highlights. In addition to being in the next phase, ensure being seeded next season.
«Good taste in the mouth»
For Elordi it will be the third “final” that he will play in this championship. They overcame the round of 16 tie against Zabala and the second match of the quarterfinal group that allowed them to reach the last one alive. “I have gone through two critical situations that can help me,” he says. He arrives after a victory “and with a good taste in his mouth, while Laso may have doubts due to the defeat.”
Unlike his rival, he sees the Navarrese favorite after the results he has been obtaining in recent years. “He is the leader of the other company,” he emphasizes. And although the predictions give a certain favoritism to his rival, the one from Mallabia is aware “that we all have the capacity to beat anyone.”
Both found what they were looking for in the basket this Wednesday, although it was more difficult for the Biscayan despite choosing first. «I noticed that the material was quite cold and the sensations that the balls transmitted were not what we liked. In the end I ended up satisfied with both,” he said. Laso was much faster and also found what he was looking for. “When you choose the second you have less,” he said.
