Monday, December 2, 2024, 10:46 p.m.
The last time he was at the Jai Alai in Gernika was in 2012 to see the developments of young punters who later ended up playing in Dania. They were other times. The top basket was still popular in the United States and we had to look to the youth team to fill gaps in the teams. Twelve years later, Benny Bueno (New York, 1964), mayor of the North American fronton, returned to Euskadi this Monday. It was three years and four days since the final closure of the last bastion of this sport in Florida because the numbers were no longer available, which was the seed of the birth of the Winter Series.
The story took a turn. The American field is still active today with a three-month season with semi-professional pelota players because those responsible for the casino that runs it “like Jai Alai and want to highlight the history of this sport, and thus it is profitable,” Bueno admits. . The professionals are in Euskadi playing in a fronton full again like the one in the provincial town. Sitting in location 98 of the final five of the rebound, Benny Bueno attended the intense victory of Urrutia and Basque over Johan and Lekerika, which qualifies the first for the semifinals and leaves the second with no options to be in the next phase.
He knew the puntistas because most of them played in Dania, and before starting the match he opted for the defeated ones because “Johan works very hard and lives for this, and Lekerika is a little bull who fights on the court.” Before becoming mayor, he was a punter. He played 17 years as a forward and 7 as a defender, so he lived through the era of full stands and saw their decline. And he knows what this sport is about.
There was a lot at stake, especially for those who wore green because a defeat left them out, but they were the ones who started the match the best. The Biarritz forward started with the knife between his teeth and asserted his power, while the Gernika defender was well planted at the back. It was difficult for Urrutia and Basque to enter. They made more mistakes than necessary and the forward did not take advantage of several opportunities to finish, for which they paid the consequences. The pressure was always on them and they saw how Lekerika closed the game with a two-waller from the twelfth box on his third attempt (15-10).
«I expected a more even set, but there have been many mistakes. We will have to see how the defeated react because they risk it in the second,” said Bueno. The answer did not take long to arrive. It cost them a little more, but Urrutia and Basque reacted. They held out at the beginning of the second set, and it was after the tie at four when they improved their version to get it back on track. It didn’t matter that the forward reached the quota of fouls and his rival took advantage of the circumstance to go in for the rest.
They found the formula to turn the situation around. Better integrated and without leaving gaps like in the first game. Urrutia this time took advantage of almost everything he put in the basket in the happy paintings. He entered the rest well and finished. He charged back when he deemed it appropriate and with his backhand he ran over the defender. Basque gave him the security he needed.
Lost consistency
The dynamic changed. Johan and Lekerika couldn’t stop what came at them. The Biscayan lost consistency at the end of the set and that was where a good part of his chances went (11-15). «They had to risk it and they did it well. There have been a couple of critical errors that have meant that the result was not closer,” stated the mayor of Dania.
They had to play all or nothing. Five points. «Too short. “Anything can happen,” Bueno predicted. Tension invaded the field and the stands, populated mostly by Lekerika fans. It was played like a dog, but the winners managed their nerves better. They risked just enough and were focused on defense. Johan’s successes and failures marked the future of the game. Despite everything, a four-way tie was reached and the match fell on the side of Urrutia and Basque. The full stands applauded the four protagonists after about an hour and twenty minutes of play. “The top basket is very alive,” said Benny Bueno.
