During the last week the issue has captured a good part of the conversations of the residents of Mallabia. Aitor Elordi is one step away from getting the first txapela of the Couples in the fronton of the Navarra Arena. In the small Vizcaya municipality, which barely exceeds 1,150 inhabitants, the ball is lived with great intensity. Quite a few years have passed since the last local professional hung the ‘gerriko’. “For the people it is something very big that they are so close to winning the title,” acknowledges Itxaso Pradera, president of the local ball club. The municipality is excited about the possibility of having a champion and has turned to live in the moment.
Many have followed him since childhood. Like his uncle Garikoitz Txapartegi, who on some occasions has worked as a botillero with him in individual tournaments. “We know what it has cost him to get there and the work he has had to do to get here. That he has achieved it is something great », he points out.
Gone is the suffering of seeing how he did not give his best version in the second game of the semifinals. But the light of hope came back on in the third and decisive game in which the pass to the top clash was played. The striker managed to overcome the pressure that comes with a match of these characteristics and returned to being the same as the rest of the championship. “It helped him gain confidence for the final because he held up well. He is not going to have an easy game, but we are hopeful that he can achieve it », he highlights.
It is the same feeling that circulates in the rest of the town. Elordi has ignited Mallabia. “He already knows what he has to do against Laso and Imaz and I think he can do it. It is the last game and both he and Zabaleta have to go out and give everything, “adds the head of the club.
Elordi works as a coach at the ball school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, “and the little ones are crazy about what he has done. They already have a very close reference that will be very useful for them », he underlines.
In the barely seven days that they have had since the last game until the summit clash, the task of organizing the different activities that will be held on the occasion of their candidacy for the title has been arduous, but they want the municipality to be a party tomorrow. “A bus will leave for Pamplona at eleven in the morning, while those who want to have a quieter day will go in private cars in the afternoon,” says Ismael Pradera, a member of the ball school.
optimistic
“The last match in the semifinals helped him regain his confidence and we hope he wins”
Food and giant screen
For those who stay in Mallabia, a meal will be held in the pediment, where a giant screen will later be installed so that anyone who wants to can see the final. At night a reception will also be paid. «Everyone is overturned. There are even neighbors who have decided to delay their start on vacation to support him, “adds Itxaso. What’s more, there is someone who has a ticket for the final, he has to work, and he is negotiating with his colleagues so that they change his shift. It is the first final for a local pelotari and no one takes away the illusion.
Everything is ready for the decisive match. Now all that remains is to hope that Elordi manages to climb to the first drawer of the podium. And if he doesn’t, “he too will have won.” «With the championship that he has won, he has taken a big step and has shown that he can handle the greats on a first-name basis. He has come to stay », they agree.