A Look at the Battle Court Teams. Posted on August 9, 2023 at 07:02:37 PM by jatna77
This is my subjective opinion of the players on each rank. I am not basing it on their statistics. I would love to hear your opinions.
First to last.
Goxerri>Inaki>Douglas>Zulaika>Manu
This one is hard to judge because Manu is an excellent back-courter but the rest are first-rate front-courters. Also, Zulaika was up and down in performance last year, so he is hard to judge. When he was on, he was incredible. I do hope that Inaki is back in form. I am assuming that he is.
Nicolas>Manny>Aratz>Jairo>Iturbide.
Nicolas, Manny, and Aratz are all solid back-courters but in singles, I would take Nicolas or Manny over Aratz based on how Aratz played last season. Maybe this season he will improve. In singles, Jairo was awesome last year. When he gets more offensive, he can be a devastating front-courter but sometimes he is too tame and defensive. Iturbide has the potential to be truly great in my opinion. I hope he steps up his game this season.
Benny>Julen>Carballo>Goenaga>Urbeita
Benny and Julen are practically interchangeable in singles. Benny is a great back-courter while Julen sometimes struggles. Carballo can be brilliant or not so much, even in a single game. Goenaga has the potential for greatness in my opinion and I hope he finds it. Urbieta is a solid back-courter but he struggled in singles.
Spinner>Ikeda>Correa>Arta with Ubilla an unknown quantity.
Spinner has so much heart and he is a crafty player. Ikeda is quite good but he has seemed a little too defensive as a front-courter in the past. Correa is either on or off. When he is on, he can be quite effective. Arta was just off last season. I hope he improves.
Bueno>Ben>Bradley>Roque>Iriondo
All these guys struggle to catch from time to time. Bueno is the most competent out of this group. I am not sure Iriondo belongs on this rank yet. Surely CRB is currently better? Bradley was looking pretty good when he came back last season, so hopefully that will continue. Roque did a pretty solid job in the back-court as well.
CRB>Jeden>Flores>Williams>Joseph
As I said, I am not sure why CRB is on this rank. After returning from his injury, it took awhile but Jeden seemed like he eventually got his groove back and was playing pretty well. I think Flores learned a lot under Manu and Manny last season but he will probably be relieved to be out from under them lol. Williams and Joseph have both improved a lot since I first started watching them 3+ years ago. I hope they continue to do so. Smart teams will still hammer them as the weak link though.
Battle Court seems to bring out the best in a lot of players. Last season, there was some really first rate play. I hope this season is even better! Replies:
Tiger's Jai-Alai Chalk Talk