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00:00Coginieto, Ixor, Sarr!
00:05These two, they're good mates, they've been a partnership all year long
00:08and the fact that they'd already announced a separation for 2025
00:11hasn't bothered them here in Barcelona at all.
00:14They disposed of Stupacic and Ianguas in the big shock in the quarter-finals,
00:18that draining three-setter.
00:20Disposed of Momo Gonzalez and Edu Arroyo in yesterday's semi-final.
00:24Iaustin, Dambià !
00:27Of these two, the world number ones,
00:31the guys that are on this extraordinary streak of wins.
00:34They have not lost since July the 7th, the final at Genova.
00:40They have played 14 title matches, won them all.
00:45They've only failed to reach a final once, and that was a semi-final in Sevilla.
00:50And they come swaggering in here on the back of a couple of victories.
00:55The last act of Premier Battle 2024, the men's final.
01:13Great block from Nieto.
01:152-2.
01:26He's looking for a very, very tight-angled airtap here and doesn't get it.
01:41Does that go? Nope, not against him.
01:46These half-volley lobs, amazing that they can get so accurate with them.
01:55Too much heat on that.
02:15Oh, my goodness me.
02:19How close was that?
02:35What a pick-up. Yeah, really.
02:45Yeah, that goes.
02:47But that doesn't, yeah.
02:50Agustin Tapia looking to consolidate it.
02:58Wow, what a touch.
03:01And then Cuello says, oh, has Nieto got that? What a shame, what a shame.
03:06Oh, it was a great risk.
03:08It's a perfect split.
03:11Does that go?
03:16Great rescue work from Nieto this time.
03:23Sands for the put-away.
03:25They fight off the set point.
03:31And then Cuello.
03:33Sands for the put-away.
03:35They fight off the set point.
03:43He got that one as well.
03:45He might get that.
03:50It was neat.
03:53Yeah.
04:02Yeah, it doesn't go, so Sands will put it away to bring up a second break point.
04:23Oh, my goodness.
04:25What defensive work here from Tapia.
04:27Just defending the undefendable.
04:30And eventually Sands wins it.
04:33Had to win that three times.
04:47Wow. Stealing.
04:49Yeah, that's crazy. It was a clever shot from Nieto.
04:56Well, keep pushing. Just push, push, push.
04:58You never know what's going to happen.
05:00Exactly. Make him serve it out.
05:05Don't go easy.
05:07Oh, wow.
05:11I mean, that is just ridiculous from Tapia.
05:15Somehow they dug themselves out of that.
05:18Incredible defending from Cuello.
05:30Good enough. John Sands with a flash of defiance.
05:33They've done it. They have held.
05:45No, I don't think that's going to go.
05:48Tapia looking to finish with a flourish there, isn't he?
06:02Oh, that's clever.
06:07Got a chance.
06:10Got a chance.
06:20Sands for the break. Doesn't get it.
06:23Doesn't get it. Koki with the rescue.
06:25Tapia.
06:27Good enough. Good enough.
06:30Oh, how close was that to the break?
06:33I mean, the moment they forced Cuello and Tapia
06:37at the back of the court, they had their chance
06:40and then, oh, just not quite enough.
06:43And then Tapia brings out that smash when he needs it.
06:52Uh-oh.
06:54Oh, my goodness.
06:56Oh!
06:58It's going to come back.
07:00Oh, incredible.
07:02Unbelievable blocking.
07:04Another break point. How have they got this back?
07:07Not once, but twice.
07:09And then, to tease the error out of Tapia.
07:14Like two goalkeepers at the back of the court
07:16just trying to get a racket on the smashes.
07:25They've got to convert one of these break points.
07:35And they have! They have!
07:38Listen to that ovation.
07:45That is a mammoth effort from them to get that break back there.
07:49They had to work so hard for it.
07:51Tapia still going for that smash as well.
07:54Again, I love that fearlessness about...
07:57You can guarantee that Tapia and Cuello are going to attack this set.
08:05Come on, come on.
08:13Oh!
08:14So, two of Sands and Nieto.
08:16He's going to make for a shoot-out here.
08:25Oh, my goodness.
08:34Come on.
08:38I think he enjoyed that one.
08:56Yeah, that'll work. That'll work.
09:05That's going to travel as well.
09:08Holy smoke, what are we seeing?
09:11They've got a bit of a way to go just to get back in their own games.
09:15That looked out.
09:17Bearing in mind, it wasn't that long ago, it was two tournament points.
09:21And they've almost got their speeches ready.
09:34Come on.
09:50There he goes again.
09:54I tell you, if Cuello is poor...
09:56Job done. We're the number one seeds.
09:58We won all these games in a row. We're finished.
10:01It's almost too easy.
10:03Yeah, somebody forgot to tell these guys.
10:05That's more like it.
10:07If they're not awake now, they never will be.
10:09And now, all of a sudden, they're having to scrap.
10:27Wow.
10:28Too good. Too good.
10:30Tournament point, Nieto and Sands.
10:33At the Barcelona party. Tournament point.
10:36Yes!
11:02I tell you.
11:03So close.
11:06Juice.
11:22John Sands doing a great job of causing problems on that side.
11:26Tapia puts it away.
11:57Again.
11:58Surely. Surely not.
12:00Yeah.
12:01Pulls it off. Pulls it off.
12:03Only just. Only just enough.
12:20Unbelievable.
12:22Oh, my goodness.
12:24They're the gatecrashers of all time, these two.
12:26They shouldn't even be in this final.
12:29But in their very last game together,
12:31Koki Nieto and John Sands
12:34have come up with the story of the season.
12:40That's incredible.
12:42They weren't supposed to be here.
12:44Stupacuk and Llanguis were supposed to dispose of them.
12:46Didn't happen.
12:48And then, when Chingallan fell to Gonzalez,
12:51when Chingallan fell to Gonzalez and Arroyo,
12:54they took full advantage,
12:56booked themselves this place in the final,
12:58and everything was going according to plan.
13:01Tournament points for the number one seeds,
13:04who somehow have lost control of the match.
13:08And Koki Nieto and John Sands have ripped it from them,
13:11torn up the script and said,
13:13guess what, we're going out on the highest of highs.
13:16That is an incredible, incredible performance of these two.
13:21I mean, we spent the first set and a half there
13:23talking about how they were too dominant, Tapia and Cuello,
13:26and there really was no chance for their opponents.
13:29And with two championship points for the world number one,
13:33suddenly, it came out of nowhere.
13:36I mean, unfair play to them.
13:38Not only did they win that set,
13:39they fought and fought and fought the whole way through the third set.
13:43And, yeah, some amazing, flawless paddle there.
13:48I think that was the key for them, Sandy.
13:50They never gave up on a point, did they?
13:52Even when they were just getting blown off the floor,
13:54as we saw earlier in that first set and much of the second set as well,
13:57they never gave up, ever.
13:59So much of this game is determination and consistency and focus.
14:04And, you know, even the world number ones,
14:07the magical Tapia and Cuello, they have dips.
14:11Every player goes through it.
14:13And if you can just be there when it happens as they do,
14:16you're there when it happens as their opponents.
14:18And that's what they did.
14:20Really, really impressive that they were able to maintain that
14:23through the rest of the match as well.
14:25And it's a shame to hear about them separating for next season,
14:29although they may have to rethink that.
14:33Well, I'm sure there's a part of them, they can't believe it either.
14:37I mean, it's an incredible story.
14:40Their game plan as well was so fantastic.
14:42They just stuck with it.
14:44Many other players would have been tempted to either throw in the towel
14:48or just keep going for too much, thinking that too much is needed.
14:53And, well, they stuck to it and got exactly what they deserve.
15:00And I genuinely think, as we look at that match point again
15:03and Koki's face, that he can't believe it.
15:05I mean, they've done it.
15:08They've done it.
15:10But I genuinely think there was just a tiny hint of complacency
15:14in Koi on Tapia when they got to Tournament Point.
15:16It's like, we've done this so many times.
15:18We've done this 47 times in a row.
15:20It's all over, and it wasn't.
15:23Well, you felt like Tapia was trying to finish it with something special,
15:26wasn't he?
15:27I mean, he did the running across jump, which he does anyway,
15:30and, you know, sometimes successfully.
15:33And then he tried to go for that drop shot,
15:35and you just think, if he'd have been a little bit more sensible,
15:38and, I mean, it almost just turned around from that very moment, didn't it?
15:42They fought, lost that game.
15:45They lost the game, but, obviously, Koki and John Sands won it,
15:48and, I mean, there was almost no looking back.
15:51Yeah.
15:54So, Juan Lebron and Martin Domeno, in their final act together,
15:58will pick up a bronze,
15:59and in their first and only performance together,
16:02it'll be Delphi, Brea and Vero Verceda,
16:06who will collect bronze medals,
16:10which is a significant achievement,
16:12as they'd never played together before arriving in Barcelona earlier this week.
16:19It's Lebron and Domeno,
16:22who will claim their medals first,
16:25followed by Delphi, Brea, nearest to us,
16:28and Vero Verceda.
16:37Now, with great pride, we present the silver medallists.
16:42A big round of applause for Gemma Triai,
16:45Claudia Fernandez, Arturo Coelho and Agustin Tapia.
16:50Well, the number two seeds here,
16:52Gemma Triai and Claudia Fernandez,
16:56will join Arturo Coelho and Agustin Tapia
17:02on the podium for their silver medals.
17:06Bittersweet moment, I suspect, for Claudia Fernandez,
17:08but a year ago, could she have even dreamed of being here?
17:11Still only 18,
17:13and her partnership with Gemma might be over,
17:15but her future is just beginning.
17:18And for Arturo Coelho and Agustin Tapia,
17:25confirmation that there are other good paddle players out there,
17:29and for the first time since early July,
17:32they are not top of the pile,
17:34but class acts that they are,
17:37smiling with silver.
17:56And here are our gold medallists then.
17:59Arianna Sanchez and Paola Jose Maria,
18:01we expected them to be there.
18:05Koki Nieto and John Sands,
18:07nobody expected them to be there.
18:10What a story.
18:19Earlier it was Paola and Ari
18:21confirming their dominance of the women's game,
18:24a tenth title for them in 2024,
18:27and a second for Koki Nieto and John Sands.
18:31They won in Bordeaux as the number five seeds
18:33this surely eclipses
18:36just about anything they've ever done.
18:39They can't stop smiling, can they?
18:44It's not a dream, it's really happened.
19:04Now it's time to crown the champions
19:09with the trophy that symbolizes their victory.
19:13And that's why we have the pleasure
19:16to invite David Sanjen and Luigi Carraro
19:20to deliver the trophy.
19:24Congratulations!
19:27Ari Sanchez, Paola Jose Maria,
19:30Koki Nieto and John Sands,
19:32for these extraordinary finals
19:36that you gave us here at the Palau Sant Jordi.
20:02And now, for all the audience present,
20:05we're going to ask for your collaboration
20:08because we want that final photo
20:10of this extraordinary event
20:12at the count of three
20:14and the trophies up there.
20:16Join us at one,
20:19at two,
20:21and at three.
20:23Cheers, champions!
20:26They are the champions.
20:29They are the champions.
20:33Arianna Sanchez and Paola Jose Maria
20:36alongside Jorge Koki Nieto and John Sands
20:41are Premier Paddle Finals champions
20:44after a wonderful four days of play
20:47here in Barcelona.
20:59You can find out more about the Paddle Finals
21:01at www.paddlefinals.org