Francisco "Paco" Cabanes Pastor (20 December 1954 – 31 July 2021) was a Spanish professional
Valencian pilota
Valencian pilota ( ca-valencia, pilota valenciana "Valencian ball") is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community. Its origins are not known.
Rules variations within the generic ''Pilota Valenciana'' category are frequent fr ...
player known by his town's name, Genovés I, and who has begun a ''pilotaris'' saga with his son, ''
Genovés II''. He's been regarded as one of the best players of all time, along with ''El Nel de Murla'', ''Xiquet de Quart'',
Juliet d'Alginet and ''
Rovellet'', and he deserved to be in the ''Honor Gallery'' of the
Pelayo trinquet
The Pelayo trinquet ( ca-valencia, trinquet de Pelayo) is one of the most renowned trinquets courts of the Valencian pilota sport in Valencia. The most important Escala i corda competitions, such as the Circuit Bancaixa, have their final match ...
. He's also been a member of the
Valencian Pilota Squad The Valencian Pilota Squad are the Valencian pilota professional or amateur players chosen to take part in the Handball International Championships representing Spain, even though all of them are Valencians and they use the Valencian flag
This is ...
.
Biography
He was born on 20 December 1954 in
Genovés, Valencia. As is usual in his town, he began playing
Raspall
Raspall ({{IPA-va, rasˈpaʎ, "scraping") is a variant of the handball game, Valencian pilota, played mainly in the Valencian regions south to the Xúquer river: the Vall d'Albaida, the Safor, the Costera, the Marina Alta and the Marina Baixa. ...
, but when he was 17 he turned to
Escala i corda Escala i corda (, "stairs and rope") is the most prestigious variant of Valencian pilota, and the only one apart from raspall to have professional players.
History
The "Escala i corda" variant began around 1910, when the player Nel de Murla se ...
, the variant which he ruled for 20 years. His arrival meant the end of
''Rovellet'''s era, and his retirement meant the beginning of
Álvaro; things got complicated for great players such as ''Eusebio'' or ''
Fredi Fredi may refer to:
* Fredi (Valencian pilota) (born 1957), retired Valencian pilota professional player
* Fredi Bobic (born 1971), German football striker
* Fredi González (born 1964), Cuban current manager of the Atlanta Braves
* Fredi Walker, A ...
'', who had few chances to win relevant championships.
He made his debut as a ''dauer'' in 1974 at the Campionat Nacional d'Escala i Corda, and the very next year he was the winner. His superiority was so clear for everybody that organizers had to force him to play ''per baix'' (down), that is, he could only hit the ball when it had already bounced on the ground or on the walls, but never in the air. Even with his handicap he won three more seasons. Later, for two years, he was forced to play as a ''mitger'' (a position he was unfamiliar with), but he won again.
The quality difference was so great that, in order to make betting more interesting, he had to play with his brother Pepe (who was not gifted at all) or, even, had to strike the ball only with one hand.
''Genovés I'' retired as a professional ''pilotari'' after winning the 1995
Trofeu Individual Bancaixa The Trofeu Individual Bancaixa () "Bancaixa one-on-one trophy") is the Escala i corda singles league played by Valencian pilota professionals and promoted by the Bancaixa bank.
Statistics
{{clear
Relevant facts about the ''Trofeu Individual ...
final match against
Álvaro, who was 20 years younger, and finally overcame 60-55.
Paco Cabanes died on 31 July 2021 at the age of 66 from a cancer.
Fallece Paco Cabanes, El Genovés, el mejor pilotari valenciano de la historia
Trophies
* Winner of the Campionat Nacional d'Escala i Corda 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1989
* Runner-up of the Campionat Nacional d'Escala i Corda 1977, 1980, 1985, 1986 and 1988
* Winner of the Trofeu Individual Bancaixa The Trofeu Individual Bancaixa () "Bancaixa one-on-one trophy") is the Escala i corda singles league played by Valencian pilota professionals and promoted by the Bancaixa bank.
Statistics
{{clear
Relevant facts about the ''Trofeu Individual ...
1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1995
* Runner-up of the Trofeu Individual Bancaixa 1992, 1993 and 1994
Handball International Championships
The Handball International Championships are yearly held competitions where many countries and regions play the handball sports derived from the Jeu de paume.
It is organized by the International Ball game Confederation, and there are three offici ...
* Winner of the 5 Nations Championship València
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
1993
* Runner-up of the European Championship Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
(France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
) 1994
* Winner of the World Llargues Championship València 1996
References
External links
Youtube: 7 videos of the Escala i Corda Individual'93 final match against Sarasol I
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabanes Pastor, Paco
1954 births
2021 deaths
People from Costera
Sportspeople from the Province of Valencia
Pilotaris from the Valencian Community
Deaths from cancer in Spain