Havana, Cuba, at no little expense, three well-known figures in the realm of Hai-Alai are to make their Shanghai debut in today's double-header programme at the Auditorium. At the matinee Asti, outstanding member of the trio of new arrivals, will make his debut as a Super while Guernica will make his bow as a Senior.
In the soiree programme tonight, Echarri, a well-proportioned giant who is well-above six feet in height, will take his place in the Senior. Tomorrow afternoon, on the occasion of the Senior qualifying round of the Hai-Alai New Year Champions, both Guernica and Echarri are to participate, thus tossing their hats into the ying in quest of the first of 1939': Hai-Alai championships.
All three of the new importations are "delanateros," or front court players. They are thoroughly familiar with singles play and are expected to leave their impress on the records vf the local trenton in very rapid order. Asti, 27 years of age, has played professionally for almost a dozen years, his trenton contracts reavering Spain, Me: Peru, Venezuela, Cuba and the United States.
Echarri, 24 and the youngest of the trio, made his professional debut at Saragossa in 1931, subsequently pi: ing at Seville, Barcelona, Tangier: Caracas (Venezuela), Havana and New York. Guernica, 26, boasts a distinguished record which embraces Barcelona, Milan, Saragossa, Bilbao, Lima (peru), Havana, Miami, Fla., and New York City, N.Y., Guernica having appeared in Mike Jacobs' initial Hai-Alai offering at the Hippodrome and winning his match: by a three-point margin.
The new arrivals, all in their middle twenties, are native Basques, ace exponents of the speedy sport which has won a tremendous following in four continents.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.