The long-awaited debut comes against a competition heavyweight as the home side

Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto return to the LIGA NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL this Sunday, in the year of the club’s 75th anniversary, welcoming ABANCA Ademar León on the opening matchday at the Port de Sagunt Sports Pavilion from 12:00 noon.

The red-and-whites come into the match after a pre-season which ended with the following record: four wins, against REBI Cuenca (41-34), Fraikin BM Granollers (31-30), Trasmapi Gobycar Citubo Eivissa (33-26) and Horneo EÓN Alicante (36-27); one draw (27-27) against REBI Cuenca in the second of the two matches against the Cuenca side; and two defeats against Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm (33-31) and BM Caserío Ciudad Real (36-35).

The Castilla and León side’s coach remains Luis Puertas, a man who has been associated with the club for almost two decades and who took over as head coach in February this year, replacing Dani Gordo.

Last season, our opponents finished the regular league in seventh place with a total of 31 points, following a record of twelve wins, seven draws and eleven defeats.

The León side suffered as many as seven departures during the summer transfer window, with Darío Sanz, Sergio Sánchez, Saeid Barkhordari, Samuel Saiz, Adrián Fernández and Rodrigo Pérez Arce leaving; these departures were covered by the arrivals of Adrián Casqueiro and Juan Castro.

“They have a smaller squad that combines experience and youth, but they have highly talented players in every position, people with international experience, so we are talking about an ABANCA Ademar León in every sense of the word,” said Sergio Mallo about their opponents.

Their pre-season can be summed up as follows: wins against Balonmano Cangas-Frigoríficos del Morrazo (35-39) and Atlético Novás (39-30); a draw against OAR Coruña (31-31) and a home defeat to Confía Base Oviedo by 27-28. They also played in a triangular tournament in which, this time, they did beat the latter side, by 20-23, and did likewise against Blendio Sinfín, winning 22-11.

The last meeting between the two clubs in the Valencian Community took place in April 2024. On that occasion, the visitors took both points after a 27-31 result.

“At home, we are capable of beating any team that visits us, or at the very least competing with them and standing up to them. To the supporters, I would say: come to the Port de Sagunt Sports Pavilion with all the encouragement and support you can, because together we are capable of achieving many things,” concluded Javier Olivares on the importance of playing at home.

Supporters wishing to buy tickets to watch the match can do so in person or through the club’s website. The price will be 12 euros for purchases made before Sunday: p.berrly.com/cbmpsg/events/19516/map

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.