Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto give their all against a superior BM La Roca

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto lost 22-34 this afternoon against Felmar BM La Roca in a match in which the red-and-whites showed flashes of their good play during several phases of the game against a superior Catalan side who take the group’s first victory. The match began with the Catalan side dominating, as they took the lead and defended well. Hasty attacking play condemned Fertiberia, who had to chase the game from the outset. The red-and-whites were unable to trouble the visitors’ advanced 5-1 defence, while at the other end of the court they finished their scoring chances efficiently. Midway through the first half, Chovi had to stop the match with a timeout after seeing the Valencian side four goals behind (6-10) and short of ideas in attack. La Roca controlled the final five minutes with a compact defence that recovered balls and quickly launched counter-attacks. As a result, Fertiberia’s youth side went into the changing rooms seven goals down (10-17), with the strange feeling of wanting to, but being unable to, respond. The Catalans did not have the expected start to the second half, as the red-and-whites gritted their teeth and produced a 3-0 run to close the gap and lift the team’s spirits. The Valencians saw their chances of a comeback increase as they reduced the deficit to three goals (16-19), taking advantage of a poor spell from the visitors. Later, BM La Roca did not let the opportunity slip when they had an extra player on court, restoring their advantage and prompting a timeout from the young red-and-whites when the score was 18-22. After the stoppage, Fertiberia switched to a pressing 3-3 defence to disrupt the opponents’ attack and try to turn the match around. In the end, however, the red-and-whites conceded a 0-5 run and could do nothing about it, so the coach gave playing time to the less regular players. Fertiberia’s youth side will play their next match in the second group round tomorrow, Saturday, from 20:00, against Cajamar C. D. Urci Almeria. Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Álvaro Sanz (4), Pau Molina, Guillermo Martínez, Alex Lawrukiewicz, Marc Albiol, Daniel Adrián, Antonio Martínez, David López (1), Jorge García, Víctor García (8), Javier Mascarell (1), Javier Olivares, Jorge Sorando (1), David Catalán, Víctor Luján (3) and Hugo Moreno (4). Felmar BM La Roca: Javier Guzman, Marc Navarro (1), Marc Ferré (3), Roger Martínez (2), Jordi Pascual, José Manuel Chica (1), Daniel Verjano (6), Marc Pessina (2), Carlos Galisteo (6), Alejandro Navarro (3), Albert Camprubí, Genis Asensio (4), Arnau Campos, Nil Orts, Bernat López (6) and Eudald Gomez. Referees: Santiago Raez and Juan Espadas (Castilla-La Mancha Territorial Federation). Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto players excluded: Daniel Adrián, Antonio Martínez, Javier Olivares, Víctor Luján (2) and Hugo Moreno; BM La Roca player excluded: Carlos Galisteo. Score at five-minute intervals: 2-3, 6-7, 6-10, 7-13, 10-17 Half-time, 14-19, 17-21, 20-24, 20-27, 22-34 Full-time. Municipal Internúcleos Sports Hall “Ovni”.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.