Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto asserts its authority in the derby

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto won 32–30 this afternoon against BM Benidorm, in a match in which Fertiberia dominated throughout and thus won the regional derby for the first time against an ineffective BM Benidorm.

The red-and-whites came onto the court ready to bite their opponents with a strong defence. Bad luck struck before the tenth minute, when Malasinskas took a heavy blow to the ribs from Grau and had to leave the match for a few minutes. At that moment, Bernatonis emerged as the team’s goalscorer with a highly effective long-range shot. Fernando Latorre had to stop the match with a timeout after seeing his team’s initial confusion, as they were being outplayed by a very accurate Fertiberia in attack (7–3). The match began to heat up, with several exclusions for both teams highlighting the intense rivalry. The red-and-whites concentrated on maintaining the four-goal lead they had built in the opening minutes despite the Alicante side’s attacking pressure. The home team made the most of their solid defensive work, which caused BM Benidorm to hesitate, and went into half-time one goal ahead (15–14).

The red-and-whites emerged from the changing rooms determined to defend their lead, with an outstanding Bruixola, and surprised the Alicante side, who could not find a way through. It did not take Latorre long to call a timeout after seeing his players frustrated and out of the match. Fertiberia rolled up their sleeves to establish a maximum seven-goal lead (24–17). Midway through the second half, the home side maintained the same defensive intensity and continued to unsettle an unrecognisable BM Benidorm. Exclusions began to go against the home side, and the Alicante team did not let the numerical advantages pass them by, reducing the deficit to just one goal (28–27). At that point, Patxi Martí was forced to call a timeout to halt the visitors’ momentum. The final minutes were highly exciting, with BM Benidorm pushing until the end but unable to turn the match around, while Fertiberia secured two priceless points.

Fertiberia’s next fixture will be the 21st round of the Asobal Bauhaus League, on Tuesday the 10th from 20:30, against the all-powerful F.C. Barcelona.

Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto: Sebastiá, Bruixola (1), Bernatonis (15), Malasinskas (5), Rubén Ruiz, Sladic, Moriñigo, Tarrasó (2), Berrios (2), Plaza (3), Toni Alegre (2), Nebot (1), Fernández, Dukic (1) and Roque.

BM Benidorm: Porras (3), Santamaria, Javier Sánchez (3), Torras, Villar (2), Esteban, Grau (4), Moyano, Jiménez (4), Jorge Sánchez (4), Cuartero (8), Recio, Llorens and Río (2).

Referees: Oscar Raluy López and Ángel Sabroso Ramírez (Canarian Regional Federation).

For Fertiberia BM Puerto Sagunto, Bernatonis (2), A. Fernández and Dukic (3) were excluded; for BM Benidorm, Porras, Esteban and Jorge Sánchez were excluded.

Score at five-minute intervals:  2–1, 6–3, 8–6, 10–9, 14–10, 15–14 Half-time 18–16, 23–17, 26–20, 28–25, 30–27, 32–30 Full-time. Municipal Internúcleos Sports Centre “Ovni”. 1,500 spectators.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.