The red-and-white passion on its way to ASOBAL starts against BM Proin Sevilla

Fertiberia Balonmano Puerto Sagunto make their debut this Saturday in the 2025-2026 Men’s Silver Honour Division, with the aim of returning to the NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League, welcoming BM Proin Sevilla from 18:30 at the Port de Sagunt Pavilion.

It will be a match in which six of the seven new red-and-white signings will have the chance to make their competitive debuts in front of their supporters: Juani Villarreal, Jakob Pelko, Alberto Serradilla, Nicolás Zungri, Carlos Martín de Bolaños Ruiz and Oriol Teixidor. Alex Pozzer will be sidelined for a few weeks after being admitted to hospital with mononucleosis.

The Port players come into the match after narrowly losing (25-26) in the final seconds of their last pre-season test against Balonmano Servigroup Benidorm. Previously, their pre-season record was as follows: a 25-25 draw against REBI Cuenca and narrow defeats against Bada Huesca (29-28) and Horneo EÓN Alicante, among the NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League opponents. They also became champions of the first edition of the Ejea de los Caballeros tournament, beating Pau Billère (33-31) in the semi-final and Anaitasuna in the final (26-25 on penalties). They also overcame Fundación Agustinos de Alicante (28-31).

“We arrive more than ready, both physically and mentally. We have had a good pre-season. It has helped us manage workloads, test systems and different tactical alternatives; that was our main aim,” said first-team coach Toni Malla about how his players are approaching the match.

Their opening opponents will be BM Proin Sevilla, who last season, after finishing 12th in the regular league with 24 points, had to play a two-legged relegation play-down against BM Contazara Zaragoza, with a favourable result that allowed them to retain their status. As for the meetings between the two clubs last season, the Valencians failed to win either the away first leg (19-18) or the return match at home (28-28).

BM Proin Sevilla have a revamped squad compared with 2024-2025. Among the signings, the arrivals of Alexander Tioumentsev and Miguel Llorens, both experienced in Spain’s top handball division, stand out, as does that of Serbian right back Balsa Stevovic. Regarding departures, the main losses are Juan Gull and goalkeeper Jorge Oliva, who has now retired. Victor Montesinos remains in charge on the bench, and has brought in Juan Martín del Boca as his assistant.

“We start against a team whose objective, like ours, will be to remain near the top of the table. Defensively, they are tough and solid, with some very imposing players, while in attack they have great quality and countless resources. We have prepared very well for the match, but we will have to be serious and focused on what we want to propose and counteract,” added the Tortosa-born coach about what he expects from both the opposition and his players.

In the 40x20, the Seville side got up and running by beating newly relegated BM Dólmenes Antequera, who will play in the National First Division, 25-32. They subsequently reached the Andalusian Cup final after defeating Trops Málaga (25-28). In their penultimate test, they won the 38th edition of the Trofeo Ciudad de Moguer, beating the hosts, Club Balonmano Pedro Alonso Niño, 18-28. They completed their pre-season by competing until the final minute despite losing (24-22) in the aforementioned Andalusian Cup final against Ángel Ximénez of the NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL League.

“We are coming off a somewhat turbulent week, but great teams become stronger in situations like these. We hope the supporters come to the pavilion to back the team; I know they will not let us down and that they will give us that extra boost to take both points,” concluded the Catalan coach, making an appeal to the supporters.

Supporters wishing to buy tickets to attend the match can do so in person or, as a new option this year, through our website: https://www.cbmpuertosagunto.com/entradas/.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.