Eon Alicante Faces Historic Challenge in Burgos This Saturday

El Horneo Eón Alicante, leaders of the División de Honor, will visit UBU San Pablo Burgos, the second-placed team, this Saturday at 19:00 in search of their first promotion to the Liga Asobal. This direct clash for glory is marked on the calendar of many Alicante residents eager for elite handball.

Fernando Latorre's team, entering the final round of the regular season with two more points than their rival, will return Alicante handball to the elite more than three decades later if they win, draw, or lose by one goal, as their overall coefficient is superior to that of Burgos.

The match promises intense emotions given the existing parity between both teams, as demonstrated in the first-round clash where Horneo Eón Alicante won by the minimum with a goal from Argentine James Parker in the final seconds.

The coach of the Alicante team, who experienced a promotion to Asobal with Benidorm in the past decade, is confident in his team's chances and ruled out any possibility of speculating with the score. "It's the match of the year. We are very excited to have this historic opportunity. It's the first time this year that this option is on the table, and we have no other path," said the Alicante coach.

"It will be very difficult because Burgos is a great team, but we are going with the intention to win, not to speculate," added the coach, who is uncertain about the participation of winger Aarón Gutiérrez, who arrives at the match after suffering an injury with the youth national team during the competition break.

Latorre fully trusts in his team's experience and players like Ander Torriko, the competition's top scorer, Darko Dimitrievski, or Argentine James Parker, who are accustomed to competing at the highest level in decisive matches throughout their extensive careers.

The coach highlighted that "managing emotions" during the match will be crucial and reminded that the local team, praised for their consistency and excellent second half of the season, will also feel the pressure of not failing in front of their fans.

Horneo Eón Alicante will be accompanied in the stands of El Plantío by a hundred supporters eager to witness a day that could be historic for Alicante's handball.

Should the Alicante team not achieve their goal, the club is already working behind the scenes on organizing the Final Four for the other promotion spot, which will be contested by the second to fifth-placed teams, although they avoid giving details to focus solely on seizing the first opportunity in Burgos.