Friday, May 15th, Madrid Day, San Isidro Day, playoff day in Primera FEB. Súper Agropal Palencia faced Flexicar Fuenlabrada with home-court advantage.
The series opened with a crowd living up to the nickname "La Caldera de Castilla" (The Castilian Cauldron), pressuring and cheering their team throughout the quarter. Problems mounted for Iñaki Martín's squad with the absence of Vítor Benite, who missed the game due to muscle soreness. Facing these difficulties, Mateo Díaz emerged as a sharpshooter, hitting three consecutive three-pointers to give Flexicar Fuenlabrada an 11-10 lead. The Argentine also played solid defense, forcing steals, while Súper Agropal Palencia struggled from beyond the arc, going 0-for-8 from three. The drought ended with back-to-back three-pointers from Ignar Jakovics to make it 17-11 against a stalled Fuenlabrada offense. The visiting team found their rhythm to close the quarter 17-16.
The second quarter opened with loud boos from the Palencia crowd directed at the referees after a timeout. The game was marked by poor shooting from both teams, keeping them tied at 22-21. The Palencia squad pulled ahead with two strong plays following avoidable turnovers from Fuenlabrada, 27-21.
Fuenlabrada's offense stalled against Palencia's solid defense and the lack of a scoring threat without Benite and an uninspired Prince Ali, 30-22. Iñaki Martín's team went to halftime with double-digit deficit (38-27) after a quarter where nothing worked. The visiting team was particularly inaccurate in the paint, making just 3 baskets on 16 attempts.
Flexicar Fuenlabrada continued to struggle against Palencia's defense, which kept them scoreless, 43-28. Meanwhile, Iñaki's team suffered defensively as Palencia's offense dominated their half of the court, 49-32.
The battle was no longer between Palencia and Fuenlabrada—it was Fuenlabrada against themselves. Iñaki Martín's team scored just five points in six minutes of the third quarter, driving the team to desperation, 58-33. The quarter ended and barring a miracle, Flexicar Fuenlabrada had lost the first game of the series. A devastating scoreline that would be difficult to recover from, 64-35.
Súper Agropal Palencia maintained their dominant pace and had already doubled Flexicar Fuenlabrada's score, 72-35. Notable was Adam Kunkel's performance with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. The game ended with a disheartening scoreline for Flexicar Fuenlabrada, 90-52. Today's performance from the visiting team did not reflect their #FuenlaADN slogan. An DNA that supposedly includes never giving up and fighting with intensity—something that could not be seen in this game.
The series is still long and the absence of Vítor Benite played an important factor, but alarm bells were ringing for Iñaki Martín's team. Game MVP was Josip Vrankic with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks for a total of 22 efficiency rating points.