The CB Ariagona has managed to finish the season as the third best team in the Canary Islands after winning the match for third and fourth place in the final phase of the Primera División Autonómica against Viajes Insular Juventud Laguna (63-51), in a match played on the court of the Pabellón del IES Blas Cabrera in the capital of Lanzarote.
Daniel González's squad won in the quarterfinals against Escuela de Baloncesto Felipe Antón (44-62), but fell in the semifinals against Gran Canaria UPLGC (77-50), remaining one step away from the promotion phase, a gift that only the two finalists, the Gran Canarians and the Canary Islands champions, Adareva Tenerife, will enjoy.
In the victory for third place, the twin towers of the Arrecifeño team actively participated, Noelia Lago with fourteen points and the "usual suspect" in these battles, Verónica Matoso, with a new and appetizing double-double of thirteen points and nineteen rebounds, in addition to five assists. In the ranks of Juventud Laguna, Sofía Magali stood out with sixteen points.
Meritorious third place for Ariagona who was in fifth position after completing the regular league and, furthermore, managed to win in the quarterfinals against a team that had beaten them in both games of the season, EB Felipe Antón. Bad luck in the semi-final draw. Bad game in the semifinals against the "bogeyman" Gran Canaria who, once they had secured a place in the final and, therefore, in the promotion phase, played the Sunday match without their star player, Fatoumata Niambele, who was traveling to provide her services in the Junior championship that her team is competing in.
For Ariagona's coach, Dani González, "third in the Canary Islands after finishing fifth in the regular league and playing the Championship in our home. We finished third in the Canary Islands, less than twenty-four hours ago we were playing a semi-final and it's a bit bittersweet for not competing as much as possible against Gran Canaria. But well, it has been seen now in the final that accuracy, inaccuracy and intensity add up a lot and it is true that yesterday we were not good". Asked about whether it hurts to be left at the doorstep of the promotion phase, González explains that "of course, of course it hurts. Uh, it hurts, it's tough, but never defeated. I talked about it with the girls last night and this morning in the pre-match talk. If something identifies us, it's falling and getting back up, and I think we have finished with the best possible taste in our mouths. I hope that the project that has just started this year can be consolidated and why not, keep trying, keep growing and, why not, keep dreaming. Now to rest", concluded a tired, but proud coach of Ariagona, the third best team in the Canary Islands this season.
