Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" received Melilla Sport Capital La Salle on their court, a team that has experienced great improvement in recent rounds, adding several consecutive victories and climbing positions in the standings. The locals could not count on Tatiana Tenorio, who still does not have a definitive diagnosis of her knee injury, but they could count on the rest of the players who were in doubt, such as Magali Vilches, Carolina Mateo, or Rosario de León. It was also the first call-up for Swiss player Emili D'Eternod and junior player Eli Dabou from Mali.
The local team started strong and managed to take the lead on the scoreboard, taking a 5-0 advantage, which was soon eliminated by the visitors, who found an effective weapon in the outside shot to alleviate Lanzarote's inside game. The match turned into a game of baskets and points between the two teams, with few shooting errors and a lot of excitement. Eli Dabou debuted during the quarter, with only one training session with the team, demonstrating good manners for the junior and senior international with Mali, without trembling when making decisions. The quarter concluded with a score of 23 to 24.
In the second quarter, the equality continued until Melilla La Salle once again uncorked the jar of outside shots and began to score three-pointers, taking advantage of the effectiveness they were having in the defensive interior zone, greatly complicating the game for the locals. Jesús García called a timeout to organize the game of his players, who came to see themselves up to 13 points behind on the scoreboard, thanks to 8 triples out of 13 attempts by the North Africans, while the islanders had 1 out of 7, scored in the first shot of the game by Magali Vilches. The problems increased on the Lanzarote bench as Carolina Mateo reached three personal fouls and had to be substituted to save her for the second half of the match. Before the break, a 2+1 by Magali Vilches left the score at 41 to 51.
Jesús García and Paulino Puerto prepared the second half with their respective teams, but before returning to the court, the rain arrived and with it, the leaks, a problem that the Tías clubs have been suffering from for a decade and that has been increasing over time. The referees spoke with the coaches and informed them that if it dripped on the court, the game would be stopped, a circumstance that occurred 57 seconds into the third quarter. The wind and the water threatened not to let the game be played, and given the risk that the match would be suspended and the home team would have to bear the costs of a new match, the Magec Tías board moved quickly to find a new playing field, finding accommodation in the Blas Cabrera Felipe in Arrecife, with the approval of all parties for it to be played there. After half an hour after the match was stopped, the referees declared the wait over and the match was moved to another court.
After preparing everything in Arrecife and performing the warm-up exercises, the two teams returned to the court, surrounded by the local public and also an expedition that came from Melilla accompanying their team, who were very understanding of the situation, which the CD Magec Tías appreciated, as did the technical staff and the players. Once the ball was in play, it seemed that the dynamic that had entered in the second quarter had not changed. Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" found it difficult to get into the game against a fierce rival that prevented any symptoms of improvement on the scoreboard for the Lanzarote team. Again, the shots from the outside line continued to cause a lot of damage to the locals, who, yes, were improving a lot in the interior, with Yaiza García taking the reins accompanied by the passes of Romina Rodríguez, who continues to be at a great level this season. At the end of the quarter, the score was 56 to 70, 14 points difference, a lesser evil than the 18 that the visiting team had reached.
In the last quarter, it was time to think about the comeback, and that's what Jesús García made his players think, who came out with even more intensity in search of the match. The Lanzarote team scored early, but Melilla became strong, stopping the island attacks, preventing that difference, which would have been more baskets, without also having success in their shots. For 5 minutes, the two points scored by Magec Tías were the only thing that changed the score, but not the Lanzarote illusion that with two consecutive triples, one from Magali and another from Iranzu, reduced the difference to 6 and forced the visiting bench to call a timeout to prevent the game from escaping them. Melilla adjusted lines on the return to the court, stopping the comeback of the locals, who although they continued trying, would see how the match ended 73 to 82.
Both teams greeted from the center of the court the fans who had traveled to the Blas Cabrera Felipe de Arrecife, both from one entity and the other. Now the Lanzarote team is starting to think about the match this Tuesday against Cortegada, to recover one of the postponed matches, while Melilla La Salle returns home with the two victories against the Canary teams of the Women's League 2.
Technical Sheet
Magec Tías "Against Gender Violence" (73): Imani Robinson (7), Magali Vilches (17), Yaiza García (10), Iranzu Drake (10) and Romina Rodríguez (8). Also played Eli Dabou (11), Carolina Mateo (8) and Yaiza Betancort (2). Coach: Jesús García
Melilla Sport La Salle (82): Laura Fernández (17), Bijana Stevanovic (17), Ana Jiménez (11), Aminata Traoré (15) and Alana Gonçalo (16). Also played Nuria Ríos (6) and Ángela Jiménez (0). Coach: Paulino Puerto.
Partial scores each quarter: 23-24 / 41-51 (break) 56-70 / 73-82 (final)
Referees: Marcos Silva González and Jorge Luis Ibarra Mendoza. They eliminated the visitor María Fernández for personal fouls
Incidents: Match of the 20th day of the Women's League 2 basketball. The match started at the Municipal Pavilion of Tías but, due to the leaks, the CD Magec Tías got a pavilion to play the second half and prevent the match from being suspended. The second half was played at the Blas Cabrera Felipe de Arrecife.
