The second derby of the season between two potential candidates for promotion will close the first round this Saturday, January 3, and open the year 2026. A new basketball year begins with a strong moment between the CB Starlabs Moron and the Insolac Box 87 … who are tied in the table of the Second FEB, tied with a positive record of eight victories and four defeats, although with the verdirrojos a notch above (fourth) thanks to their better points differential. A +92 compared to the +45 of the Aruncitanos which can be explained by their granite defense: with 851 points conceded in total, the team Adria Alonso It is the least permeable (71 on average), not only in the West group, but in the entire category, made up of 28 teams between the two conferences.
Only three are promoted, meaning competition is at maximum and the margin for error is very small. In fact, both of them surely expected that at that point, with half of the regular phase about to be reached, their number of losses would be lower than this poker their record presents. Among these four setbacks, the executioners agree on two: Coto Cordoba and Biele ISB. Morón and Caja 87 therefore did not sit idly by. They have taken a step into the market, but in different ways: the Moronenses change coach, with the replacement of Fede Castelló by José Antonio Santaella, who returned to the team in which he was so happy; and Caja 87, putting the scalpel to the team to improve its performance. The exchange of Obi Okafor for Walter Junior Cabral and the departure of Joaquín Cebolla, bound for Azpeitia, are added for the moment to the additions of Rakocevic and Alley for the perimeter.
He MoundThis is why he sought a radical change of direction as a stimulus, rediscovering the winning formula of a few seasons ago. And Caja 87, for its part, shook up the team by trying to inject more solidity into the boards and more points and versatility into its perimeter. Judging by the results achieved so far, the people of Aruncita are absolutely right: the winning streak with Santaella at the helm proves it. Since his arrival from Mexico, his new team has gained in Cáceres, Pamplona and Ponferradain addition to overthrowing Toledo and Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa at home. The ups and downs presented by Morón disappeared with the Cordoba coach, regaining his solidity and generating a winning dynamic that allowed him to reposition himself among the most qualified teams in the West.
Reset
THE Insolac Box 87who gradually reset with three recruits in order to give his coach all the necessary tools to face the second day of the season without giving up anything. The signing of Alley can and must bring more dynamism to a team that stands out as a differential factor for the defensive capacity that the data confirms: of all its victories, eight, only one allowed its rival to exceed the limit of 74 points. And it was Valladolid, who put it to Pisuerga 82, insufficient to achieve victory at home against a union Caja 87, even without Dedovicwhich climbed that day to 90.
With a similar formula, Morón has spread his wings in the category. Back on his board, he sealed the waterways, conceding far less. In this five-game winning streak, they have stopped their opponents by an average of 67.8 points. The better the defense, the greater the chances of victory. It seems that Santaella and Alonso They agree on this formula to pave the way to victory.
From the comparison between the two teams, even at a statistical level, it is surprising that Caja 87 has already given minutes to a total of 17 players, among them young people. Rafa Romero and Bastien Vidalwhile in the ranks of Moronense, only a dozen have done so. It will be the second time they will test their strength this campaign after the match on the first day of the Spanish Cup, also played at the Alameda. Morón then emerged victorious and somewhat surprisingly since with two minutes and 26 seconds remaining, the green-red block won by six (69-75). From then on, he no longer scored a single point and conceded a 9-0 which sealed the match (78-75).
This Saturday, many players from both sides will rehearse, but not the coaches. Eloy Ramírez was dismissed in the verdirrojos before the start of the league and Fede Castelló suffered the same fate after the seventh day, with Morón alive in the Spanish Cup (they still are and on January 7 they will host Fuenlabrada) but with a worrying 3-4 in Second February which Santaella returned in a month. Both teams still have a lot to do and prove. Half of the regular phase remains and the lead (Biele ISB Iraurgi) is two matches away. Three in fact, since both lost against the Gipuzkoans. They compete with pressure, but whatever happens on Saturday, the derby being transcendent because they are direct rivals, nothing will be definitive. There will then still be thirteen days left to attack the objective.
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