The free throw condemns our chances in the playoff key of the U-22 vs. Juventud Alcalá (1-2), and this chronicle begins with negative news. The current Gold champion in the category of all Madrid will not be able to repeat the title. It has been a tough tie against a very dynamic group and with many youth players of Juventud Alcalá doubling efforts and being important as well in the First National already, where they are fighting for promotion to the EBA League.

In the first of the series, the home court factor and nerves made our team start with a bad run in the first quarter. Then we got into the game and thanks to the three-pointers by the Venezuelan point guard Alejandro Pena and the speed of our counterattacks, we got to -2 in the last quarter, but a series of offensive errors and their successful free throw triggered the balance.

In the second game, at home, the story changed, as there was maximum intensity. Great defenses and a good exterior success with Pena, the Chileans Daniel Ríos and Branko Coro, in addition to Juanma Mateo, together with the contribution to the game of the Senegalese Insa Kane and the rebounds of Mario Pérez and the Russian Timofei, ended up giving us the victory.

In the third and final match, again a bad first quarter and we had to come back. But this time without nerves and from the defense, with good attacks, the game went back and went to the last one with +2, thanks to the triples of the Chileans Manu Flores and Daniel Ríos with 1 minute to go. But, unfortunately, a series of 5 missed free throws by our team and the success of their free throws by Juventud makes the tie come with 10 seconds left on the clock. A foul of ours with 4 seconds on the scoreboard and rectified by the referee with 1.07 seconds and a free throw scored by them make our hopes go away.

The Balance of the Season:

Tough season that began with the injury for the entire season of a player who was going to be important like Juanma Palau, in addition to him being one of the tallest in the group. At the work level, being an academy we had many players doubling their efforts with seniors and we at the same time with Juniors like Daniel Ríos, Marcos Hermosilla, Víctor Maria, Maxim, the native of Barbados, Simeon Maynard in dynamic U-22, for which to do a group was complicated. But, we did it and in the second round a tremendous record of 10-0 and competing until the end makes the result satisfactory.

We should highlight the work of the academy players Branko Coro, Manu Flores, Timofei, the arrival in January of the Mexican player Eber Hernández gave us a plus to the point guard position. Praising the work and experience of Juanma Mateo and the great season of Alejandro Pena. In his debut in the category Javier Sánchez and Romanian Andrei Rares have been decisive. All these proper names deserve our congratulations. It is time to return with more experience, this learning and to fight again for the vanguard position.