Badalona Dracs (7-0) and L'Hospitalet Pioners (5-2) face each other next Saturday (April 6 at 5:45 p.m.) at the Badalona Municipal Sports Field to close the regular season, with playoffs in mind.
The precautionary suspension ordered by the Spanish Administrative Court of Sports (TAD) of the FEFA Appeal Committee decision that gave the match in the first week between Pioners and Hurricanes as a defeat to L'Hospitalet due to improper alignment. This means the Pioners will end the regular season with 5 wins and 2 losses, and second place in the East Conference, which grants them a place in the playoffs.
With two victories over the third placed team (the Zaragoza Hurricanes themselves), the result of this week’s match against Badalona Dracs is only a matter of pride. For this reason, the match may turn out to be less exciting than one might expect. In their previous game, Pioners almost surprised Dracs (28-34) and gave us one of the most beautiful games of the season.
Dracs on Cruise Control
In recent weeks, ejections (the last one of Jeremiah Gutiérrez against Pagesos) and injuries (Rav'on Bonner has not seen the field regularly for several games) have not seemed to affect Dracs, who have maintained cruising speed, remaining undefeated. Veteran domestic Quarterback Sergi Gonzalo seems to find himself more comfortable with his receivers every game, among whom the young sensation of the league Eric Ladero, David Martínez and Albert González stand out. The Mexican Marco Durán, who was announced as quarterback, made his debut scoring as a running back in the last game against Mallorca Voltors, and also played in defensive duties.
However, with the playoffs in sight, it is likely that Dracs will want to reserve their stars in order to face (presumably) the Black Demons in the semifinals.
For its part, Pioners has shown evident improvement after the arrival of the García brothers. The Mexican Quarterback from Burros Blancos has boosted the Pioners offense, finding a connetion with Daniel Belso, who is having a spectacular season, his favorite target, while Silver Salazar, recently announced by Barcelona Dragons for the ELF, is the one to run the ball.
The recent decision of the TAD places L'Hospitalet Pioners as second in the Easter Conference and they will face the first in the Western Conference currently led by Osos de Madrid.
Both Teams Are Winners this Week
The rivalry between the two teams in the Catalan derby is more than known. And that is why it cannot be ruled out that both teams want to seek a victory that reinforces their intentions for the playoffs.
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