It is hard to forget 2023 for Eldense, a year that etched itself into the club’s centennial memory. Eldense Sports Club closed a chapter that will be recalled for decades, as the team packed the Nuevo Pepico Amat stadium on June 15 with a dream of returning to the Second Division and professional football after six decades. The night felt epic, a boundary-pushing moment filled with raw emotion. Fernando Estévez’s side earned their third straight promotion after extra time against Real Madrid Castilla, Raúl González Blanco’s storied reserve side. Eldense led the table for most of the campaign, yet at the final stretch they missed direct promotion, earning a playoff spot instead. They downed Celta B in the opening round and, in the final, demonstrated superior form to the white reserve team. Juanto Ortuño’s goal in the 114th minute of extra time sealed the key victory. The city celebrated in style, and Eldense has carried that momentum into the 2023-24 season, finishing the first half of the campaign in fifteenth place, four points clear of the relegation zone, setting a steady course toward stability in the league above.
The season took a contrasting turn for Elche, who marked their centenary with a tough campaign that left them stranded near the bottom of the table. Three coaches—Francisco, Pablo Machín, and, ultimately, Sebastián Beccacece—could not spark a dramatic revival. After three seasons in the top flight, they dropped back to the Second Division. The Argentine coach, brought in with the aim of guiding a quick return to the top tier, saw the latter half of 2023 disappointingly underperform; Elche never managed to break into the top six. The first half of the year was uneven, and they finished thirteenth, four points shy of the promotion play-offs. For the people of Elche, 2023 was a year of mixed feelings, with moments of joy balanced by the sting of near-misses. As they welcome 2024, the focus remains on restoring stability in the second tier and laying groundwork for a possible ascent back to the first division.
Hercules’ long, arduous journey through a stormy sea of expectations
What should have been Paco Peña’s first full year in charge of the Hércules project quickly ran into rough seas. Ángel Rodríguez’s election and the interim period under Lolo Escobar did little to solidify a clear path forward. The club entered 2023 with modest hopes of climbing back toward relevance, but a poor winter period underscored a lack of defensive structure, limited attacking purpose, and an overhang of difficult assets. With the risk of relegation looming, the team agreed to regroup from scratch. The coach who had been tasked with steering the ship left for Algeciras, claiming he did not feel the rhythm in Alicante. Rubén Torrecilla stepped in to rewrite the story, a narrative still in flux as the year closed with sadness, dramatic change, and the sense that a new chapter might finally be starting to take shape.
HLA Alicante sustains its growth trajectory, on and off the field
In 2023, HLA Alicante continued a balanced ascent both in sport and in community engagement. The club reached the playoffs but could not seal progress. The standout obstacle was Pedro Rivero’s Palencia, who halted their promotion ambitions in the playoff round. Under the leadership of Daniel Adriasola, the club reset and restructured its sporting department, welcoming Asier Alonso as director of sport and bringing in new faces from the Real Betis Baloncesto network, including Araberri and Antonio Pérez Caínzos. Only Edu Gatell remained from the prior squad, and the season ended with a steady rise in form. Beyond sport, the club expanded its social footprint, drawing more supporters to the Pedro Ferrándiz facility and amplifying community initiatives that knit the club closer to its fans. The sense is clear: HLA Alicante is building a sustainable platform for growth—on the pitch and in the neighborhood alike.