Bizkaia's water polo scene will feature two teams in Primera Nacional, the second tier of the sport, next season. This is because Leioa WP will be joined by Askartza, who this past weekend concluded a sublime promotion phase, earning them a direct ticket to the second division.

They achieved this thanks to a solid victory (12-9) against Mallorca. Although Mallorca arrived at the Bizkaia sports center having nothing to play for, they did not go down without a fight. However, Isusko Arias's team knew that a win would secure their place in the Second Division. Even a loss could have seen them promoted if Granollers, the only rival capable of snatching promotion, also lost their match against Levante.

But the Leioa team did not want to rely on calculations. Everything depended on them, and they were not going to let the opportunity slip away. The match started evenly, with several back-and-forth exchanges between two teams that, while testing each other, alternated control of the scoreboard. The pressure of the standings weighed on Askartza. But once they shook off that fear of winning, they proved unstoppable.

In this manner, Askartza tightened their defense and fought for every ball as if it were their last. They managed their small leads with a maturity unusual for such a young team, steered the game their way, and the final whistle blew with a 12-9 score in their favor. Arias's players accumulated enough points to maintain second place in the standings and, through their own merits, become a Primera Nacional team.

Young, but with great potential. This is how the Leioa club achieved such an ambitious goal, one they hadn't even set at the beginning of the season. Furthermore, the Bizkaia entity acknowledges that the objective for this campaign was to grow as a team and gain experience with a squad new to these challenges, but with significant potential.