Six Playoff Teams Set in Buenos Aires, and San Fernando Get Two Teams in the Top Flight
Buenos Aires hockey doesn’t do quiet finishes. The last playoff place in the men’s Torneo Metropolitano came down to the final seconds of a game in Berazategui, and the team that took it had never strung three playoff runs together in its history. Until now.
Ducilo took the last seat, 26 seconds from time
Ducilo are in. The sixth and final playoff spot is theirs after a week that summed up why this league is worth watching. Against Hurling, Bautista Fortes equalised for Ducilo and Goyo Ibarra scored the winner with 26 seconds left on the clock. 2-1. Then, as if to prove it wasn’t a fluke, Ducilo went and beat Ciudad B 6-2.
ESPN’s reporting of the round notes this is the first time Ducilo have reached the postseason three years running. A club from Berazategui, punching into a top six full of Buenos Aires heavyweights. That’s the story of this regular season, for our money.
The six, in no final order yet: San Fernando, Banco Provincia, Ciudad A, Mitre, GEBA and Ducilo. The top two at the end of the regular season go straight into the semi-finals; the other four play a preliminary round first. The regular season closes on Sunday 25 October once the pending fixtures are played, and first place is still live: San Fernando, Banco Provincia and Mitre are all in that fight.
The round that settled it
San Fernando did their part with two wins, 5-1 against Universitario de La Plata and 4-1 against Quilmes. Banco Provincia drew twice, 2-2 with Ciudad A and 1-1 with GEBA, and Mitre beat Santa Bárbara 4-2 and SAG 3-2 to stay in the top-two race.
The rest of the results from the round ESPN reported on 12 October: San Martín won 1-0 at Ciudad A, Hurling beat Lomas 3-1, and Universidad de La Plata beat Santa Bárbara 3-2. At the bottom, Sociedad Alemana de Gimnasia and Ciudad B are relegated. Ciudad B’s season ends with a playoff side hanging six on them and the drop confirmed in the same week. Brutal league.
San Fernando B are going up
The other big Buenos Aires story sits one division down. San Fernando B have won promotion to Primera A for 2027, a season after being relegated, which means San Fernando will have two teams in the men’s top flight next year.
The numbers behind it are strong: in the second phase, San Fernando B put together 13 wins, one draw and one defeat in 15 matches, with 54 goals scored, before a 3-2 away win at Banfield on 10 October sealed the run-in. They’d already beaten Vélez 3-2 on 4 October. A B team walking back into the top division with that record isn’t a curiosity. It’s a warning to the A teams, including their own clubmates.
Next Sunday decides the seeding, the semi-final byes and the last of the order. Then the playoffs start, and Buenos Aires gets loud.
