Men’s A1 – Scudetto playoffs – Semifinals – Game 2
ORTIGIA-PRO RECCO 11-18 (1-4, 3-3, 3-5, 4-6) [serie chiusa sullo 0-2]
Ortigia: Tempesti, F. Cassia, Giribaldi, La Rosa 1, Di Luciano 1, Cupido 1, Bitadze, Carnesecchi 1, A. Condemi, Y. Inaba 4 (1 pen.), Ferrero 3 (1 pen.), Napolitano, Calabresi, S. Nesti. All. Picard
Pro Recco: Negri, F. Di Fulvio 2, Zalanki 4, Cannella, Younger 2 (1 pen.), Fondelli, N. Presciutti 1, Echenique 2, F. Condemi 3, Kakaris 1, Iocchi Gratta 1, Hallock 1, Del Lungo, G Rossi 1. All. Sukno
Referees: Ercoli and Navarra
Note: upper number Ortigia 8/13, Pro Recco 6/10. Penalties: Ortigia 2/2, Pro Recco 1/2. 3 f. released. Iocchi Gratta and N. Presciutti in the third quarter, Younger in the fourth. Del Lungo replaces Negri in the 17th minute
Eighteen consecutive championship finals: the Pro Recco updates his championship record by beating theOrtigia also at Caldarella, in race 2 from the playoff semi-finals. The champions’ approach to the race was almost perfect Sukno, who built their victory on a first quarter in which their defense became even more suffocating than that of game 1: then it was above all the man less who made the difference, this time however the Ligurians also managed to reduce the opportunities in superiority of the Aretusei and risk even less. As the minutes passed, however, the Ligurian defense suffered from the movements and dribbling of the Sicilians who emerged defeated, but could still claim to have managed to score 11 goals against the Biancoceleste battleship in a championship semi-final.
Already at 0-0, in reality, a couple of interventions were providential Blackspreferred today as starter to Del Lungo, but as the minutes passed, the Biancocelesti’s control over the match became increasingly greater. On offense it is Zalanki to unlock the 1-0 goal by surprising Cupido and Tempesti from post 1, then they strike Francesco Condemi in counter-break and Giglio Rossi, author of the 3-0 at the start. A beautiful percussion of Carnesecchi unlocks Ortigia, but the left-footed player’s initiative doesn’t break Recco’s dominance of the match: before the break Francesco By Fulvio hits on lift and shot, after the break Kakaris wins a penalty which Younger turns into the 5-1. Down by four goals, Ortigia shakes itself off and finds greater confidence in the offensive phase, accelerating the dribble in superiority and finding the courage to challenge Negri from the perimeter. A great volley goal from Ferrero opens a double back and forth between the two teams, Pro Recco remains ahead by +3, but a few seconds before the long interval Inaba finds the point of 7-5, but not validated by Navarra.
The episode is seen as a wake-up call by Pro Recco, which at the start of the third quarter gives another push to the match: the Ligurians return to defending very high in numerical inferiority, while on the other side of the pool they make the difference are the ballistic qualities of the samples, scoring from the perimeter with Echenique, Younger And Zalanki and then also with Kakaris in superiority. The 4-0 break brings Sukno’s team to 11-4, a score that pinches the pride of Ortigia and in particular of Ferrero, who tries in every way to keep his team in the match. After Piccardo’s time-out the Sicilian team finds the goal again with continuity thanks to valuable plays – Napolitano asserts itself at 2 meters, Inaba it hurts when he goes to shoot – and to some light-heartedness from the Biancocelesti, nibbling away at the deficit until -3 at the start of the last quarter (12-9 from Inaba on a penalty). The final, however, sees Pro Recco once again accelerate until they are unreachable: the match ends at 18-11, from tomorrow Ortigia will work on the final for 3rd place while the Biancocelesti have their sights set on scudetto number 36.
***
BRESCIA-BPER SAVONA 4-6 (0-1, 0-0, 0-2, 4-3) [serie chiusa sullo 0-2]
Brescia: Tesanovic, Del Basso, Dolce, F. Faraglia 1 (rig.), D. Lazic, T. Gianazza, Renzuto, Guerrato, Alesiani 2, Balzarini, Irving 1, Balzarini, Messere Milani. All. Bovo
BPER Savona: Nicosia, Rocchi 1, A. Patchaliev, Figlioli 4 (1 penalty), M. Vavic, Rizzo 1, Cora, Bruni, Campopiano, M. Guidi, Djurdjic, Erdelyi, Da Rold, Bragantini. All. Angelini
Referees: Calabrò and D’Antoni
Note: upper number Brescia 3/15, Savona 2/11. Penalties: Brescia 1/2, Savona 1/1. Bruni and Renzuto were sent off for mutual misconduct in the 14th minute. Released 3 f. Children at 30′
Everything has an end, even the fixed appointment in the championship final between Pro Recco and Brescia. After 11 editions, the last act of the championship A1 male will have a new protagonist: it’s the BPER Savona, who wins Mompiano after the success in game 1 at Zanelli and takes on the role of Recco’s antagonist. A role that the team of Angelini he had also had in the regular season, but the playoffs, as we know, are another thing. Savona, who have won 3 league titles in their history, are back in the final after 13 years thanks to a frightening defensive performance, which however also coincides with a bad evening for Brescia’s attack: this explains the 24 minutes without goals for the Lombardi, who plummeted until they reached 0/10 in superiority and found the first goal with 7’15” left in the match, with the guests ahead 3-0. Nicosia it’s a totem, but the defense works because every Savonese sacrifices himself for his teammate, attacking the opponent and holding his arms very high in an attempt to stop or intercept the ball. Moving forward, then, it resolves Children: 4 goals for the eternal champion with triple nationality and a thousand resources, his right foot is the factor that unbalances a match that has been blocked for a long time. Note of merit for RocchiBruni is sent off with Renzuto and the player from Imperia scores at two meters and also finds a valuable goal: Angelini, by now, has transformed him into a real centre-half.
Game 2 seems to be the exact sequel to the Zanelli match, with the exception of the area chosen by Angelini in the first minutes: it won’t last long, then the BPER coach also turns to pressing which Bovo instead insists on from the 1st minute. The physical clash is immediately intense, the referees let the game play, punishing only excessively harsh markings at 2 metres: in the superiority, however, neither of the two contenders shines, also thanks to Tesanovic and Nicosia, by far the best in the pool in the first two quarters. In 16′ only Children finds his way to the net (in the 7th minute), his goal allows Savona to reach 1/6 in superiority at the change of pitch, while Brescia does significantly worse: 0/7 and a missed penalty, actually saved by the impenetrable Nicosia to Sweet. The tension grows as the minutes pass and to keep the match under control D’Antoni draws the red card in the 14th minute against Bruni and Renzuto, protagonists of an exchange of opinions that did not seem worthy of action. Brescia continues to hit Savona’s defense even in the third half, the team Bovo she often plays away from the Nicosia goal, even in situations with an extra man: the feeling is that the lions have ended up in a tunnel of uncertainties, with the ball getting heavier and the zero on the scoreboard under goals scored getting bigger and bigger.
BPER waits and at the end of the quarter tries to throw the lions down the well: it is once again Figlioli who breaks the impasse with a shot from post 2 on which Tesanovic can do nothing, then comes the blow signed by Rizzo, scoring 35” from the third siren for 3-0. The frost falls on Mompiano, but the crowd at the Lombard swimming pool comes to life in the first minute of the fourth half: after more than 24′ of fasting, Alesiani manages to beat Nicosia, restoring hope to Brescia. Rocchi immediately replies in Bedouin for the 4-1, but Alesiani still keeps Brescia alive, bringing the score to 2/12. The fatigue is felt, but not for Figlioli, who in the 28th minute puts Savona back on +3 with a shot from beyond the arc to make it 5-2. The veteran’s celebration is great, knowing that the finish line is now close. Savona achieved it by still keeping up its defense and keeping its nerve even after Irving’s -2 (5-3). The exclamation point is once again put by Figlioli, who converts the penalty to make it 6-3 in the 30th minute. It’s now done for Savona, who will play for the tricolor from May 22nd.
***
Men’s A1 – Playoffs – Finals
Scudetto final (game 1 on 5/22, game 2 on 5/25, if necessary. game 3 on 5/29)
PRO RECCO-BPER SAVONA
3rd place final
BRESCIA-ORTIGIA
***
Click here for results, rankings and news of the men’s A1
