The last act of a long and tiring season is approaching for Ortigia. An important moment, because it offers a prestigious objective: third place in the championship and the consequent qualification for the next Champions League. Competing for the position are Stefano Piccardo’s Ortigia and Alessandro Bovo’s Brescia. Two teams that have already faced each other several times this year, between Serie A1 and the Italian Cup, always giving rise to good, hard-fought matches. The balance is slightly in favor of the Lombards, who won twice (9-7 in the championship, in the Scudetto Round, and 10-9 in the semi-final of the Italian Cup), while the green-and-whites dominated the Regular Season match, which ended with a clear 7-3. Now a best-of-three final will be played, although two could be enough if one of the two teams were to prevail in both game 1 and game 2. It starts tomorrow evening, with game 1 scheduled for 8.00 pm, in Brescia, where Ortigia will try to do the feat in a very difficult pool and against an opponent determined to bring home the first point of the series. Piccardo’s men are aware of the strength of the Brescians, who triumphed in the Italian Cup, breaking Recco’s monopoly, but also of the fact that Ortigia, when they play at their best, can beat anyone. Race 2 scheduled for Saturday 25 May, at 3.00 pm, in Syracuse.
“The players are fine, we tried to work a bit on the physical level, given that such a long break between one play-off series and another is unusual. We worked to not lose the match rhythm and we hope we did it well. – said Stefano Piccardo – It will be a complicated match, as always against Brescia. They have a very high level defensive system, both with even men and with one man down, plus they have Tesanovic, one of the best interpreters of the role. During the three previous matches, we always had difficulties in scoring goals and in proposing stinging actions for their defense. Therefore, we will have to be more aggressive in the offensive phase and then be able to withstand their one-on-ones because, especially in the second match, they hurt us two meters with Lazic and Gianazza. – he continues – If we were to manage to take this third place, it would be the third time in the seven seasons under my management. This gives the dimension of how much the club has grown in recent years and the work that has been done. The team knows that it is an important event, for the players and for the club, given that we have the possibility of finishing third again and qualifying for the Champions League. I believe there is awareness and a great desire to discuss. Then, there are many motivations, such as the possibility of playing for a place in the 13 who will be called up for the Paris Games. There are many duels within this challenge, which has been felt on both sides for two years now.”
The Ortigia goalkeeper, Stefano Tempesti, who has experienced many important events, is the spokesperson for the spirit of the group: “We are ready, both from a physical and mental point of view, aware that we will be facing the team that won the Coppa Italia and who gives his best when under stress. We will face this series of play-offs, knowing that there will be two or three battles, because we have shown that we are at that level and that we can be competitive with this Brescia team. We think third place is within our reach. We will challenge the only team that managed to beat Pro Recco this year, but that doesn’t mean we will have awe towards a team that has proven to have great highs but also great lows. It’s up to us to put them in as much difficulty as possible.”
“Tomorrow’s match – concludes Tempesti – will be fundamental, because if we manage to overturn the field factor, then we could go for broke and close the series at the Cittadella. Our goal, however, is to bring home the result, whether in two or three games. We will have to try to limit their strong points, the ones that hurt us both in the Italian Cup and in the championship, in Brescia, when they put us in difficulty. Even though in the end the matches were all balanced, except for the first leg, where we put them behind with a 7-3 score. But it won’t happen again, now I expect hard-fought races, in which the episodes will determine the result.”
