3rd PLACE FINAL – Race 4
Allianz Milan – Itas Trentino 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21)
Allianz Milan: Porro 0, Ishikawa 28, Loser 8, Reggers 18, Mergarejo Hernandez 11, Vitelli 6, Colombo (L), Kaziyski 0, Zonta 0, Catania (L), Dirlic 0. NE Starace, Innocenzi, Piano. Enclosure Square.
Itas Trentino: Sbertoli 2, Michieletto 19, Kozamernik 8, Rychlicki 14, Magalini 12, Podrascanin 9, Berger (L), Nelli 0, Pace 0, Laurenzano (L), Lavia 0. NE D’Heer, Cavuto, Acquarone. All. Suns.
REFEREES: Zanussi, Lot.
NOTES – set duration: 27′, 28′, 29′, 26′; total: 110′.
MVP: Yuki Ishikawa (Allianz Milano)
MILAN – Super League bronze medal and historic Champions League qualification for Allianz Milanafter Game 4 of the 3rd place final against the Italian Champions Itas Trentino.
The match ends 3-1 for the Lombards, who appeared better than their opponents and were only able to overturn the second set, won by Itas 18-25 in an almost one-sided set.
For the rest more Milan than Trento in defense and attack. Yuki Ishikawa with 28 points and 70% in attack, elected MVP of the match, he indelibly signs this match in front of over 3,500 of the Allianz Cloud.
Milan starts well, in the wake of the clear success of Game 3, not suffering mentally from the return of the team Alone and then closing in four sets. The match ends in 110 minutes, Trento will have to recover the luster of the regular season as soon as possible because the Champions League final must be played at the beginning of May. Allianz Milano can finally take a breather with many of its protagonists who will experience the Olympic summer with their national teams.
COMMENTS
Roberto Piazza (Allianz Milan coach): “I’m very happy for the boys. Following Race 1 we spoke to each other for a long time, we discussed each other after an important moment of silence and reflection and we understood that we still had a lot of fuel to move forward. This evening I believe the result is right. The match started with an extraordinary ball that gave us a good boost. How this applause-filled audience pushed us.”
Riccardo Sbertoli (Itas Trentino): “It is difficult to accept this verdict but we tried to fight with all our strength until the end. Now we must not lose our bearings and start again from the good things we have done during this last period to try to write a different ending with the Champions League Final on May 5th in Turkey.”
Fabio Soli (Itas Trentino): “We wanted to take the series to game 5, we didn’t succeed, but unlike other recent matches we didn’t stop fighting until the end, demonstrating that we knew how to stay in difficulty to try to write a different epilogue until the end. Milan deserved to get the third place finish and I congratulate our opponents but I also extend them to my team. What we did during the season certainly raised the expectations on us and perhaps all this didn’t help us because they became too great for us to maintain. In the last period we haven’t been able to be calm, but I think this last match shows that the spirit is the right one to play the Champions League Final to the best of our ability next weekend.”
