A great result for Officina Pozzo SPB which this year managed to qualify for the regional Final 4. Fighting with the other teams present, the boys made a good impression, playing on equal terms with the champions of Parella and the battleship of Cuneo. Let’s retrace the journey of the Under 19 Officina Pozzo SPB this year.
The championship begins immediately with a good second place in the territorial group, which allows the boys to qualify for the second phase with a good placement. By winning the group they managed to arrive as seeded for the Final 4, beating Novi Ligure in the semi-final. They only stop against Acqui Terme, a battleship that wins the territorial trophy. Thanks to second place, we qualified for the regional phase, where the Biella team met Montanaro and Cuneo.
The victory with Montanaro at home allows direct access to the Final 4 and, in Cuneo, the boys manage to reach a 3-2 on the razor’s edge. In the other group Parella beats Acqui Terme and therefore the challenger in the semi-final will be the Turin team.
It was a very tough match against Parella, who initially failed to repel the great effectiveness of the Biella attack. The first set ends at 23 to 25 for Officina Pozzo SPB and, from this moment, the players really start to worry and take the match seriously. The change in Turin’s mentality can be seen in the next two sets, which end 25-20 for the home team. The Biella team didn’t have it and fought on all fronts to reach the tie break, but unfortunately they had to stop at 27-25 in the fourth set. Very close final and great regret because Parella, in the afternoon, won with Acqui Terme, winning the regional title.
Volley Parella – Officina Pozzo SPB 3-1
Partials: 23-25; 25-20; 25-20; 27-25.
Little to say about the final, which was now only worth hierarchical value and no possible qualification. The approach was the right one, with Cuneo having to use all its abilities to take home the first set 27 to 25. After which the Cuneo team took control of the match, managing the result and winning the match by 3 to 0.
Cuneo Volley – Officina Pozzo SPB 3-0
Partials: 27-25; 25-20; 25-21.
Coach Bonaccorso’s comment: “Highly educational path for a group that last year played in the U17 regional final finishing in 3rd place and this year the U19 regional final with 11/12 of the athletes still in the category next year. We demonstrated both in qualification and in the final four that we deserve and demand respect. Perhaps the only regret is precisely that of not having been able to better manage subjection at a regional level, but the boys and I will also work on this in the future. I think the step forward made by the boys is there for all to see. This is a group, a team, with high moral qualities and I am proud of them because this determines great learning abilities. Now they begin the transitional cycle (post championship / pre championship) where we will try to acquire new techniques and pay more attention to physical qualities, with greater enthusiasm dictated by the awareness of being able to become more protagonists in future championships.”
