Final Play Off 3° Place Credem Banca
Allianz Milano -Itas Trentino 3-2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-16, 25-27, 22-20)
Allianz Milano – Itas Trentino 3-2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-16, 25-27, 22-20) – Allianz Milano: Porro 7, Ishikawa 21, Loser 10, Reggers 19, Mergarejo Hernandez 13, Vitelli 3, Kaziyski (L), Zonta 0, Catania (L), Piano 0, Dirlic 1. N.E. Starace, Innocenzi, Colombo. All. Piazza. Itas Trentino: Sbertoli 2, Michieletto 23, Kozamernik 10, Rychlicki 23, Magalini 16, Podrascanin 3, Berger (L), Nelli 0, D’Heer 1, Cavuto 1, Pace 0, Laurenzano (L), Acquarone 1. N.E. Garcia. All. Soli. ARBITRI: Curto, Cesare. NOTE – durata set: 28′, 22′, 23′, 34′, 30′; tot: 137′.
We still need 5 sets to choose the best between Milan and Trento, but the home court factor reigns this time too, despite a tie-break that started really uphill for the hosts and turned at the last with Ishiwaka and Porro. First and fourth sets of almost absolute balance, with Allianz risking being caught in the opening set after having gained a good lead and unable to close the matchpoint in the fourth. Second of clear mark from Trentino, third from Milan. Between the two teams there are very few details that decide this match too. MVP of the evening is Damiano Catania who flies to defend every ball. Milan was better than Trento in service, with 9 aces to 5, 4 of which were placed by Paolo Porro, while there were 14 blocks for Itas against 9 for the Lombards. In this fundamental Kozamernik and Michieletto with 4 blocks each are on the shields. It will be a new battle on Wednesday at the IlT Quotidiano Arena in Trento, but we will return to Milan again on Saturday 27 April. In Itas, it is worth mentioning the return of Riccardo Sbertoli as a starter after a Play Off seen almost entirely from off the pitch due to an injury.
MVP: Damiano Catania (Allianz Milan)
SPECTATORS: 2624
Osniel Mergarejo (Allianz Milano): “I think the winning formula for winning this match was teamwork and the ability to stay together until the end, to put even just one point more than the opponent. Now we already have to think about Wednesday’s match because I would like to return to the Allianz Cloud to play for the matchpoint for 3rd place. For my part, I’m happy to be able to lend a hand to the team. We worked a lot together, Kaziyski couldn’t play this evening and so we will all give our best to finish the championship as high as possible.”
Jan Kozamernik (Itas Trentino): “It was a match with a thousand faces, but beyond the final tie-break our regret must lie entirely in not having initially interpreted the match well with a difficult first set, a negative third set and many serving errors in the tie-break. It’s a shame but we need to turn the page immediately in view of Game 3 on Wednesday.”
Game 3
Mercoledì 24 aprile 2024, ore 20.30
Itas Trentino – Allianz Milano
Game 4
Sabato 27 aprile 2024, ore 20.30
Allianz Milano – Itas Trentino
Game 5 (eventuale)
Martedì 30 aprile 2024, ore 20.30
Itas Trentino – Allianz Milano
