Almost two months, that’s how much time has passed since the last home match of the Yuasa Battery at the PalaSavelli. It was February 23, and Modena’s victory over Taranto sanctioned, even before the kick-off, the mathematics of a salvation that until a handful of weeks earlier seemed unthinkable. Then the away derby on the last day, then the international tournament in Dubai. Paraphrasing a famous musical passage, one could say “from Civitanova to Dubai, passing through Grotta, from Cisterna to Padua…” and now, finally, back in front of their own fans.
A season that ended in tenth place, leaving behind not one but two teams: Taranto, then relegated on a “thriller” final day, and even Monza, reigning Italian vice-champion but extremely unlucky in a year in which, in terms of injuries, the Brianza team is perhaps the only one to have paid the price as much or more than Grottazzolina.
A tenth place that earned the team from the Marche the “gift” of an extraseason that has been unlucky so far, also and needless to say because of some physical ailments. But it is still a gift, because having the opportunity to play two more games at home, in the splendid setting of a PalaSavelli that in the meantime is preparing for a much-anticipated and necessary restyling, is still a beautiful thing, to be enjoyed.
