While two years ago, in the Blue Group, the “bête noire” was Palmi (four defeats between the regular season and playoffs, with only one point earned), since ErmGroup Altotevere has been competing in the Serie A3 Credem Banca championship, the real taboo has been Belluno. Against the Venetians—as has already been highlighted—they have not won in their seven previous matches, including the last one-off match in the Coppa Italia Del Monte, and have only earned one point away from home. Specifically, the first meeting dates back to November 27, 2022, in San Giustino: ErmGroup won the first set, followed by a 3-1 victory for the visitors; in the return match, on February 26, 2023, the only partial satisfaction for the white-and-blues, who led by 2 sets to 1 but then suffered a comeback from the hosts. It was a welcome point, however, as it mathematically secured survival for Bartolini’s team with four games to spare in their Serie A3 debut. The two teams met on December 1, 2024, in Belluno, with a resounding 3-0 victory. The 3-1 victory on February 16, 2025, in San Giustino, was equally clear, in the only match of the second half of the season in which ErmGroup failed to move up the table. The rest is the story of the current season: a 3-1 defeat in the opening match at the VHV Arena (not without regrets), followed by two 3-0 home defeats on January 3 and 14, the second of which was in the Coppa Italia. Now (record-breaking) two more matches are in store, bringing the total to five in the same season. Will this be the right time to break this negative tradition? Altotevere is also appealing to the peculiarities of the playoffs, which often bring surprises, and the so-called “law of large numbers” to break a drought that’s starting to weigh heavily. But first and foremost, everything will depend on the performance of Biffi and his teammates and their ability to find a style of play capable of undermining the confidence of an otherwise solid opponent, with the Marsili-Giannotti diagonal, a strong central duo of Basso and Mozzato, and a lineup of fullbacks also capable of making the difference: Corrado, Loglisci, and the Austrian Berger, who, however, is currently replacing the injured Hoffer at libero. Coach Vincenzo Mastrangelo, a winning-minded coach who arrived in early December, has given the “rhinos” the boost they needed.
