Objective: React. The Credem Banca Serie A2 Promotion Playoff final series is unstoppable: tomorrow (Wednesday), at 8:30 PM, ABBA Pineto will visit Tinet Prata of Pordenone for Game 2. Reacting, roaring back, is the imperative for the team coached by Simone Di Tommaso after the 3-1 defeat in Game 1 last Sunday at Pala Santa Maria. The Friulians were more in form, while the white-and-blues, on the other hand, were a bit tense, especially in the first set, and were hindered by the highly effective away service. But the story in the Playoffs can change radically from match to match, and Pineto, who have already won in Prata this season (3-1 in the Del Monte® Coppa Italia final), knows this.
The ABBA coaching staff still had to manage the aftermath of Game 1, both mentally, to build the team’s response, and physically. In particular, following the injury suffered by spiker Karli Allik in Game 3 of the quarterfinals, there is concern surrounding Matheus Krauchuk: the Italian opposite hitter suffered a tendon problem in his right elbow during Game 1 and his condition is being constantly monitored; his use tomorrow at Pala Prata will be evaluated in the coming hours.
But in the meantime, ABBA Pineto remains focused: “A five-match series is a long one,” says assistant coach Rosario Angeloni, “and we’re only just getting started. Our Game 1 performance was definitely below par, especially in the first set. Prata did what we expected; after all, this is the highest level of competition, the two best teams of the season are facing each other, so we knew what to expect. We weren’t at our best, yet we almost took the match to a tie break. Now what happened is worth little, we reset everything and start again from Game 2. We will try, as we have always done in every game, to give everything we have and that can be needed to win the match.
