Pro Recco won the Italian Cup for the 18th time. The 2025 Italian Cup Final Eight took place in Naples. Recco defeated Savona 11:5 in the final match.
Both finalists opened the tournament with convincing wins in the quarterfinals. Pro Recco blew Ortigia away – 13:3. Savona defeated De Akker 16:11.
In the semifinals, they had tough challenges. Pro Recco faced Trieste, while Savona played against Brescia, which won the trophy in 2024.
Pro Recco and Trieste met for the second time within several days. Earlier this week, Pro Recco defeated Trieste 9:7 in the first match of the 22nd round of Serie A1. The two teams fought a hard defensive battle in the semifinals in Naples with only nine goals. Recco was behind Trieste for three quarters but secured a 5:4 victory. Trieste played excellently in defense in the first half, goalkeeper Dejan Lazovic did a great job. Trieste built a 2:0 lead in the first quarter. Pro Recco got on the scoreboard only in the 13th minute, when Nicolas Prescutti ended the champions’ long goalless phase (1:2).
In the 22nd minute, Trieste was again two steps ahead of the favorite after Draskovic converted a penalty shot – 4:2. However, it was his team’s last goal in the game. Five minutes later, Cannella leveled at 4:4. The same player gave Recco the first lead in the match with a power-play goal midway through the final period. It was his third goal in the game. Recco kept a slim 5:4 advantage in the remaining four minutes.
Savona dethroned Brescia with a solid 10:6 victory in the semis. Savona dictated the pace from the opening whistle and had a 6:2 lead at halftime. Early in the fourth period, Savona streched the margin to six (10:4), and the contest was over. Brescia closed the match with two consolation goals in the last two minutes. Veteran Pietro Figlioli and Balazs Erdely led Savona’s attack, scoring three goals each.
Pro Recco was always in front in the final against Savona. Recco earned a 2:0 lead in the four minutes and was 5:2 up early in the second quarter. Savona managed to keep pace with Recco until the halftime break, trailing by a score of 4:6. However, Recco pulled away in the second half, scoring four consecutive goals between the 19th and 27th minutes. The team coached by Sandro Sukno built a commanding 10:4 lead with five and a half minutes remaining. After that, each side netted a goal, and Recco won the trophy with a comfortable 11:5 victory. Francesco Di Fulvio, Giacomo Cannella, Aaron Younger, and Francesco Condemi scored two goals each for Pro Recco. Erdely netted two for Savona.
Brescia won the bronze medal. The outgoing champion defeated Trieste after a penalty shootout in the third-place match—15:13 (11:11)—with five goals from Max Irving (four in regular time and one in the shootout).
2024/25 Italian Cup, Final Eight, Naples
Quarterfinals
Brescia – Posillipo 14:8 (5:0, 3:1, 2:3, 4:4)
Savona – De Akker 16:11 (4:4, 4:3, 4:2, 4:2)
Pro Recco – Ortigia 13:3 (4:0, 2:1, 4:2, 3:0)
Roma Vis Nova – Trieste 8:9 (2:3, 3:2 1:2, 2:2)
Semifinals
Pro Recco – Trieste 5:4 (0:2, 2:1, 1:1, 2:0)
Brescia – Savona 6:10 (1:3, 1:3, 2:3, 2:1)
Bronze-medal match
Trieste – Brescia 13:15 (2:2, 3:3, 3:2, 3:4, PSO 2:4)
Final
Pro Recco – Savona 11:5 (4:2, 2:2, 3:0, 2:1)
