Brescia beat Trieste (13:6) in the third match of the semifinals of the playoffs and qualified for the final.
The reigning champion joined Pro Recco, which secured its spot in the final last week.
Unlike the previous two encounters between Brescia and Trieste, the third match wasn’t exciting. Brescia broke the rival before the middle break.
2021/22 Italian League, playoffs
Semifinals, 1st – 4th place (best of three), 3rd match
Brescia – Trieste 13:6 (4:0, 3:2, 4:2, 2:2) – score in the series 2:1
Brescia: Bicari 6, Vapenski 2, C.Presciutti 1, Renzuto Iodice 1, Alesiani 1, Luongo 1, Gitto 1.
Trieste: Inaba 2, Vrlic 1, Bego 1, Razzi 1, Mladossich 1
The series of the semifinal matches between Brescia and Trieste started with Trieste’s surprising away win (9:7). Brescia defeated the rival after a penalty shootout in the game in Trieste (14:13). The third match lacked excitement.
Brescia rushed to a 4:0 lead in the first quarter. After the first break, Alesiani continued Brescia’s series of goals(5:0). The hosts kept Trieste goalless until the 14th minute, when Mladossich netted for 1:5. However, the reigning champions regained a 5-goal lead before the middle break.
Brescia, led by center-forward Nicolas Constantin Bicari, controlled everything in the pool in the second half. It even had an 8-goal advantage (10:2).
The final (best of three) begins in Recco on May 21.
Semifinals, 5th – 8th place (best of three), 3rd match
Ortigia – Iren Quinto 6:5 (0:1, 2:2, 3:0, 1:2) – score in the series 2:1
Ortigia: Ferrero 3, Rossi 1, Vidovic 1, Napolitano 1.
Iren Genova Quinto: Nora 2, Figari 1, Guidi 1, Panerai 1.
Ortigia qualified for the 5th-place playoffs after a thriller in Syracuse.
It was a game with a few big twists and turns. Early in the second quarter, Iren led 3:0. Ortigia reduced the gap before the middle break (2:3), and added three unanswered goals in the third quarter to go to 5:3 before the final quarter. Iren’s goalless phase lasted almost 19 minutes, But, the visitors scored two goals in the 29th minute of the game and leveled at 5:5. Just 17 seconds before the end, Ferrero converted a man-up to give Ortigia a 6:5 victory.
Ortigia will play against Telimar in the 5th-place playoffs.
