Thrilling matches in Catania and Trieste were the highlights of the 16th matchday in the Italian League.
Both games produced surprising results.
Trieste, the LEN Euro Cup quarterfinalist, won only a point in a home match against 12th-placed Roma – 10:10. Savona, which is among the best eight teams in the Euro Cup, as well as Trieste, failed to beat 13th-placed Catania. The game ended in a 13:13 draw.
Goals scored in the dying seconds were decisive in both games.
2022/23 Italian League, Day 16
Catania – Savona 13:13 (4:4, 1:2, 5:3, 3:4)
Catania: La Rosa 3, Camilleri 3, Gullotta 2, R. Torrisi 1, G.Torrisi 1, Guimaraes 1, Privitera 1, Russo 1.
Savona: Patchaliev 3, Bruni 3, Campopiano 2, Djurdjic 2, Rizzo 1, Caldieri 1, Guidi 1 .
Trieste – Roma 10:10 (3:3, 3:1, 3:3, 1:3)
Trieste: Petronio 3, Inaba 3, Bini 2, Mladossich 2.
Roma: F. Faraglia 3, Viskovic 3, Voncina 2, Lucci 2.
De Akker – Ortigia 5:16 (1:3, 0:5, 1:3, 3:5)
De Akker Team Bologna: Cocchi 2, Baldinelli 1, Guerrato 1, Deserti 1.
CC Ortigia: F. Condemi 6, Ferrero 3, Rossi 2, Napolitano 2, Carnesecchi 1, Di Luciano 1, Vidovic 1.
Brescia – Bogliasco 23:8 (6:2, 5:1, 8:3, 4:2)
Brescia: Vapenski 5, Lungo 3, E.Di Somma 3, Gitto 2, Lazic 2, Renzuto 2, Gianazza 2, Kharkov 2, Dolce 1.
Bogliasco: Radojevic 3, Brambilla Di Civesio 2, Guidaldi 1, Boero 1.
Telimar – Posillipo 15:11 (4:2, 3:1, 3:3, 5:5)
Telimar: Del Basso 4, Giorgetti 3, Vitale 2, Irving 2, Hooper 2, Gilberti 1, Lo Dico 1
Posillipo: Stevenson 3, Abramson 3, Saccoia 3, Briganti 2.
Quinto – Anzio 9:5 (2:2, 3:1, 2:1, 2:1)
Iren Genova Quinto: Ravina 3, Mijuskovic 2, A.Di Somma 1, Figari 1, Gitto 1, Gambacciani 1.
Anyio Waterpolis: Cuccovillo 3, Goreta 1, Bajic 1.
Played on Sunday
Salerno – Pro Recco 7:13 (0:2, 2:5, 2:3, 3:3)
Salerno: Barroso 2, Tomasic 2, Gallo 2, Esposito 1.
Pro Recco: Iocchi Gratta 3, Zalanki 2, N. Presciutti 2, Rossi 2, Di Fulvio 1, Younger 1, Fondelli 1, Velotto 1.
Savona was in a good rhythm before the 16th round. It posted several wins in the domestic competition and made a big step toward the LEN Euro Cup semifinals. Still, Savona didn’t keep the momentum. The first quarter (4:4) indicated a surprise in Catania could happen. Savona earned a slim lead before the middle break (6:5). Still, the third period belonged to Catania. The hosts had a 2-goal lead twice (9:7 and 10:8). Savona’s Djurdjic beat the buzzer, he found the net in the very last second of the third period for 9:10.
Campopiano leveled at 10:10 in the 15th minute. But, shortly after, Guimaraes gave Catania a new lead. Savona scored three straight goals in 90 seconds and took a 13:11 lead with 04:19 minutes left on the clock. It seemed that the favorite would earn three points. Still, Catania had the last word. Camilleri netted for 12:13 in the 29th minute. Just ten seconds before the final buzzer, Torrisi scored an equalizer and Catania won a valuable point – 13:13.
Trieste was, as expected, the team that controlled the match against Roma. Still, the hosts took only one point, despite the fact that they had a 3-goal lead. After a 6:4 first half, Trieste stretched the margin to three (7:4,8:5) in the third quarter. Two goals separated the rivals before the final period, Roma trailed 7:9.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Roma caught up with the hosts – 9:9. In the following minutes, both teams missed several chances. Trieste had a man-up in its last possession. Petronio converted a 6 on 5 to a 10:9 lead with 17 seconds to go. But the hosts and favorites didn’t save a win. Just four seconds before the end, Francesco Faraglia hit the back of the net to set the final score – 10:10.
Brescia and Ortigia showed no mercy to their rivals. Brescia, led by Boris Vapenski (5 goals), demolished Bogliasco (23:8). Francesco Condemi scored six goals in Ortigia’s 16:5 victory over De Akker Bologna.
Telimar had ups and downs in the game against Posillipo, but it controlled the result. The Palermo-based side had a five-goal lead on several occasions (8:3, 11:6, 12:7). Posillipo didn’t surrender and cut the deficit to three (10:13) with two minutes to go. However, Telimar didn’t let the visitors come back. The Sicilians netted two goals in 60 seconds, went to 15:10 and killed Posillipo’s last hope.
Quinto beat Anzio by four goals (9:5). This victory is very important for the Genoa-based team. After the 16th matchday, ten points separate 7th-placed Quinto and 8th-placed Anzio. Both teams scored two goals apiece in the first quarter. Iren Quinto opened the second quarter with three straight goals for 5:2 and that determined the rest of the match.
UPDATE, February 5
Pro Recco defeated Salerno (13:7) in the last match od the round, played on Sunday. The title-holder, which played without Ivovic, Aicardi, and Cannella, dominated the first half and entered the third quarter leading 7:2. The visitors added two goals in the first three minutes of the second half,. They went to 9:2 and slowed after that.
1.Pro Recco 16 – 48
2. Brescia 16 – 45
3. Ortigia 16 – 37
4. Telimar 16 – 34
5 Savona 16 – 32
6. Trieste 16 – 31
7. Iren Quinto 16 – 24
8. Anzio 16 – 14
9. Salerno 16 – 13
10. De Akker 16 -13
11.Posillipo 16 – 11
12. Roma 15 – 11
13. Catania 15 – 8
14. Bogliasco 16 – 4
