Brescia joined Pro Recco in the final of the Serie A1 playoffs after a convincing 13:6 victory over Trieste in the third match of the semifinals.
The series began with a narrow victory for Brescia in the first match (9:8), but Trieste responded by beating Brescia 10:5 at home. This defeat acted as a wake-up call for Brescia’s water polo players, who delivered an exceptional performance in the third game to avoid a surprising elimination.
Brescia took an early 4:2 lead in the first quarter of today’s third encounter. In the second period, the hosts scored three unanswered goals. Alesiani added one two minutes after the middle break, and by the 18th minute, Brescia built a commanding 8:2 lead. Trieste managed to reduce the deficit slightly before the final quarter – 5:10. In the fourth quarter, Brescia maintained control, scoring three consecutive goals to extend their lead to 13:5. Trieste, which left without its top scorer Vuk Draskovic due to an exclusion for a violent foul in the fourth quarter, managed to score the last goal of the game.
Filipo Ferrero led Brescia, scoring three goals, while both Dolce and Alesiani contributed two goals each. Vuk Draskovic was, as usual, Trieste’s best scorer with four goals.
Since 2012, Brescia has missed only one final in the national league playoffs, which occurred last year. Between 2012 and 2023, it lost ten finals to Pro Recco and won the championship in 2021.
This year, Brescia finished first in the regular season, securing home-field advantage for the first match of the finals on May 6.
De Akker defeated Ortigia in the 3rd match of the 5th–8th place playoffs semifinals – 12:11. De Akker was three goals down at halftime (2:5). However, De Akker shined in the second half. The Bologna-based team went on a 10:4 run and took a 12:9 lead in the middle of the fourth period. Ortigia reduced the gap, but didn’t equalize. Stefano Luongo and Tyler Abramson led De Akker, with four goals each. Yusuke Inaba scored four for Ortigia.
De Akker will play against Posillipo in the matches for 5th place. Both teams have already qualified for the Conference Cup.
2025 Italian League, playoffs, semifinals (best of three), 3rd games
1st – 4th place
Brescia – Trieste 13:6 (4:2 3:0, 3:3, 3:1) – score in the series 2:1
5th-8th place
De Akker – Ortigia 12:11 (1:3, 1:2, 7:3, 3:3) – score in the series 2:1
