The new water polo season in Italy has been opened by games of the national cup this weekend.
Thirteen teams started in the Cup. It was planned that all 14 teams which are members of the A1 League took part, but Roma withdrew a few days ago.
The teams were split into four groups (three groups of three, and one of four teams). The top two teams from each group advance to the Final Eight, scheduled for March.
Brescia, Quinto, Pro Recco, Anzio Waterpolis, Telimar and Ortigia qualified for the F8 on Saturday. A day later, Savona and Triste joined the six, after winning 1st and 2nd place in Group C, which was finished on Sunday.
2021/22 Italian Cup, preliminary stage
Group A (Brescia)
Salerno-Quinto 10:14 (4:1, 2:7, 2:3, 2:3)
Salerno: Esposito 3, Cuccovillo 2, Elez 2, Pica 1, Tomasic 1, Luongo 1.
Quinto: Figari 6, Panerai 3, Ravina 3, N.Gambacciani 1, Nora 1.
Brescia- Salerno 16:6 (6:0, 3:1, 4:2, 3:3)
Brescia: S.Luongo 3, Di Somma 3, Alesiani 2, Vapenski 2, Presciutti 2, Dolce 1, T.Gianazza 1, Lazic 1, Tocco 1.
Salerno: Gluhaic 2, M. Luongo 1, Esposito 1, Tomasic 1, Cuccovillo 1.
Quinto – Brescia 4:11 (1:1, 1:2, 2:5, 0:3)
Quinto: Figari 2, Panerai 2.
Brescia: Dolce 5, Vapenski 2, Balzarini 2, Luongo 1, E.Di Somma 1.
Italian champion Brescia made no mistake in the home pool. It won first place with two convincing wins. Brescia ran over Salerno in the game played this morning. A day earlier, Quinto, led by Niccolo Figari, who arrived from Pro Recco this summer, beat Salerno.
An encounter between Brescia and Quinto was decisive for first place. Brescia had a minimal 3:2 lead at halftime, but the hosts dominated in the third and in the fourth period for a convincing 11:4 win.
Final standings: 1. Brescia 6, 2. Quinto 3, 3. Salerno 0.
Group B (Anzio)
Poslllipo – Pro Recco 5:12 (1:4, 1:2, 1:3, 2:3)
Posillipo: Di Martire 2, Saccoia 2, Scalzone 1.
Pro Recco: Zalanki 3, Younger 3, Di Fulvio 2, Loncar 2, Cannella 1, Marini 1.
Anzio Waterpolis – Pro Recco 5:23 (0:4, 2:6, 1:7, 2:6)
Anzio Waterpolis – Posillipo 7:6 (3:2, 1:0, 2:2, 1:2)
Anzio Waterpolis: Di Rocco 2, Gandini 1, Giorgetti 1, Fratarcangeli 1, Mironov 1, Agostini 1.
Posillipo: Di Martire 3, J. Lanfranco 2, M. Lanfranco 1.
Sandro Sukno debuted as Pro Recco coach with two convincing wins. On Day 1, the European champion easily beat Posillipo, with three goals by newcomer Gergo Zalanki and Australian Aaron Younger. Today, Recco demolished host Anzio in the morning session.
Anzio Waterpolis, a returnee to Serie A1, surprised Posillipo in the last match of the tournament, played on Saturday evening, and secured a spot at the Final Eight.
Final standings: 1. Pro Recco 6, 2. Anzio 3, 3. Posillipo 0.
Group C (Trieste)
Metanopoli Milan – Savona 7:23 (1:4, 2:5, 3:8, 1:6)
Metanopoli: Tononi 1, Mattiello 1, Caravita 1, Scollo 1, Kasum 1, Busilacchi 1, Lanzoni 1.
Savona: Vuskovic 4, Campopiano 4, Rizzo 3, Caldieri 3, Bruni 3, Patchaliev 2, Rocchi 1, Fondelli 1, Iocchi Gratta 1, Maricone 1.
Savona – Trieste 12:12 (3:2, 3:4, 2:4, 4:2)
Savona: Fondelli 4, Vuskovic 2, Rizzo 2, Patchaliev 1, Molina 1, Campopiano 1, Iocchi Gratta 1.
Trieste: Mezzarobba 5, Inaba 2, Mladossich 2, Buljubasic 1, Bego 1, Bini 1.
Trieste – Metanopoli 19:6 (5:3, 7:0, 3:0, 4:3)
Trieste: Vrlic 4, Razzi 4, Podgornik 3, Bego 2, Inaba 2,Bini 2, Buljubasic 1, Mezzarobba 1.
Metanopoli: Mattiello 2, Caravita 2, Novara 1, Lanzoni 1
Savona practically secured a ticket for the Final Eight with a convincing win over Metanopoli on Saturday.
Trieste and Savona shared the points In the first match of the second day, played on Sunday morning. Therefore, Trieste needed a 17-goal win over Metanopoli in the last game to climb to 1st place. Still, Trieste didn’t surpass the win Savona achieved on Day 1.
Standings: 1. Savona 4, 2. Trieste 4, 3. Metanopoli 0.
Group D (Syracuse)
Lazio – Telimar 4:17 (2:3, 1:3, 1:7, 0:4)
Lazio: Ferrante 1, Nenni 1, Augusti 1, Checchini 1.
Telimar: Vlahovic 5, Irving 3, Del Basso 3, Fabiano 2, Turchini 1, Di Patti 1, Giliberti 1.
Catania – Ortigia 6:12 (3:3, 1:3, 1:4, 1:2)
Catania: Privitera 3,La Rosa 2, Tringali 1.
Ortigia: Di Luciano 2, Gallo 2, Mirarchi 2, Vidovic 2, F. Condemi 1, A. Condemi 1, Klikovac 1, Rossi 1, Napolitano 1.
Ortigia – Lazio 22:1 (4:0, 6:1, 7:0, 5:0)
Ortigia: F. Condemi 4, A. Condemi 3, Rossi 3, Napolitano 2,Ferrero 2, Di Luciano 3, Gallo 2, Mirarchi 1, Cassia 1, Klikovac 1.
Lazio: Leporale 1
Telimar – Catania 9:2 (2:0, 2:0, 3:1, 2:1)
Telimar: Irving 2, Del Basso 1, Turchini 1, Occhione 1, Lo Casco 1, Giliberti 1, Basic 1.
Catania: La Rosa 1, Privitera 1.
Lazio – Catania 7:14 (4:3, 0:2, 2:4, 1:5)
Lazio: Vitale 2, Augusti 2, Checchini 2, Leporale 1.
Catania: Kacar 3, Privitera 3, Torrisi 2, Russo 2, Catania 2, Tringali 1, Ferlito 1.
Ortigia – Telimar 5:6 (0:2, 2:2, 0:2, 3:0)
Ortigia: F. Condemi 1, Gallo 1, Rossi 1, Vidovic 1.
Telimar: Irving 3, Lo Dico 1, Basic 1, Vlahovic 1.
Telimar and Ortigia were the favorites in the only group with four teams. Both teams easily beat Catania and Lazio in the first two rounds, and the Sicilian derby, played this evening, was a battle for 1st place.
Telimar dictated the pace for most of the time. The Palermo-based side entered the fourth quarter with a 4-goal advantage (6:2). Still, the hosts didn’t give in. Ortigia managed to cut the deficit to just one goal but didn’t equalize and Telimar finished in 1st place.
Final standings: 1. Telimar 9, 2. Ortigia 6, 3. Catania 3, 4. Lazio 0.
Pairings for the Final Eight (March 11 – 13)
Quarterfinals
QF1: Brescia (A1) – Ortigia (D2)
QF2: Pro Recco (B1) – Trieste (C2)
QF3: Savona (C1) – Anzio (B2)
QF4: Telimar (D1) – Quinto (A2)
Semifinal 1: winners of QF1 and QF4, semifinal 2: Winners QF2 and QF3
UPDATED: September 19
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