The top three teams of the Italian Championship – Pro Recco, Brescia, and Ortigia – collected points in the 24th round with convincing victories.
The derby was an encounter between the leader and the 4th-placed team. But, the match lacked excitement. Recco dominated. Twelve goals separated the rivals at the end – the European champion recorded a 16:4 victory.
Brescia beat Catania 16:6, while Ortigia defeated Anzio Waterpolis 14:8.
Thanks to the win in Anzio, and Recco’s victory over Telimar, Ortigia secured 3rd place in the playoffs. The Syracuse-based team has six points more than Telimar, with two rounds left in the regular season. Ortigia has a better score in head-to-head matches against its biggest Sicilian rival (16:8 and 8:8), so Telimar cannot catch up with Ortigia.
The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs for the title. It’s most likely that Recco will stay atop and play against Telimar in the semis. Telimar still hasn’t secured 4th place, but it will probably keep its place among the top four.
2022/23 Italian League, Day 24
Pro Recco – Telimar 16:4 (4:2, 3:1, 5:1, 4:0)
Pro Recco: Cannella 3, Aicardi 3, N.Presciutti 2, Echenique 2, Velotto 2, Zalanki 2, Di Fulvio 1, Fondelli 1.
Telimar: Irving 3, Giorgetti 1.
Brescia – Catania 16:6 (3:0, 3:3, 4:2, 6:1)
Brescia:S.Luongo 3, E.Di Somma 3, C. Presciutti 2, Kharkov 2, Alesiani 2,Lazic 1, Vapenski 1, Renzuto Iodice 1, Gitto 1.
Catania: Camilleri 3, G.Torrisi 2, Privitera 1.
Anzio Waterpolis – Ortigia 8:14 (1:5, 2:2, 1:4, 4:4)
Anzio: Goreta 3, Susak 1, Caponeto 1, Lapenna 1, Bajic 1, Koprcina 1.
Ortigia: Gorria 3, Rossi 3, F.Condemi 2, Cassia 1, Di Luciano 1, Velkic 1, Ferrero 1.
Salerno – De Akker 7:8 (1:2, 0:2, 3:0, 3:4)
Salerno: Barroso 3, Gallo 2, Sanges 1, Tomasic 1.
De Akker: Manzi 3, Boggiano 2, Guerrato 2, Cocchi 1.
Trieste – Quinto 13:11 (2:3, 4:1, 5:3, 2:4)
Trieste: Valentino 4, Bini 3, Mezzarobba 2, Inaba 1,Podgornik 1, Buljubasic 1, Vrlic 1.
Iren Quinto Genova: Villa 4, Ravina 3 Gambacciani 1, A.Di Somma 1, Fracas 1, Figari 1.
Savona – Posillipo 11:5 (2:4, 2:1, 4:0, 3:0)
Savona: Patchaliev 3, Campopiano 2, Guidi 2, Djurdjic 2, Rocchi 1, Bruni 1.
Posillipo: Stevenson 2, Abramson 1, Aiello 1, Saccoia 1
Roma Nuoto – Bogliasco – the visiting team didn’t come.
Pro Recco left no chance to Telimar. The visitors from Palermo leveled just once (1:1). At the middle break, the European champion led 4:2. Early in the second period, Recco doubled its advantage to 6:2. It maintained a 4-goal lead until the middle break. It didn’t slow in the second half, playing excellently both in the defense and the attack. In the 21st minute, Telimar scored its only goal in the second half (Irving for 4:11). After that, the home team added five goals (16:4).
Brescia beat Catania by 10 goals, but the Sicilians didn’t bring a white flag. The favorites started well and won the first period (3:0). Catania leveled in the middle of the second quarter (3:3). Brescia rebuilt a 3-goal lea before the end of the second quarter (6:3) and ruled the field for a 16:6 victory.
Ortigia defeated Anzio 14:8. After a 5:1 first quarter, the Siciians went to 6:1 and their win wasn’t in danger.
De Akker Bologna brings home three points from Salerno. It was a game with a few twists and turns. In the end, a last-gasp goal decided the winner. De Akker led 4:1 at halftime. Salerno leveled at 4:4 with three unanswered goals in the third period. The fourth quarter was a real culmination of the drama in Salernoo. De Akker took the lead twice (5:4, 6:5). Salerno’s veteran Valentino Gallo scored two goals within 34 seconds (one from a penalty, another with a man-up), and Salerno went ahead (7:6) with a minute and a half left on the clock. However, the match’s hero was De Akker’s youngster Giorgio Boggiano (20), who scored the last two goals in the game. He beat the buzzer, scoring a winner (8:7) just a second before the end.
Trieste was better than Iren Quinto (13:11) and earned valuable points in their efforts to finish in 5th place and win the “pole position” in the playoffs for 5th place. But, Trieste still has a chance to reach the 4th place and enter the playoffs for the title. Iren had a 3:2 advantage after the first quarter. But, middle two periods were crucial for the outcome. Trieste scored nine and conceded three goals in the second and the third quarter and entered the final quarter leading 11:7. Quinto halved the deficit in the final eight minutes, but it couldn’t equalize.
After five losses in a row, the LEN Euro Cup finalist Savona finally recorded a win in the domestic championships by beating Posillipo 11:5. But, Savona broke the rival only in the second half. The first quarter belonged to Posillipo (4:2). Savona leveled in the 14th minute, but Aiello gave the visitors a 5:4 lead two minutes before the middle break. However, Savona turned the tables in the second half. The hosts tightened their defense and didn’t let a single goal, while they scored six for an 11:5 victory.
The game Roma – Bogliasco wasn’t played because the visiting team didn’t come to Rome. Bogliasco asked for the postponement of the game because one of its best players, Canadian Jeremie Blanchard is absent. He is currently in Brazil, playing for his national team at the Pan American Championships. The Italian Swimming Federation (FIN) refused the request. In the following days, FIN will decide on this match.
1. Pro Recco 24 games – 70 points
2. Brescia 24 – 67
3. Ortigia 24– 56
4.Telimar 24 – 50
5. Trieste 24 – 46
6. Savona 24 – 41
7.Quinto 24 – 34
8.Posillipo 24 – 24
9. Anzio 24 – 23
10.Roma 23 – 21
11.De Akker 24 – 21
12. Salerno 24 – 16
13. Catania 24 – 13
14.Bogliascco 23 – 5
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