Ortigia, the club which debuted in the Champions League this season, probably, won’t qualify for the playoffs of the Italian League.
Today, Ortigia and Savona shared the points in a thrilling encounter (9:9). One round before the end of the regular season, Savona is in 2nd place in Group F, with two points more than Ortigia.
Pro Recco and Brescia recorded convincing wins and mathematically secured top positions in their respective groups.
The top two teams from each of the groups for the title will play in the semifinals.
2020/2021 Italian League, 2nd phase
Groups for title, Day 5
Group E
Pro Recco-Telimar 17:6 (4:0, 3:2, 5:1, 5:3)
Pro Recco: Mandic 3, Figlioli 3, Echenique 3, F. Di Fulvio 2, N. Presciutti 2, S. Luongo 2, Younger 1, Aicardi 1.
Telimar: Del Basso 3, Galioto 1, Marziali 1, Damonte 1.
Played on May 1
Trieste – Posillipo 6:6 (2:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:2)
Trieste:Vico 2, Bini 2, Razzi 1, Milakovic 1.
Posillipo: M.Di Martire 3, Parrela 1, Mattiello 1, SIlvestri 1.
Pro Recco convincingly defeated Telimar Palermo in the “Antonio Ferro “ pool in Recco and mathematically secured first place in Group E. There were only 12 players on Recco’s roster. Captain Aleksandar Ivovic got injured during the warming up before the game. The injury isn’t severe, but head coach Hernandez decided not to risk and he left Ivovic out of the team. But, the champion stormed past the rival. Recco earned a 6:0 lead before Telimar found the net for the first time. Until the end, the hosts extended the margin to 11.
The last match of the round, between Trieste and Posillipo, ended in a 6:6 draw. After a balanced first half (3:3), Posillipo took the lead for the first time early in the third quarter (4:3). Trieste responded with two goals and retook an advantage (5:4). The hosts had a 6:5 lead in the 2nd minute of the final quarter, but shortly after, Massimo di Martire converted a man-up to equalize (6:6) and that was the end of this low-scoring battle. There were no goals in the last five and a half minutes. Telimar is the biggest winner after this match. Since the game ended in a tie, the Sicilians, who will play against Posillipo in the last round, secured 2nd place in the group and a spot in the semifinals.
1 Pro Recco 5 – 15
2 Telimar 5 – 7
3 Trieste 5 – 3
4 Posillipo 5 – 2
Group F
Ortigia-Savona 9:9 (3:1, 2:2, 2:3, 2:3)
Ortigia: Gallo 2, Mirarchi 2, Vidovic 2, Rocchi 1, Ferrero 1, S. Rossi 1.
Savona: Rizzo 3, Vuskovic 2, Molina 2, Campopiano 1, Iocchi Gratta 1.
Brescia – Salerno 12:5 (2:1, 2:1, 3:1, 5:2)
Brescia: Presciutti 3, Jokovic 3, Balzarini 2, Dolce 1, Lazic 1, Renzuto Iodice 1, Alesiani 1.
Salerno: Cuccovillo 2, Luongo 2, Parrilli 1,
A round before the end, two points separate Ortigia and Savona. But, Ortigia will have a challenging task on Day 6, as it will play against Brescia. Savona will face Salerno in the last round, which will be played on May 8.
The Sicilians needed three points to climb to 2nd place and kept their semifinal hopes alive. Ortigia was on the right track. The hosts grabbed an early 2:0 lead and maintained a 2-goal difference until the end of the 2nd period (5:3). Ortigia’s Ferrero opened the third period with an action goal and the Sicilians jumped to a 6:3 lead. But, Savona struck back strongly. The visitors netted three straight goals to equalize – 6:6 (22nd minute). Mirarchi converted a man-up to give Ortigia a 7:6 lead before the last break. The fourth quarter was an exchange of goals. A minute before the end, the score was 8:8. Simone Rossi found the net with a power-play advantage for 9:8, with 32 seconds remaining on the clock. But that wasn’t the end of the drama. Valerio Rizzo hit the back of the net just five seconds before the final buzzer, and Savona saved the point and 2nd place.
Brescia started slowly against Salerno. Early in the 2n quarter, it was 2:2. In the middle of the third period, Salerno trialed by agoal (3:4). Brescia broke the rival with seven goals in a row for an 11:3 lead and proved who the favorite was.
1 Brescia 5 – 15
2 Savona 5 – 7
3 Ortigia 5 – 5
4 Salerno 5 -1
Relegation group, Day 6
Metanopoli-Qunto 10:11 (4:5, 3:1, 0:3, 3:2)
Metanopoli: Lanzoni 3, Ravina 2, G. Bianco 2, Monari 1, Busilacchi 1.
Iren Quinto: M.Guidi 3, Panerai 2, Mugnaini 1, Gavazzi 1, Nora 1, Inaba 1, Bittarello 1, M. Gitto 1.
Lazio-Florentia 13:6 (3:0, 4:3, 1:1, 4:2)
Lazio: Leporale 4, Ferrante 3, Colosimo 1, Bobbi 1, Vitale 1, Caponero 1, Narciso 1, Maddaluno 1.
Florentia: Chemeri 1, Sordini 1, Chellini, F. Turchini 1, Dani 1, Astarita 1, Di Fulvio 1.
1 Quinto 5 – 15
2 Roma 4 – 9
3 Metanopoli 5 – 6
4 Florentia 5 – 3
5 Lazio 5 – 3
UPDATED, May 1, 16:00 CET
