Trieste and Savona recorded wins in the last round of the regular season in Italy and joined Pro Recco and Brescia in the semifinals of the playoffs,
Trieste defeated Ortigia (9:6) and climbed to 3rd place, while Ortigia dropped to fifth place.
Savona earned a narrow win over Telimar in Palermo (12:11) and secured a semifinal spot. The three points won in Palermo moved Savona from 5th to 4th place.
In the semifinals, Savona will play against Pro Recco, while Trieste will face reigning champion, Brescia.
Ortigia, Telimar, Salerno and the best team from the relegation group (Quinto) will compete in the 5th-place playoffs.
2021/22 Italian League, Day 20
Playoffs group, 2nd stage, Round 7
Telimar – Savona 11:12 (2:1, 2:3, 4:5, 3:3)
Telimar:Irving 3, Basic 3, Marzial 2, Di Patti 1, Lo Cascio 1, Lo Dico 1.
Savona: FOndelli 6,Campopiano 2, Rizzo 2, Patchaliev 1, Bruni 1.
Trieste – Ortigia 9:6 (2:1, 3:2, 0:2, 4:1)
Trieste:Inaba 5, Mezzarobba 2, Buljubasic 1, Mladossich 1.
Ortigia: Ferrero 2, Rossi 2, F. Condemi 1, Cassia 1.
Played earlier
Salerno – Pro Recco 8:13 (2:3, 2:3, 2:3, 2:4)
Salerno:Gluhaic 3, Elez 2, Esposito 1, Tomasic 1, Cuccovillo1.
Pro Recco: Zalanki 4, Ivovic 3, Cannella 2, Aicardi 2, N.Presciutti 1, Di Fulvio 1.
Brescia bye
Spots in the semifinals were at stake in today’s games, so nothing but big battles were expected.
Trieste, led by Japanese Yusuke Inaba, who scored three goals in the first half, earned a 5:3 lead by the middle break. Still, Ortigia netted two unanswered goals in the third period to level at 5:5. But, Trieste opened the fourth period in an excellent way. The hosts scored three goals in the first five minutes (Buljubasic, Mezzarobba and Inaba) and went to 8:5. Ferrero’s goal for 6:8 in the 30th minute gave some hope to the Sicilians. Still, Inaba, the man of the match, scored his fifth goal with 60 seconds remaining on the clock and Trieste celebrated a great win.
The clash between Telimar and Savona in Palermo offered a lot of twists and turns. At halftime, it stood 4:4. Savona scored an opening goal in the second half, but Telimar’s Irving replied with two for 6:5. A minute before the last break, Savona had a two-goal advantage (9:7). Still, Irving halved the hosts’ deficit by converting a penalty shot. Campopiano gave Savona a 10:8 lead with a power-play goal (25th minute). Telimar produced a 3:0 series and went in front (11:10) with 02:20 minutes to go. Still, the finish of the game belonged to the visitors. Rizzo leveled at 11:11. Just 12 seconds before the end, Savona forced a penalty shot. Veteran Andrea Fondelli took responsibility. He made no mistake from the 5m line,. He scored his 6th goal for the final score.
Trieste and Savona will play in the semifinals. The two clubs have already secured tickets for the LEN competitions next season. Two Sicilian clubs, Ortigia and Telimar, Salerno and Quinto will battle for the 5th place and a spot in the LEN Euro Cup qualifications.
Playoffs, 1st-4th place, semifinals (best-of-three): Pro Recco – Savona, Brescia – Trieste. The games will be played on 6, 14, and, if needed, 18 May.
Playoffs, 5th-8th place, semifinals (best-of-three): Ortigia – Quinto, Telimar – Salerno. The games will be played on 6, 14 and, if needed, 18 May.
1.Pro Recco 19 – 57
2.Brescia 19 – 44
3. Trieste 19 – 38
4. Savona 19 – 37
5. Ortigia 19 – 36
6. Telimar 19 – 32
7. Salerno 19 – 18
Relegation group, 2nd stage, Round 7
Catania – Lazio 16:8 (5:1, 3:2, 2:3, 6:2)
Catania: La Rosa 3, G. Torrisi 3, Privitera 3, Catania 3, Russo 2, Eskert 1, Trovato 1.
Lazio: Leporale 3, Augusti 2, Ferrante 1, Plumpton 1, Checchini 1.
Anzio – Milano 9:10 (4:2, 2:2, 2:2, 1:4)
Anzio Waterpolis: Cunko 3, Di Rocco 2, Giorgetti 2, Gandini 1, Agostini 1.
Waterpolo Milano: Kasum 3, G.Mattiello 3, Lanzoni 2, Andruykov 1, E. Novara 1.
Iren Quinto – Roma 11:13 (5:4, 1:3, 4:3, 1:3)
Iren Quinto: Panerai 3, Ravina 3, M. Gitto 2, M. Guidi 1, N. Gambacciani 1, Nora 1.
Roma Nuoto: P. Faraglia 5, F. Faraglia 3, Spione 2, Ciotti 1, De Robertis 1, Voncina 1, Boezi 1.
Posillipo bye.
Lazio is relegated to the Serie B. Roma and Milano will play in the relegation playoffs (May 7, 14, and, if needed, 21).
8.Quinto 19 – 29
9.Posillipo 19 – 22
10.Catania 19 – 20
11.Anzio 19 – 19
12. Milano 19 – 18
13. Roma 19 – 10
14. Lazio 19 – 8
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