The Club champion of Italy is preparing to face the last act of the top national series for the ninth time, the sixth in a row, but there are also many newcomers in the group. Among the players of Cucine Lube Civitanova at their first Scudetto Final in SuperLega Credem Banca, in addition to Ionut Ambrose, Mattia Bottolo, Mattia Gottardo, Barthelemy Chinenyeze and Alex Nikolov, there is the Apulian athlete Francesco D’Amico, who he dives without fear for the red and white cause and on the eve of the series with Itas Trentino (Match 1 on Monday 1 May at 6.15 pm) he is submerged in a mass of emotions.
“I am extremely happy to be in the Scudetto Final – exclaimed the athlete originally from Ostuni during a telephone interview with Radio Arancia – Especially for the team’s path which has not always been linear during the season. In the Play Offs we managed to take flight in Game 3 of the quarterfinals against Verona. I didn’t expect to go all the way, it was something unthinkable. Perhaps we all hoped so, but it seemed like too tortuous a path. Yet we have never stopped believing in our means and we have never given up. I’m living a dream because I didn’t even expect to play so much and be able to lend an effective hand to the team in the most important matches. Helping Balaso in defense is great! Lube’s sixth consecutive Scudetto Final is a testament to the strength of our Club, these are results that are achieved if you work well at all levels, not just on the pitch. There is a mentality that distinguishes the environment, I am beginning to understand and assimilate it. Now we are focused on the Finale series which will start on Monday in Trento, they will all be very tough challenges. The level of these Play Offs is really high and the performance of the Quarters and Semifinals has demonstrated it, in which a single episode or a pinch of more conviction sometimes made the difference. Itas is a complete opponent, they finished second in the regular season and have young players who have already won titles with the national team. Did I expect to play the tricolor with them? I would say yes, especially when they went 2-0 up in the previous series, indeed I was surprised by the comeback from Piacenza, but in Game 5 Itas deservedly won its pass. It will be a hard-fought showdown!”
