There is no doubt: ABBA Pineto has arrived for two heart-pounding weeks. First the 3-0 home win against Reggio Emilia, then the Abruzzo derby won, again with a clear 3-0, on the Ortona pitch. Two consecutive important victories which allowed the blue and white to jump to tenth place, now alone, with 25 points. Yet the games remain open: three days to the end of the regular season and on the horizon there is the duel on Sunday afternoon (4pm) at the Pala Santa Maria against the league leaders Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina.
In the meantime, ABBA has risen to 25 points, with a three-point advantage over the trio now formed by Aversa, Reggio Emilia and a Castellana Grotte forcefully back in the race. Ortona is further behind (17 points), but Pineto also looks ahead, with Cantù four points away. In short, everything is open.
“It is a delicate phase of the season because the table remains short at the bottom and the fight to avoid relegation is very close,” says the blue and white central defender Enrico Basso, among the most positive in this final part of the season. “We are in a positive current and we must continue with this mentality and this approach. The derby? There was tension, there was no denying it. The rivalry between the fans was felt. We were good at imposing our game straight away. We let our speed and our rhythm prevail and we managed to close it out in three sets. We are happy”.
Now there is Grottazzolina, the leaders. “I see this match as an opportunity – says Basso – because we have nothing to lose and we can only take something positive from the match. Grottazzolina has been in the lead practically since the beginning of the season, they are a well-established team that has demonstrated its value. However, we are in a good situation, both mentally and in terms of form. And then we are in our home, where we know what the atmosphere is like. We want to play it.”
THE OPPONENT. Grottazzolina doesn’t need many introductions: first in the standings, with 55 points (19 wins and four defeats) and a seven-point advantage over second place. The Marche team coached by Massimiliano Ortenzi have the second best attack in the championship (1,624 points), the team with the highest number of aces made (144) and the highest number of perfect receptions (580). Separate mention for the Danish opposite Rasmus Nielsen, with 621 points the most feared and effective in Serie A2
