Top clash in the second leg which sees the Toucans, tied at the top of the standings in Ravenna, opposed to the Tinet sparrows, three points behind. Kick-off on Sunday at 5.30pm on the boiling pitch of Prata di Pordenone.
The hosts are among the most solid teams in the championship and count on a well-tested roster that confirms their offensive value match after match: Alberini, intelligent playmaker and insidious hitter, opens the game on Gamba, who leads the ranking of the opposite sides with 394 attacks and Terpin, concrete receiver and explosive band. They are joined by the other high ball hitter Ernastowicz with Katalan and Scopelliti at the center. Benedicenti is free. On the bench, coach Di Pietro, European vice-champion with the U22 national team, can exploit Agrusti, Truocchio and Meneghel. The Friulians have only suffered five defeats, the last of which was at the hands of Ravenna, the only team to have violated the PalaPrata.
Speaking of numbers, in the Brescia home the central defenders are record-breaking: Tondo has jumped to the top of the rankings with 193 points of which 30 aces, while Erati shares the record of 51 blocks together with Mengozzi, San Filippo’s next guest in the match against Fano in Sunday 26 January.
Oreste Cavuto, second best band in A2 with 282 points to his credit, is measured about the big match: “A decidedly complicated match awaits us in a very hot arena like the one in Prata di Pordenone. We face a team in good shape and tenacious, who have demonstrated this in every match of this championship. For our part, we must play with the determination we showed against Siena to continue our growth process.
