In Poland the Italvolley of Fabio Balaso and Mattia Bottolo, without Simone Anzani (will return to training in less than two weeks), reached the Semifinal on Wednesday with a clear 3-0 in the Quarterfinals in a single match against Argentina of Luciano De Cecco, setter and captain of Cucine Lube Civitanova. The Libero Azzurro armored the Italian second line, discouraging the South American offensives and thwarting the firepower of the Albiceleste. Among the red and white representatives busy with their respective national selections in Gdansk, the Transalpine central Barthelemy Chinenyeze, author of 16 personal points appearing among the protagonists of the match, said goodbye to the event in the first act of the Finals after the stop at the tie break of his France against the United States. Tomorrow, Saturday 22 July (at 8 pm), the Italian national team of the two red and white members will face off in the Semifinal in a single match against the stars and stripes team, which in the first week of the VNL stopped the group of Fefè De Giorgi with the maximum gap. Since then the attitude has changed and the Azzurri want to make life difficult for the US sextet.
Quarter finals
Wednesday 19th July
USA – France 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 17-25, 24-26, 15-9)
Italy – Argentina 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-14)
Thursday 20 July
17.00 Japan – Slovenia 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-22)
8 pm Poland – Brazil 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-20)
Semifinals program in Gdansk
Saturday 22nd July
17.00 Japan – Poland
8 pm USA – Italy
Final for 3rd place and showdown Sunday 23 July, at 5 and 8 pm.
