The World League Super Final got underway on Tuesday in Bergamo, Italy with defending champions Serbia posting a clear win over USA, whom they lost to 4 games in a row during the friendly series in the US early June. This time however the Serbs, playing without centre-back Milan Aleksic due to illness, were all over it in a high-scoring opening quarter which featured no less than 9 goals as the Dejan Savic coached side quickly established a 6-3 lead and walked away in a one-sides 2nd period. Stellar defence and good execution on man-up led to a decided game by the end of the third session as the scoreboard displayed a 12-4 difference which allowed Serbia to take a bit easier in the final term allowing USA, thanks to outside shots from Alex Bowen, Alex roelse and Josh Samuels, to cut the deficit to 6 goals in the end: 13-7. Centre-forward Dusko Pijetlovic and lefthander Filip Filipovic led all scorers with 3 each for the 8-time World League champions.
Hungary followed the example by also kicking off their tournament with a win. China could only keep up with the Hungarians in the third period even cutting the deficit to 11-8 at one point but were simply outplayed in the final period as the 2013 world champions rolled to a 18-8 victory. Leading the Hungarian offence were Marton Vamos, Norbert Hosnyanszky and Denes Varga who scored three goals apiece in the large victory.
Brazil was responsible for the first upset of the tournament as they defeated Croatia in Tuesday's third match. The Croats, off to a slow start, were outplayed by a dynamic Brazilian squad from the second period onwards as Croatian head coach Ratko Rudic and fellow Croatian-born centre-forward Josip Vrlic guided their team to the striking win over the 2012 Olympic and World League champions. Standout for the winners however was Adria Delgado who was unstoppable from all angles scoring 5 goals. For Croatia Antonio Petkovic, Luka Loncar, lefty Maro Jokovic and Paulo Obradovic scored 2 goals each.
Some tight defence was on display in the day's final match as hosts Italy and Australia were up. This match-up looked well different than the previous ones in Bergamo on Tuesday. Both teams emphasized their defensive duties which led to an opening where goals were costly. Australia however struck first, not only by scoring the only goal of the opening period but even more when they held on to their lead in the second session as the Italians were struggling on their outside shooting. The game however got a different face after the break as Italy gradually took over and turned around the game. Their defence, combined with goalie Stefano Tempesti stepping up, had the Aussie Sharks virtually being shut down while on the other end the shots were falling. A 0-5 run in the quarter all of a sudden had the home side in the lead, much to the delight of the home crowd, who saw Italy holding on to their lead in a tight final period. Alex Giorgetti and centre-forward Matteo Aicardi each scored two goals to lead the 'Settebello' while former Aussie Shark Pietro Figlioli added a goal for the winners. A big match-up with fellow day 1 winners Serbia now awaits Italy on Wednesday.
2015 FINA Men's World League Super Final
Bergamo, Italy
Schedule and results
Tuesday, 23 June
Serbia vs. USA 13-7 (6-3, 3-0, 3-1, 1-3)
Serbia scorers: Dusko Pijetlovic (pictured) 3, Filip Filipovic 3, Milos Cuk 2, Andrija Prlainovic 2, Stefan Mitrovic 2, Dusan Mandic.
USA scorers: Alex Bowen 2, Bret Bonanni 2, Alex Roelse, Josh Samuels, Tony Azevedo.
Hungary vs. China 18-8 (4-2, 5-1, 3-5, 6-0)
Hungary scorers: Marton Vamos 3, Norbert Hosnyanszky 3, Denes Varga 3, Norbert Madaras 2, Balazs Erdelyi 2, Ferenc Salamon 2, Balazs Harai 2, Miklos Gor-Nagy.
China scorers: Tao Dong 3, Chu Feng Zhang 3, Nianxiang Liang 2.
Brazil vs. Croatia 17-10 (3-3, 6-2, 6-1, 2-4)
Brazil scorers: Adria Delgado 5, Felipe Perrone 3, Josip Vrlic 3, Bernardo Gomes 2, Jonas Crivella, Ives Alonso, Felipe Santos, Gustavo Guimaraes.
Croatia scorers: Antonio Petkovic 2, Luka Loncar 2, Maro Jokovic 2, Paulo Obradovic 2, Damir Buric, Sandro Sukno.
Australia vs. Italy 5-7 (1-0, 2-1, 0-5, 2-1)
Australia scorers: Nathan Power, Jarrod Gilchrist, Aaron Younger, Joel Swift, Rhys Howden.
Italy scorers: Alex Giorgetti 2, Matteo Aicardi 2, Pietro Figlioli, Nicholas Presciutti, Stefano Luongo.
Wednesday, 24 June
16.00: Brazil vs. China
17.20: Hungary vs. Croatia
18.40: Australia vs. USA
20.00: Serbia vs. Italy
Thursday, 25 June
16.00: Serbia vs. Australia
17.20: Hungary vs. Brazil
18.40: China vs. Croatia
20.00: USA vs. Italy
Friday, 26 June
16.00: 2A vs. 3B - game 13
17.20: 3A vs. 2B - game 14
18.40: 1A vs. 4B - game 15
20.00: 4A vs. 1B - game 16
Saturday, 27 June
16.00: L13 vs. L16 - game 17
17.20: L14 vs. L15 - game 18
18.40: W13 vs. W16 - game 19
20.00: W14 vs. W15 - game 20
Sunday, 28 June
16.00: L17 vs. L18
17.20: W17 vs. W18
18.40: L19 vs. L20 (bronze medal)
20.00: W19 vs. W20 (final)
N.b.: time mentioned is local time.
* In relation to the host broadcaster indications the matches of the Italian team we’ll always be played at 20.00
** Following the indication of RAI TV on June 26 the Italian team will play the 3rd match scheduled for 18.40.
Tournament winner earns berth for 2016 Olympic Games.
0 commenti:
Posta un commento