U16: Pallanuoto Trieste finishes in sixth place in the national finals in Naples

Pallanuoto Trieste secured a sixth-place finish in the Italian Under-16 category, which is an excellent result that places the male Alabardati youth sector at a high national level. This achievement could have been even better with a bit more luck. At the national finals held at the "Felice Scandone" pool in Naples, the team coached by Alberto Petrucci and Ugo Marinelli gave their all in every match. Unfortunately, narrow losses to An Brescia and San Mauro in the group stage proved decisive, despite courageous performances against strong teams like Lazio Nuoto and Posillipo (both of which reached the final). Pallanuoto Trieste secured a clear victory against San Mauro in the fifth-place semifinal (9-3) but narrowly lost in a penalty shootout in the final for fifth place against Quinto Genova.

"I'm satisfied with how the boys played -" commented coach Alberto Petrucci - "we created many opportunities in attack and defended well, but there is some regret over a few individual mistakes that may have prevented us from reaching the semifinals. Even against teams considerably stronger than us, we remained competitive. This group has significant room for improvement and can continue to grow over the next two years."

The lineup for Pallanuoto Trieste in the Under-16 national finals: 1. Pietro Belletti (captain), 2. Max Cernecca, 3. Francesco Casavola, 4. Filippo Sivini, 5. Alessandro Casavola, 6. Leonardo Nider, 7. Giacomo Kavalic, 8. Luka Fatovic, 9. Federico Fumo, 10. Gaetano Micillo, 11. Brando Rosic, 12. Francesco Zavattin, 13. Luca Cozzolino, 14. Andrea De Simone, 15. Marko Tikic.

Final standings: 1. Cn Posillipo, 2. Lazio Nuoto, 3. Roma Vis Nova, 4. An Brescia, 5. Quinto Genova, 6. Pallanuoto Trieste, 7. Cn Salerno, 8. San Mauro.