U16: Triumph at the "Paganuzzi", qualification for the national championship finals!

What an achievement! Pallanuoto Trieste secured first place in the national Under-16 semifinal group and qualified for the national championship finals. This is a significant accomplishment that the team hasn't achieved since 2016 when the Under-17A team finished fourth in Italy. In 2019, the Under-20 team narrowly missed reaching the final four. At the 'Paganuzzi' in Genoa, Alberto Petrucci's boys achieved this prestigious goal after two days of hard-fought, balanced, and physically demanding matches. They began with a strong start against Libertas Rn Perugia, winning 10-7 thanks to a crucial surge between the third and fourth periods. This surge, propelled by goals from Francesco Casavola, Nider, and Federico Fumo, overturned Perugia's 4-5 lead at halftime. The match against the home team Quinto was a goal-for-goal affair, with Kavalic's 5-5 goal just 2 minutes and 3 seconds from the final buzzer being crucial. The encounter with Acquachiara was, in some ways, dramatic. The Alabardati started strongly, taking a 1-4 lead with goals from the Casavola brothers, Nider, and Federico Fumo. However, the Neapolitans turned the situation around, flying to an 8-5 lead in the fourth period. Here came the great reaction from the Triestine athletes, who scored in the final 100 seconds with Nider, Federico Fumo, and Kavalic, securing an 8-8 draw and qualification.

'We knew we had the qualities to advance -' said coach Alberto Petrucci - 'but it was still very tough. We found ourselves in a highly balanced group where the difference between first place and elimination was just one point. The team played intelligent water polo despite the fatigue from the closely scheduled matches. I'm especially pleased with how we managed to recover from that three-goal deficit in the match against Acquachiara; the boys showed character.' The Under-16 national championship finals will be held between August 19 and 22, with the location yet to be determined.

PALLANUOTO TRIESTE - LIBERTAS RN PERUGIA 10-7 (4-3; 0-2; 3-0; 3-2)
PALLANUOTO TRIESTE: Belletti, Cernecca, F. Casavola 3, Sivini, A. Casavola, Nider 2, Kavalic, F. Fumo 5, Micillo, Rosic, Zavattin, Cozzolino, De Simone, Tikic. Coach: Petrucci

QUINTO GENOVA - PALLANUOTO TRIESTE 5-5 (0-1; 3-2; 2-1; 0-1)
PALLANUOTO TRIESTE: Belletti, Cernecca, F. Casavola 1, Sivini, A. Casavola, Nider 1, Kavalic 2, F. Fumo, Micillo 1, Rosic, Zavattin, Cozzolino, De Simone, Tikic. Coach: Petrucci

ACQUACHIARA - PALLANUOTO TRIESTE 8-8 (1-3; 2-1; 2-1; 3-3)
PALLANUOTO TRIESTE: Belletti, Cernecca, F. Casavola 1, Sivini, A. Casavola 1, Nider 3, Kavalic 1, F. Fumo 2, Micillo, Rosic, Zavattin, Cozzolino, De Simone, Tikic. Coach: Petrucci

Group 1 standings: Pallanuoto Trieste 5, Quinto Genova 4, Acquachiara 4, Libertas Rn Perugia 1 (Pallanuoto Trieste and Quinto advance to the national championship finals).