Women’s Euro Cup: first leg of the semifinals, Trieste hosts Spain’s Cn Tenerife Echeyde at the “Bianchi” home pool

Pallanuoto Trieste kicks off 2025 with a pivotal European challenge. On Saturday, January 25, in the first leg of the Women’s Euro Cup semifinals, the team, sponsored by Samer & Co. Shipping, will host CN Tenerife Echeyde. The game is scheduled for 8:30 PM at the “Bruno Bianchi” arena, with free admission. Fans can catch the live stream on European Aquatics TV, while real-time play-by-play updates will be available via Microplustiming. The match will be officiated by referees Aurelie Blanchard (France) and Ivanka Rakovic Krstonosic (Serbia), with Matjaz Rakovec (Slovenia) serving as the delegate.

Nearly two months after their victory over Hungary’s Keruleti Tve in the quarterfinals, Trieste’s team returns to the grand stage of international water polo for a high-stakes clash. This two-leg showdown with the Spanish side will determine who advances to the Euro Cup final, a stage Pallanuoto Trieste reached last season. “We’re preparing for an important match that requires our utmost focus,” explained head coach Paolo Zizza. “With the Setterosa players back in the lineup, the team is finally complete, and we’re eager to face an opponent whose strengths we know well. We’ve played them before, and on that occasion, we were inconsistent in both quality and focus, giving them too many opportunities. On Saturday, we need to perform better. Our goal is to win so we can approach the second leg with a bit more confidence.” Zizza has some decisions to make regarding the lineup, as European competition rules allow only 13 players to be fielded. Final choices will be made after the team’s last training session.

Enrique Cruz Torro’s squad has faced challenges in their domestic league, currently sitting in ninth place, though they secured an 8-10 win in their last match against Catalunya. Their Euro Cup campaign, however, tells a different story. Tenerife recently edged past Catalunya in the quarterfinals, drawing 12-12 in the first leg and narrowly winning 7-8 in the second. Special attention should be paid to Tenerife’s key players, Natalia Naya Manero and Maryn Dempsey. Both scored hat-tricks in their previous encounter on October 26 during Preliminary Round II at the “Bruno Bianchi,” where Trieste’s Orchette secured a 10-7 victory.