Catania - Pineto
On Saturday, March 11th at 5:00 PM, the first semifinal of the Italian Cup Serie A3 Men will officially take place. Catania and Pineto will compete for the first spot in the finals on Sunday, March 12th, on the tricolored taraflex of the Forum in Macerata. In the championship, the two teams play in the white and blue groups respectively, and as they have never met before, there is no precedent. What we know is that Pineto comes to the event with a solid second place in the standings, even nine points ahead of the third-placed team, which happens to be the other contender in the final, Macerata. The Abruzzese have lost only five out of 23 games played, and from the first summer moves of the transfer market, they have always been one of the contenders for promotion. Matteo Paris, born in 1983, is the setter who commands the team, having played in A3, A2, and even in the highest Italian league for two seasons. Completing the white and blue diagonal is Jacob Link, who has played four seasons in A3 and two in A2, and is now one of the leading opposite players in A3. Among the middle blockers, we find Sebastian Milan, who played in Volley Treviso's youth teams, earning him five consecutive seasons in A1 before dropping down to A2 and then to A3.
On the other side of the net, Catania also arrives at the event with all the necessary tools to take the lead. With the same number of wins and losses as Pineto (18-5), Catania leads the blue group of the championship. The Fabroni-Casaro diagonal is the backbone of the Sicilian team, with experience and talent at the service of Coach Kantor. The match will be intense, played to the maximum by both teams, and needless to say, the game will be long and complicated as it involves a cup. However, in our opinion, there are details that make us lean towards one side rather than the other.
Pineto is, for us, the favorite of the first semifinal for two reasons: one is purely territorial, and the other is societal. When we talk about a territorial reason, we refer to the fact that playing in Macerata is a luxury for an "away" team like Pineto. The 40 minutes that separate the Pineto team from the Marche sports hall are definitely a convenience for all white and blue fans, who will be able to support their team as if they were at home. Another reason is the recent history of Pineto Volley, a company that has emerged prominently in the Italian championship in recent years, showing itself to be a undisputed protagonist in the last two years. The company is solid, young, organized, and ready to make the leap to the next category. It is not the first year that Pineto has appeared at important events like tomorrow's, and more than once, they have seen a trophy slip away that they have been chasing for too long. Therefore, we believe that this is the opportunity for Pineto to confirm a winning cycle of the entire organization, and that there is no better way to do so than to lift such an important trophy in front of the many expected fans.