While Perugia, Trento, Verona, and Lube Civitanova are competing for the Italian Supercup in Parma, the other SuperLega teams are using the league break for preparation. Bulgarian international Georgi Tatarov distinguished himself with 12 points in Allianz Milano's 4:1 (27:25, 25:22, 25:20, 25:20, 32:34) victory over Cuneo in a training match held on November 13 at the Pavesi Center in Milan.
The friendly match, which does not count for ranking points, lasted 132 minutes. The two coaches – Guillermo Falasca and Matteo Battocchio – used the opportunity to try out different lineup variations and give playing time to more players.
Tatarov started as a regular outside hitter and remained on the court for the first four sets. The Bulgarian distinguished himself not only with his scoring but also with several important interventions at key moments.
In the second set, he scored the last point for 25:22, and in the third, he scored for 20:17.
His performance in the fourth set was particularly strong when Cuneo took an 11:8 lead. Tatarov scored two consecutive aces, and during his serve, Milano managed to equalize and take a 13:12 lead. This forced the visiting coach to call a timeout. Subsequently, the hosts won the set 25:20.
In the fifth part, Falasca made new changes, with Belgian outside hitter Roti replacing the Bulgarian. Cuneo managed to win their only set after a prolonged battle and 34:32.
The most effective scorer for Milano was Belgian opposite Basil Derom with 18 points. Roti added 13, while Davy Tenorio and Tommaso Ichino each scored 11.
The hosts finished with 10 successful blocks against 8 for Cuneo and 10 aces against 6. Their advantage in attack was also noticeable – 50% success rate against 46%.
Japanese outside hitter Tatsunori Otsuka did not participate in the friendly match, receiving rest for precautionary reasons.
Allianz Milano's next official match is on November 22, when the team will host Trento at the Allianz Cloud Arena.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov