In front of 4,300 spectators in the PalaVela hall in Turin, the Italian national team, led by Ferdinando De Giorgi, achieved a 3:1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-19) victory against the Netherlands in the FIPAV Cup Men Elite tournament. This was the team's last friendly match before their departure for Asia and the start of the World Championship in the Philippines (September 12–28).
The 'Azzurri' started hesitantly and lost the first set 23:25, but managed to recover and impose tempo and aggression in the subsequent sets. With a deep squad and rotations, Italy demonstrated strength and stability, becoming the undisputed winner of the tournament.
The top scorer was Mattia Bottolo with 20 points, followed by Francesco Sani (17) and middle blocker Giovanni Sanguinetti (16). All of them were crucial in turning the match around and winning the trophy.
Statistics
| Italy | Points |
|---|---|
| Bottolo | 20 |
| Sani | 17 |
| Sanguinetti | 16 |
| Porro | 14 |
| Sbertoli | 4 |
| Russo | 3 |
| Anzani | 3 |
Italy showed excellent balance. This is a sign of the squad's depth and De Giorgi's ability to utilize his entire resource.
| Netherlands | Points |
|---|---|
| Ayi | 12 |
| Tuinstra | 9 |
| Koops | 8 |
| Van der Ent | 7 |
| Mace | 6 |
| Plak | 6 |
| Wiltenburg | 4 |
| Wijkstra | 3 |
| Korenbek | 1 |
For the Netherlands, a stable leader in attack was missing – points were distributed evenly among the attackers, but without sufficient effectiveness to counter the strong Italian block and defense.
After two days of rest, the "Azzurri" will regroup on September 3 in Rome, and from there they will depart for Tokyo, where they will play two prestigious test matches against Japan at Lala Arena Tokyo Bay – on September 6 and 7. These will be a key test before the big challenge – the World Championship in the Philippines.
photo: FIPAV
