Trieste.Perugia won the Italian Supercup after defeating Verona 3:1 (25:27, 25:22, 25:21, 25:22) and equalled Sisley Treviso's record of seven trophies in the tournament. On an individual level, Massimo Colaci is now the sole leader in awards in the competition with nine trophies won.

The final in Trieste was not a formality. Verona took the first set, but Angelo Lorenzetti's team showed maturity, stability in key moments, and better management of pressure at the end of the next three sets.

The first set started with Perugia dominating, but a service run by Darlan turned the momentum, and Verona closed it at 27:25.

In the second set, Perugia reacted with greater variety in Giannelli's distribution and better blocking, with Ben Tara securing the decisive points for a 25:22 victory.

The third set was again even until the middle, but Semeniuk's aces and stable attacking tilted the scales in favor of "the Devils", who won 25:21.

In the fourth set, Verona had an advantage and a chance to force a tie-break, but a series of late errors – service and attack errors – allowed Perugia to close it out 25:22 and finish the final without a fifth set.

Perugia did not dominate constantly, but in decisive moments, they made fewer errors. When the score was balanced after the 18th point, the difference was evident from the service line and in blocking.

Verona built leads but failed to capitalize on them. Darlan was the team's engine, but the fluctuations of Keita and Mozic in key situations weighed heavily.
For Perugia, Oleh Plotnytskyi was the top scorer with 17 points, followed by Wassim Ben Tara with 16 and Kamil Semeniuk with 13.

For Verona, Darlan Ferreira Souza was outstanding with 28 points, and Noumory Keita added 15.
Simone Giannelli was named MVP of the tournament.

Perugia won a final in which they were not flawless, but they were more mature. And in finals, that is often enough.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov