A1 M - De Akker beats Ortigia 11-10 in the first leg of the Play Off semi-finals

An evening of memories and emotions as De Akker Bologna and Ortigia competed in the first leg of the play-off semi-final for the 5th to 8th place. Bologna emerged victorious with a score of 11-10 after a very close match, which was only decided in the final seconds, with the home team trailing until a minute and a half from the final whistle.

Prior to the match, Arnaldo Deserti, a former teammate in the victorious 2011 World Championships squad and now the sports director of De Akker, presented Stefano Tempesti, who has offered 33 years of great water polo, especially with over 400 appearances for the National team and 14 league titles in his career, with the team's pennant to acknowledge his contribution as he approaches retirement at the end of the season. Another emotional moment for both teams and the approximately 200 spectators was the minute of silence in memory of Pope Francis.

Then the game began, following the pattern of the previous two matches from the regular season which were very evenly matched. Bologna felt the importance of the game and played cautiously, with both teams constantly chasing each other, staying neck and neck. The goals from Bologna by Luongo, Milakovic, and Gallo were interspersed with those from Ortigia by Campopiano and Cassia. In the second quarter, Ortigia equalized with La Rosa and took the lead with a goal right on the buzzer, which was disputed by Bologna, by Avakian. De Akker regrouped and first found the equalizer with Tringali, then took the lead with Condemi and a penalty by Lucci. Goals by Luciano and Cassia brought Ortigia back level. The teams remained close and scored alternately with Bragantini, La Rosa's double, and Abramson for an 8-8 score at the end of the third quarter.

The final quarter was intense, with the crowd making its presence felt after every referee whistle, and where the experience of some Bologna players shone through in the end. Ortigia quickly went ahead with Napolitano, Luongo equalized, but the visitors regained the lead immediately with Campopiano. Giribaldi had to end his game due to a third foul, then Cassia and Condemi were both expelled for mutual fouls. With 1.26 left on the clock, Luongo scored on a counterattack, and with 31" remaining, Gallo surpassed his fraternal friend Stefano Tempesti with a long shot to seal the victory for De Akker.

"It was a tough game," said coach Federico Mistrangelo at the end, "but in the end, we got what we were looking for. We had several former players, all of whom played a great match. Now we have to try to finish the job. Tempesti? He was a great player, an extraordinary player. We won a lot together, and it's always nice to see him again, even though when he's your opponent, he still makes a difference."

Matteo Fogacci
De Akker Press Office