Fioretta close to the exploit paired with Cravera in the “oven” of Gizzeria Finali near the championship

SALICE TERME

Sam Fioretta threw away his identity card and continues to surprise and surprise himself with other companies in the national Beach Tour, such as the second place in the Calabrian stage of Gizzeria. «A great and partly unexpected result in a difficult match in which our goal was to get into the top ten pairs of the draw. And all this with one more obstacle, namely the extreme weather conditions, scorching heat and wind at 35km / h », says Fioretta who played in tandem with another bishop of the Beach Volley Oltrepo, Luca Cravera. “The first three pairs were tough and we hoped to avoid them in the draws of the initial challenges of a draw that immediately saw us victorious 2-0 and then with the same result on the Calabrian duo Remo-Remo – explains Fioretta – In the semifinal of the winners we crossed Titta and Pizzichini, two A2 players, young, but already experienced. We managed to win a heart-pounding match 2-1. Then, in the general semifinal the rivals were the Sicilian favorites Palmeri-Laganà, one former Italian Under 21 champion, the other with crazy physical skills and opposite of Serie A. We won it 2-0 with a double 22-20 , between continuous changes in scores and breaks ».

Getting to the final was already huge for Fioretta and Cravera. «We found Titta and Pizzichini again, who got back from the losing board and lost 2-1, 15-12 at the tie break, a bit like losing on penalties and it fits in these situations. However, with this second place we make a big leap forward in the national ranking, while the dream is approaching because we are aiming for the absolute scudetto finals, among the best 24 couples in Italy: we would be the lowest couple ever, because I am 184 tall. cm and Cravera an inch more ».

In short, a challenge within a challenge. «Both Cravera and I are two defensive and left-handed players. This year, I decided to make a season with him. I raised him from youth, it was time to try. We have studied a set-up in which Luca makes the wall and plays on the right. We are setting it up with hard training sessions in Milan, helped by Davide Chiappini, a former Italian coach who is doing a job with us that I would define as engineering. And, despite the concerns of the eve, everything is going beyond expectations. We have won four stages of the Italian championship for each club, two of the Beach2 series, adding a fourth, a fifth and now a second place, results that give us conviction. We really believe in it ». For access to the championship, the stages of the next few weeks will be decisive. –

Fabio Babetto