The recoveries with Tortona and Trapani decisive for the positioning in the second phase Winning them both will guarantee access to the white group, that of the big
UDINE. After the bittersweet parenthesis of the Coppa Italia, it is time for the Apu Old Wild West to dive back into the championship. Antonutti and his teammates must play two recoveries to complete the first phase of the regular season: Tortona arrives on Sunday at Carnera, and another home match against Trapani on Saturday 17 April. At stake is the possibility of finishing in third place, surpassing Tezenis Verona in the standings: let’s see in detail what are the possible combinations from here to the end of the first phase and how the second phase is structured.
Udine and Verona are currently paired in third place, at 28 points. The Scaligeri of coach Ramagli, in case of arrival on equal points, would end up in front due to the favorable goal difference in the double direct clash. The APU, however, has one more game to play: if they fill up against Tortona and Trapani, it will not be enough for the Venetians to beat Turin (in the recovery scheduled for April 17) to be third.
Arriving third guarantees access to the “white circle” in the second phase. It is the most important, it includes the top three in the Green and Red groups and assigns the top six positions in the starting grid of the play-offs. Six games are scheduled: three first legs and three second legs, against the teams of the other group. Teams from the same group do not face each other, but bring with them the points of the direct matches played in the first phase. Tortona and Turin (green group), Forlì, Naples and Scafati (red group) are already qualified in the white group. Calculator in hand, Sunday’s match against Tortona can be worth double: if the Old Wild West finishes third and ends up in the white group, it would bring with it the two points of a possible victory over the Piedmontese.
If the APU closes the first phase in fourth or fifth place, in the second phase it will become part of the yellow group, which it assigns from 7th to 12th position in the play-off grid. A downgrading that is all in all bearable, because Udine would face less strong teams (Eurobasket Rome, Ferrara and one between Cento, Chieti and Ravenna) and would start with many points given that from the Green group the probable qualified are Trapani and one between Urania Milano and Assigeco, teams with which the bianconeri have made a good booty.
What the arithmetic does not say is that for the APU it would be more prestigious to play the group of the big names, with which it has already shown that it can play (and win) in the Italian Cup. We await confirmation from Sunday’s match with Tortona. After five months, it is clear that in the current A2 there are six or seven teams able to play for promotion, which we will find in the four semi-finals of the two draws. If the bar needs to be raised, better do it now and aim high without fear.