Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 15, 2015 - The short-handed Italian team beat Serbia in a dramatic World League Final match in Rio de Janeiro: 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9). Filippo Lanza led the Italians with 20 points, while serbian Aleksandar Atanasijevic was the top scorer of the game with 26 points.The italian team had a better start and got an early 8-4 lead after a bad serve by Serbia. Italy scored four points in a row and obtained 12-5. The overpowering start gave the italian comfort for the rest of the set, which they scored 25-23. The second set started with a different scene: Serbia was taking control of the game with a good offence and had an early 8-4 lead. The team continued strong with shark spikes by Atanasijevic and had an easy win in the second set: 25-14.
Italy got better in the third quarter, but Serbia still maintained the control opening with a 10-6 lead. Emanuele Birarelli appeared with good spikes for italians and equaled the score: 14-14. Both teams played point by point the rest of the set, but a Giannelli’s block over Atanasijevic gave Italy a 20-18 lead. The team mentored by Mauro Berruto concluded with 25-23. Italy had four blocks just in this set while Serbian didn’t obtain any one.
Serbian team explored well the italian wall early in the fourth quarter and Atanasijevic continued spiking with precision, which explains the 15-12 serbian lead in the middle. The East European team scored 25-20 and forced a tie-break. In the decisive stage of the match, italians made amazing blocks and served well, opening with a 8-1 lead. Serbia couldn’t react and lost 15-9.
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