Ruvo-La T Tecnica Gema, the seconds out. Chiarini absent, long stop for Acunzo

The seconds are out. If with six days to go the Liofilchem ​​Roseto has already ensured the mathematical certainty of finishing in first place in group B, the one between Crifo Wines Ruvo di Puglia e The T Gema Montecatini Technique, scheduled for today at 18 pm at the PalaColombo in Ruvo, has all the appearances of a play-off for second place. Seven days after the first final (won) in their history, Savoldelli and his teammates are expected to face another final in disguise, because after having maintained second place in the standings for almost an entire round, T Gema risks seeing it slip away almost definitively in the event of a defeat: with last Saturday's success in Livorno, Ruvo has in fact caught up with the Terme team and in the event of a second victory in two direct clashes, they would have the possibility of detaching themselves from them and thus making themselves difficult to overcome with five rounds to go.

Closing the regular season behind the league leaders rather than on the third step of the podium (or even worse in fourth or fifth place) could make all the difference in the world in terms of playoff, to avoid being overtaken, the lions are however called upon to undertake a feat that is perhaps even greater than the one that led them to sew the tricolour cockade on themselves. First of all because the match is not played on neutral ground but away from home and, what's more, in one of the hottest arenas in the category, because the Apulians have already overcome La T Gema in the first leg and in terms of individual talent they are second to none, but above all because the new champions of Coppa Italia they arrive somewhat lame: as if Chiarini's problems were not enough, Acunzo's injury also arrived, out for 40 days due to a third-degree muscle-tendon lesion in his left calf.

What is certain is that, just like the Argentine, the 2000-born player will not be at PalaColombo: "After the hangover from the party, we tried to reset quickly. From the experience in the Italian Cup, we must bring with us the determination and desire to win shown against Roseto and in the second half against Legnano, we will also need them for the upcoming commitments - says coach Marco Del Re -. Ruvo is strong and full of talent, our first goal and the one we have worked on is to not make them run like we did with Legnano and Roseto and to be defensively intense in a match to be experienced with competitive spirit for all forty minutes".

Filippo Palazzoni