At the Palasport in Avenza, in front of a passionate home crowd, Apuania Carrara celebrated their fourth consecutive Italian Super Cup triumph by defeating their historic rivals, Top Spin Messina Watches Together, 5-3. The victory was particularly special as Top Spin Messina had won the Super Cup in 2019 and 2020. The trophy was presented by FITeT President Renato DI NAPOLI.
The match was played across two tables and showcased thrilling action from start to finish.
In the first round, Apuania Carrara took a commanding lead, with Croatia’s Tomislav PUCAR defeating Niagol STOYANOV and Portugal’s João MONTEIRO, a former Top Spin player, overcoming Tommaso GIOVANNETTI.
Top Spin Messina fought back in the second round. Moldova’s Vladislav URSU prevailed over Mihai BOBOCICA, but MONTEIRO maintained Apuania’s momentum by defeating STOYANOV.
The third round brought excitement for Top Spin Messina as they leveled the match 3-3. URSU secured a victory against PUCAR, and GIOVANNETTI outplayed Matteo MUTTI. In the decisive fourth round, MONTEIRO completed a hat-trick by defeating URSU, and MUTTI sealed the win for Apuania by overcoming STOYANOV in a thrilling five-game match.
“It was a heart-stopping match,” said Apuania Carrara President Guglielmo BELLOTTI. “Top Spin Messina confirmed they are a very strong team. We started well, but they came back, and at one point, anything could have happened. When MUTTI beat STOYANOV in the penultimate singles, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief. MONTEIRO was undoubtedly the man of the match with his hat-trick, especially his victory over URSU, who impressed me with his game intelligence. PUCAR also played an important role, and I’m sure if he had been needed for the last singles, he would have delivered his best table tennis. We are extremely satisfied with this fourth Super Cup victory.”
Table 1
- Tomislav PUCAR vs. Niagol STOYANOV 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8)
- Mihai BOBOCICA vs. Vladislav URSU 1-3 (7-11, 10-12, 11-5, 6-11)
- Tomislav PUCAR vs. Vladislav URSU 0-3 (8-11, 13-15, 8-11)
- João MONTEIRO vs. Vladislav URSU 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-5)
Table 2
- Јoão MONTEIRO vs. Tommaso GIOVANNETTI 3-1 (11-3, 14-12, 8-11, 11-9)
- João MONTEIRO vs. Niagol STOYANOV 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-4)
- Matteo MUTTI vs. Tommaso GIOVANNETTI 1-3 (6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11)
- Matteo MUTTI vs. Niagol STOYANOV 3-2 (12-14, 14-12, 11-5, 10-12, 6-1)
