Italy adds another triumph to ever-growing list of age-group titles

Italy have further extended their supremacy in age-group competitions after the ‘Azzurrini’ triumphed on Sunday in the gold medal match of #EuroVolleyU17M where they beat Bulgaria 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20). This is Italy’s second title in this competition – following their previous success in 2017. Spain completed the podium after their success in the bronze medal match with Belgium. 

Both finalists showed why they had reached the gold medal match undefeated. Italy started brilliantly, taking a 6-1 lead, which Bulgaria managed to overturn with a nine-point streak without a response from their opponents. This forced Italian coach Monica Cresta to call a timeout. After a fierce battle, the Italians once again took the lead at 17-16, but Bulgaria responded and had a slender advantage at 21-18. However, they could not hold onto it, as Gianluca Cremoni and Simone Bertoncello orchestrated another comeback, leading Italy to win the opening set 25-23.
 
In the second set, after a close battle, Italy managed to pull away with a four-point lead (13-9) through Cremoni, and they continued to extend their advantage up to a maximum of seven points (22-15). They comfortably sealed the set with a score of 25-19.
 
Facing a deficit for the first time in the tournament, the Bulgarian team responded remarkably. They turned the tide in the middle of the third set, making the final even more thrilling and ultimately winning it 25-20. 

However, that is as far as Desislava Velichkova’s players could go. Italy played superbly in the fourth set, establishing a significant early lead, and maintaining it until the end. They seized the third match point and celebrated their second gold medal in history, after winning the fourth set 25-20.
 
Gianluca Cremoni top scored for Italy with 26 points, while Zhasmin Velichkov registered the most points for Bulgaria with 20.

“I did not play much at this tournament, but I was able to play in the final. I am obviously delighted and happy with the victory,” Italy’s Manuel Zlatanov said. 

“I think our team did an amazing job at this tournament and we are obviously happy to have played the final, but unfortunately, we lost to Italy. We have been working very hard each day and I am proud of what we did at this competition,” Velichkov said. 

In the first match of the final competition day, Spain secured their first medal in this age group with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-14) victory over Belgium in the match for third place. Despite Belgium winning a close first set 25-23, it did not deter Fredison Mosquera’s team on their way to the bronze. Spain managed to turn the tide and dominated the following sets, winning them convincingly with scores of 25-17 and 25-13. Riding on their fantastic performance, the Spanish team easily secured the fourth set 25-14, thus claiming their first bronze medal.
 
Cesar Irache Camacho and Mario Garcia Dominguez, both scoring 22 points, led Spain to this historic achievement, while Viktor Speltinckx scored the most points for Belgium, with 14. Montenegrin international referee Jelena Mitrović was the first referee in the match for bronze, and Montenegro had another representative among the match officials – as Anka Ivanović was the supervisor of the third-place match. 
 
The U17 European Championship in Podgorica brought together 15 of the best teams from the Old Continent, plus hosts Montenegro, who made their European debut in the competition.