This year the pre-season tournament moves from Conegliano to Pordenone: the Prosecco DOC A. Carraro Conegliano in collaboration and with the patronage of the Municipality of Pordenone organizes the 1st City of Pordenone Tournament at the PalaCrisafulli: the Panthers will be engaged, Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September in the Friulian capital, for one of the preparation outings before the start of the A1 scheduled for Monday 6 October in Busto Arsizio.
It will be the first intense weekend of the season of the Panthers who, after the friendly match on Monday 15 in Belluno against Talmassons, will challenge two teams from the Italian championship, the Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia and the Cbf Balducci Hr Macerata, as well as the Greeks of Panathinaikos Athens .
It will be the first intense weekend of the season of the Panthers who, after the friendly match on Monday 15 in Belluno against Talmassons, will challenge two teams from the Italian championship, the Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia and the Cbf Balducci Hr Macerata, as well as the Greeks of Panathinaikos Athens .
THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS
The Megabox Ond. Savio Vallefoglia closed the 2024/25 season in 7th place in the A1 championship; in the post-season, he won all 4 matches of the Challenge play-offs, hitting the historic milestone of qualifying for the Challenge Cup, which will coincide with the first European participation of the Tigers. Coached by coach Andrea Pistola, the sporting director of the Marche is the former yellow-blue Alessio Simone, assistant in the technical staff at Palaverde from 2017 to 2020.
For the Cbf Balducci Hr Macerata, on the other hand, the upcoming season will be that of the return to A1, the orange and black will return to the top flight after two years of absence. Last season’s post-season was decisive, in particular the finals against the Akademia Sant’Anna Messina, who certified the great goal obtained in 2 races in the series. Head coach of Macerata Valerio Lionetti, assistant coach of Daniele Santarelli in Conegliano from 2017 to 2024, will challenge the Panthers for the first time as a former player.
Panathinaikos Athens, one of the institutions of the Greek league, won the national tournament three times in a row from 2022 to 2024, 26 in total in its history. Last season it closed its path in the play-off semi-finals and will participate in the Challenge Cup this season. Coach of the formation of the famous Athenian sports club is Alessandro Chiappini, coach of Hungary and coach of the Panthers in the final of the 2014-2015 season. Among the Greeks there is also the former yellow-blue Martina Samadan, a Croatian center who was Panther in the 2017/18 season.
PROGRAM
It starts on Saturday 20 September at 6 pm, the PalaCrisafulli will host the semifinal of the quadrangular between Vallefoglia and Panathinaikos, while at 20:30 the Prosecco DOC A. Carraro will take the field to face the Macerata of the former Lionetti. On Sunday, however, the 3rd-4th place final will be played at 15:30; in the same location, at 6 pm, the final will be staged, in a two-day all-volleyball event for Pordenone.
TICKETS AVAILABLE
Coupons available in advance from tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. on vivaticket.com, availability in the first ring and first ring comfort sectors for full and reduced Under 18, while the discount for 2025/26 season ticket holders of Prosecco DOC A. Carraro is active.
Today the tournament was presented in the Municipality of Pordenone as part of the opening of the Pordenone Sports Gala, in the presence of the mayor Alessandro Basso, the councilor for Sport Elena Ceolin and for Prosecco DOC Imoco Volley the president Piero Garbellotto and the athletes Cristina Chirichella and Serena Scognamillo.
STATEMENTS BY PRESIDENT PIERO GARBELLOTTO
“We are happy and proud of this project that starts with a two-day quadrangular in Pordenone on 20 and 21 September, It is the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with the Municipality of Pordenone which we hope will be long and lasting therefore with a first tournament and maybe ask for camps, in collaboration with the sports clubs of the area that I believe can be forges of great little athletes. We have many fans, season ticket holders and enthusiasts who follow us even from Friuli and we are satisfied to be able to play in this land and bring the spectacle of great volleyball here to Pordenone “.