Superlega 2021

Leon eases Perugia into last Men's Cup Final Four berth

Table leaders on track for fifth consecutive appearance in the final

Published 09:59, 19 Jan 2022

BENDA-20220119-203618-55709-Perugia esultanza

Wilfredo Leon and teammates celebrate Perugia's win over Piacenza in the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup.

Two-times Cup winners Sir Safety Conad Perugia have grabbed the last ticket to this year's semifinals after Wilfredo Leon powered them to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-21) sweep of Kioene Padova, Wednesday night at home in the PalaBarton.

The Cuba-born Polish international was top scorer of the game on 17 points, including all four his team's four aces, to earn the MVP of the match award.

Re-watch the match on VolleyballWorld.tv.

It was the last of the Cup quarterfinals, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, Allianz Milano and Itas Trentino having claimed their own berths on Sunday.

Perugia have been present in all four last Final Fours of the Cup, claiming the title in 2018 and 2019.

The lineup for the semifinals, scheduled for 5 March, is now complete:

  • Sir Safety Conad Perugia v Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
  • Allianz Milano v Itas Trentino

The final is scheduled for 6 March.

Meanwhile, in a previously postponed and now rescheduled league match for Round 15, defending champions Cucine Lube Civitanova snatched the opportunity to climb to second place and close in on table leaders Perugia after shutting out Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza 3-0 (25-17, 30-28, 25-21) on the road.

Padova had the first two set points in the second, but failed to convert them and draw level, as Lube rallied to break away on their own fourth attempt.

Ivan Zaytsev with 18 points was the only player across both sides to score in double digits.