UPCN Voley Club vs. Drean Bolívar: two old known teams in a repeated final series, or not?
UPCN Voley Club and Drean Bolívar (second finalist and champion of last season) will play for second consecutive season the final series of the ACLAV Argentine A1 Men Teams Tarjeta Nativa Nación League 2010-11, even though many of their placer and their output have changed during this season. This Friday and Saturday, the first two matches in San Juan Aldo Cantoni historical stadium.
The ACLAV Argentine League keeps growing steadily and some of the statistics of the final teams can prove it. Even though we are talking of the same teams there are many differences in their teams when comparing them with the 2009/10 season. Their identity and rhythm are also different and therefore they arrived to this instance taking a different path.
In the season 2009/10, Drean Bolívar and UPCN lead alone the Regular Season, and therefore also it was a fight of the best two teams that ended with the victory of the team coached by Javier Weber. At that time, Bolivar added 50 points and UPCN, 47. La Unión finished on the third place but with 39 points. This season, UPCN lead most of the regular season and lost the "top" place in the last date finishing with 52 points. Bolivar finished fourth with the same score as Formosa (third ranked team) and with 46 points. The top in the last match was won by Buenos Aires Unidos (now defeated in semi-final series in a fifth match by Drean Bolívar while La Union de Formosa was defeated also in five matches by UPCN).
During the Play-Offs 2009/10, UPCN overcame Chubut (four matches) and Formosa (in three) while Bolívar first finished with Boca and then Gigantes del Sur without losing a single match. This year the way to reach the final series was harder for both teams. San Juan team, coached by Fabián Armoa overcame first the team of Chaco, Sarmiento 3-0 but had to fight against La Unión (3-2), while the title holder, coached by Weber had a longer fight vs. Villa María (3-1) and then a terrific five match series vs. Buenos Aires Unidos (3-2) and it is the first time in their five last seasons that they do not start the final series at home as host team.
The teams were also renewed and somehow reinforced. San Juan lost the best scorer, Joel but hired the Colombian Alex Moreno and the Czech Kamil Baranek replaceing Suguinha. But then lost in the middle of the season Porporatto (that decided to leave the team) injuring the team but at the same time, Gustavo Molina that replaced him showed he deserved to be among the starting line-up players. Drean Bolívar lost William, Wallace, García, Spajic and Aschemacher but their officials hired young talented players like Solé, Méndez, Ocampo and Giachetta. With many injured players during the whole season the last one had to change several times the starting line-up to arrive to the fifth consecutive final series and the eight in its history.
The statistics are also important. Champions come out from decisive matches and therefore let's see their figures in the Play-Offs.
Drean Bolívar and UPCN have similar way to play: they bet to put pressure serving. San Juan team scored 27 aces vs. Buenos Aires 34 but is has more effectiveness as their non-forced errors serving is minor: 8 average per match. The champion risks more and gives away 19 points. Blocking is better for Armoa's team as both middle players stand on the podium as first (Molina) and third (Junior) best blockers of the league with a total of 87 points while Bolivar divides the total of 72 points among 4 players.
Spiking Ocampo is the best of Bolivar following Scholtis to become the best of the League and the champion, that has not the same result as last year, overcomes UPCN by 481 vs. 366 with an average of 53 per match over the 45 of San Juan Team.
The calendar of the final series is an extra "bonus" as ACLAV decided to put the first four matches in two consecutive days. Therefore this Friday and Saturday the teams will play the first two matches in San Juan while next week during Passover Holidays, on Thursday and Friday, the matches will take place in San Carlos de Bolívar.
In this Final series there are many very experienced players on final matches. In UPCN, Leonardo Patti is the first player with seven final series on his shoulders while for Bolívar, Bada and Pablo Meana have six, each.
Patti wore five different jerseys at final series in the following seasons: 2001/2 (UBA), 2003/5 (Bolívar Signia), 2005/6 (Rosario Sonder), 2006/7 (Gigantes del Sur), UPCN (2009/11). Meana was champion in five final series: 1998/9 (Luz y Fuerza, Necochea), 2006/10 (Bolívar) and in Brazil second finalist in the season 2004/5, winning in the four final series under Javier Weber with Bolivar since the year 2006.
ACLAV