POWERCHAIR HOCKEY – The Warriors with the new title take on the national team at the “Memorial Merlino” in San Benedetto Po

Sabioneta Just over a month after the sensational victory, in Lignano Sabbiadoro, of the title of Italian Wheelchair Hockey Champion, the Macron Warriors Sabbioneta returns to the field on Sunday for the traditional and sincere date with the “Teniente Merlino Memorial”, held this year. This year is in its eighth edition. This year the event takes place as part of the 12th edition of “The Heineken Sporweek”, a traditional event in San Benedetto Po dedicated to sport seen as union, grouping, discovery, fun and inclusiveness. In this sense, the decision was made to include among the many sporting events of “The Sportweek” also the 2024 edition of “Memorial Merlino” with a high-level challenge between the Italian national hockey team and the newly crowned Rossoblu. An opportunity to raise awareness of wheelchair hockey and spend a day getting involved and having fun.

For this occasion, a weekend has been organized at the end of June with a day dedicated to a joint training session between the “warriors” of the Azzurri and Mantuan and a day, Sunday 30, when the two teams will take to the field to compete. For the cup dedicated to the memory of Filippo Merlino, the Carabinieri lieutenant who fell on November 12, 2003 in the cowardly attack in Nasiriyah, Iraq.

The Italian champions will have to do without some players, namely Leonardo Catania, Ilaria Di Rosa and Ion Genia, who will take the field on this occasion as Italian citizens. The Italian national team is preparing for the important event next October in Mosholm, Denmark, where the IPCH European Championship is scheduled to be held.
“We are delighted to host the Italian national team in an event that is very important to us, and to me in particular,” said Fabio Merlino, coach of the Macron Warriors and son of the lieutenant who fell in Iraq. “We will have the opportunity to compete with some of the strongest players in the Italian championship, and I am proud to say that some of them are already Macron Warriors. We live this event every year as a memory and tribute to my father and, with him, all those who lost their lives in that cowardly attack, but also as a day of celebration and great sharing. This year’s celebration has a special meaning because it is our tenth anniversary and we can show the trophies we won in Legnano to all our friends and fans with great pride and joy and celebrate with them.”
Meanwhile, in order to always keep the engines warm, last weekend the Macron Warriors participated and won the 10th edition of the “Brusati Challenge” held in Bareggio, in the province of Milan, where they faced and beat Asd Dream Team Milan with a decisive score of 17 to 0 .