Manse PP goes to the finals of the men’s Superpesis as a slight early favorite. Sami-Petteri Kivimäki believes that the championship will be decided only in the fourth or fifth game.
10:00 AM•Updated 10:34 AM
Radio broadcast from the men’s 1st final at Areena on Saturday 7 September. from 4:20 p.m.
The men’s Superpesis season has also progressed to the finals, and Manse PP from Tampere and Jymy from Sotkamo are now fighting for the Finnish championship.
The final series starts on Saturday in Tampere. By September 21 at the latest, it will be known whether the Poika-pokaali will travel to Kainuus again like last season, or whether its next address after a three-year break will be in Pirkanmaa.
Sports expert Sami-Petteri Kivimäki expect quality baseball from the final series.
Manse PP, which has played consistently strong throughout the season and won the regular season, can be considered the early favourites, but according to Kivimäki, the differences are probably a hair’s breadth away.
– If Manse continues with his basic routine level and plays a little better than that and Sotkamo does not reach his best, Manse is a clear early favorite. But if Sotkamo plays the game it has been able to play at its best, the differences are basically small, Kivimäki reflects.
Kivimäki does not consider the importance of the home crowd to be a decisive factor, although he believes that the support of the home crowd will give Manse PP a small advantage.
– Yes, with the home advantage and a small pre-favorite approach angle, I would put the match series 3-1 ahead of Manse, Kivimäki makes a bet but does not consider the progression of the match series to even five games impossible.
The men’s Finnish championship would be the second in club history for Manse PP and the 21st for Jymy Sotkamo.
Manse PP has not had a proper test
Manse PP won both their quarter-final series against Pattijoki Urheilijai and their semi-final series against Kempeleen Kiri in three straight matches. The team has also won every period they have played in the playoffs.
According to Kivimäki, it has been caused not only by the goodness of Manse PP, but also by the weakness of the opponents.
– One question mark on Manse’s side is certainly the fact that, to be honest, they haven’t been properly tested during the entire playoffs.
Sotkamo, on the other hand, played four games both in the quarter-finals against Joensuu’s Maila and in the semi-finals against Kouvola’s Pallonlöji.
Kivimäki sees that Sotkamo is slightly ahead of Manse PP in terms of readiness for a tight turn and a losing position, because the playoffs have tested Sotkamo’s ability to tolerate tighter stages in the game. Sotkamo has shown that he can turn losing positions into period and match wins.
There is also experience on the opposite side.
– We have to remember that Manse has a pretty experienced team, with people who have won several championships and played in the final series, says Kivimäki.
Repatriation increases in value
As is typical for autumn games, one of the decisive themes in this final series is going home. In it, the attention is especially focused on the main sponsors of the teams, Manse PP Perttu Ruuskaa and Sotkamon Roope Korhosen.
– If you look at mutual matches from the last two seasons, the success rate for both has been quite low, Kivimäki points out.
Reflecting on this, Kivimäki considers it essential for the success of Sotkamo’s inner game how the team can distribute the responsibility for sending home more than just Korhonen’s shoulders.
According to Kivimäki, the key thing in Tampere’s home game is how Manse PP’s top scorer will succeed, i.e. whether the team will get home Henri Puput “in full use”. Kivimäki considers hitter Puputti next to Ruuska as a vital player in terms of repatriation.
– In the semi-final series, there were several innings in several episodes where Puputti was not used at all or could not hit in a three-point situation, says Kivimäki.
The expert mentions the outside game as the strength of both teams. With that, the speed of the forwards also increases to a large value in the match series.
– If Manse can hit Severi Tikkakoski i.e. super-fast progress to the home nest, the probabilities increase. But if the running power drops, Sotkamo’s three-position play is at a very strong level, Kivimäki reflects, pointing out Aapo Komulainen locker game and the cup duo known for their throwing power Iivari Vihanto–Jussi Korhonen.
– And why not the other way around as well. Yes, Sotkamon also needs to get the best legs to beat.
Father against son
An interesting additional spice to the final series is the struggle of father and son against each other: Manse PP’s game is led by a player from Sotkamo Jani Komulainenwhose son is Aapo Komulainen, who stirs at Sotkamo’s plate.
Kivimäki thinks that both of them understand the spirit of the game, because the Komulai are already in their second season with opposing teams.
– Of course, now we are playing for the Finnish championship, and this bet has not yet faced each other.
According to Kivimäki, it is difficult to tell from the outside whether the layout has any meaning. However, he does not see a decisive significance in the father-son arrangement.
1st final: Manse PP–Sotkamon Jymy, Sat 7.9. at 4:30 p.m
2nd final: Sotkamon Jymy– Manse PP, Sun 8.9. at 16:00
3rd final: Manse PP–Sotkamon Jymy, Sat 14.9. at 12:30 p.m. (starts at 3 p.m. if there is no need for a fifth match in the women’s finals)
4. final: Sotkamon Jymy– Manse PP, Sun 15.9. at 15:00 (if necessary)
5. final: Manse PP–Sotkamon Jymy, Sat 21.9. at 15:00 (if necessary)
The first and second finals in Areena in audio. From the third final onwards, broadcast on TV2 and Areena.