Sementina Tournament 2026: Spartak Milano heads to Switzerland
- Alessio Casamassima
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
On Saturday, May 30th, Spartak Milano crossed the Swiss border to play in the famous Anniversary Tournament in Sementina—one of the most intense and historic events on the Canton Ticino floorball scene.
Played at a frantic pace on a "small court" (3v3) inside the Centro Ciossetto, the tournament is a true competitive marathon that perfectly blends top-tier skill with a fantastic, party-like atmosphere.
It was an incredibly intense day for our boys, who wrapped things up with a super solid 5th place finish in their group after five high-level battles.
.
What is the Sementina Tournament?
The Sementina Tournament takes place in the district of the same name in Bellinzona, located in the Canton of Ticino. It’s an area where unihockey—the name for floorball in Switzerland—is incredibly popular and deeply rooted, thanks to historic local clubs like UH Eagles Sementina and Ticino Unihockey. With over 3,400 residents, Sementina is actually one of Bellinzona’s most populated neighborhoods.
In Switzerland, floorball is one of the most played team sports around, boasting over 35,000 registered players. While it has a massive tradition in the German-speaking regions, it’s constantly growing in Ticino too. It’s no coincidence that the Swiss national team is consistently among the best in the world, and their national league is one of the most competitive in Europe.
The tournament features a fast-paced, spectacular format. Matches are played 3-on-3 in a round-robin style, which makes for an aggressive, high-scoring game. Two matches run at the same time on adjacent courts, with a single 15-minute period and a continuous clock—meaning the timer is shared between both courts and never stops, not even after a goal! Once the buzzer sounds, there’s just a quick five-minute break before the next game kicks off.
It’s an intense and super fun format that rewards speed, focus, and quick adaptability, making the Sementina Tournament a true favorite for floorball fans across the region.
Spartak Milano hits the court: a tough start
The first match couldn’t have started any worse for the Milanese boys, who immediately found themselves down by two goals. Despite the rough start, the team showed great character, fighting their way back into the game and giving their opponents a real run for their money right until the final whistle. The 3-2 final score left a bit of a bitter taste; after coming so close to a comeback, it really felt like a missed opportunity.
In the second match, Spartak faced an even tougher opponent. The game ended in a clear 8-4 defeat, mostly due to some struggles with man-marking and giving away too many chances. Leaving that much space to shoot proved to be costly against such a high-caliber side.
Immediate reaction and top-tier Floorball
The third match showed a completely different side of the blue-and-white squad. Playing with much more composure and better organization, Spartak Milano cruised to a convincing 6-2 victory. The star of the show was Marco Affò, who carried the offense and found the back of the net multiple times. Unfortunately, this was also the match where Koschitz went down with an injury, forced to sit out the rest of the tournament due to a nasty hit to his thumb.
The fourth game turned out to be a real uphill battle for Spartak Milano, as they went up against a top-class team. The start, however, looked incredibly promising: Brembol put the Milanese side ahead with a long-range shot that completely caught the opposing goalkeeper off guard.
But as the minutes ticked away, the opponents showed exactly why they were the tournament favorites, showcasing their technical and tactical superiority—and eventually going on to win every single match in the group. Spartak struggled big time on defense, finding it hard to contain the opposing forwards, who kept breaking through the marking and creating chance after chance.
A gritty win to wrap up the day in Sementina
In the final match of the day, Spartak faced off against one of the group favorites, a team that had only lost a single game up to that point. The Milanese boys played a super balanced, hard-fought match and even managed to go up by two goals. However, their opponents didn't back down, fighting their way back to tie it up and blowing the game wide open.
Just when things were getting tense, Spartak found the strength to push back and score the game-winner, walking away with a thrilling 5-4 victory. A huge shoutout goes to the team's defensive effort, with the blue-and-white players sacrificing themselves and blocking a ton of shots to seal the win.
Fifth place in the group and plenty of experience gained
Despite grabbing two wins and putting on some really strong performances throughout the day, Spartak Floorball Milano wrapped up the group stage with a record of two wins and three losses. Finishing fifth wasn't quite enough to make it to the knockout rounds, but the trip to Sementina was still an amazing opportunity to grow and test their skills against top opposition. Between the wins, the losses, the spectacular goals, the injuries, and the inevitable debates over the actual size of Koschitz's thumb, it was definitely a positive weekend all around.
Spartak Milano heads back home from Sementina with fresh experiences, a few lessons learned, and the full awareness that every single tournament is a great chance for the whole team to grow.
Comments