The emotions are at their peak in the Pala Bolino, tucked into the corner of the hillside of this quiet Italian commune.  The stories of triumph and defeat being played in this theatre of sport are a great spectacle, as we arrive at the key moments for every team and every nation from the bottom of the tables to the top.  Today we arrive at the semifinals, where all teams are fighting for their place in the final rankings, or fighting for a place to win a medal and raise the Champions Cup.  The top two teams, Czechia and USA, both continue their march towards the Gold, with comprehensive wins in the quarterfinals vs Argentina and Canada respectively.  In the other quarter final draw, the stuff only dreams are made of came true for both Italy, the host nation, beating an entertaining Chinese Taipei team, who fought for every millimetre for every second of the game to equalise in a dramatic battle.  But the home crowd was elated when the Azzuri flooded onto the rink in celebration of their narrow victory  at 2-1.  In the story of the games so far, the word on everyone’s tongues is Namibia! Who have seemingly performed one miracle after another to make their way into a dream semifinal, and a real chance to medal at these games.  Ranked 21st coming into the competition, they are now poised to join the elite in the top 8 of the world, and show no signs of stopping yet.  They first faced the unlikely challenge of defeating team China by a huge margin, one of the largest ever in a competitive match at these games.  The entire arena were counting down together to the last minute, when they achieved the impossible and scored 19 to progress.  Then they had to overcome the World no.3 team, France.  Though les Blues started slow, they soon came back in the second half, and were overwhelming the Namibians, who held on to force an overtime.  Then with the speed and agility of a springbok, Hilbert Valerik scored the golden goal, and the second miracle was complete.  But not yet satisfied with this amazing achievement, they went on to take on the great northern giants from the forests of Sweden.  A tense game where the strength and determination of the Swedes was in abundance, exhibiting control over most of the match.  But it was not enough to deter the magic that the Namibians were conjuring, and once again, Valerik did what was needed with seconds remaining to complete the third miracle.  With this performance, they have warmed their way into the hearts of everyone here, and become a fan favourite to cheer on.  The stars of Africa now go on to face their greatest challenge yet, the mighty champions Czechia.  Elsewhere in the tables, team Poland are holding on to their 16th place ranking, by defeating Chile, India and China to maintain position, and hopefully a stronger seed for the next championships.  Germany, who were unlucky to narrowly miss a slot in the round of 16, have steadily held on to their place in the world with wins against Mexico, Japan and Brazil.  One of the stronger picks for the round of 16, they will be very keen to return to top table position next round, so must find the motivation to place as well as they can.  France will play Belgium and Slovakia will play Switzerland in the semifinals of the “Presidents Cup” formed of the runners up out of the rounds of 16.  Team GB, who are playing Australia at time of writing, are playing for position in the middle of the table.  Their results are equally important as they work for placement and world ranking points.  Even for the teams at the beginning of their development journey, such as India, Chile and China, the games are their opportunity to consolidate their positions within the world family of Inline Hockey, and cemetery memories that build a legacy for future generations of athletes in this fantastic sport.  Competition continues tonight and tomorrow, with all final positions being decided, and of course the semifinals today, followed by the medal matches and closing awards ceremonies.  Tune in live on Worldskate tv, and follow along on the website for all the detailed match analysis, statistics and results for the whole tournament.  The breeze may be cool, but the atmosphere is steaming hot in the Pala Bolino of Roccarasso all weekend, join us live!