Radek Farský, 19, is one of the young players who have helped Basket Brno to three straight wins. They host Sluneta Ústí nad Labem at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Photo credit: Jan Russnak.
Brno, Feb. 27 (BD) — egoé Basket Brno resumes play Saturday with a live three-game winning streak, HC Kometa is finishing off the regular season with postseason seeding in mind, FC Zbrojovka starts spring season on the road and opens at home on March 10 and the Brno sports schedule.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Closing Push for ŽBL Regular Season
Žabiny Brno, who finished third in the CEWL Final Four, return to play in the domestic league when they host Teamstore Brno tonight (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. and travel to Kralove Pole to play KP Brno in the final game of the ZBL regular season at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
KP Brno (14-4) is second in the ŽBL. They go to Slovanka MB tonight before hosting fifth-place KP Brno (12-6).
The top eight teams will advanced into the the Playoffs, where they will play a loser-out best-of-five quarterfinal series. Both KP Brno and Žabiny Brno will advance into the postseason.
Teamstore Brno (1-17) is at the bottom of the standings. They host U19 Chance (1-18) on Sunday at 5 p.m. Then they will play in the Play-Out bracket with the threat of regulation to a lower league.
KP Brno beat Žabiny Brno by three points three weeks ago. The teams have a rivalry that begin a long time ago. Last year, KP Brno finished the regular season in third place with an 18-5 record and sixth-place Žabiny Brno was 14-8. The two teams met in the quarterfinals and KP Brno won all three games, which was a rematch of the KP Brno sweep in the previous year’s quarterfinal series.
Last season, KP Brno went on to play ZVVZ USK Praha in the championship series and took second place.
Žabiny Brno Win Consolation Final of CEWL Final Four
Host Žabiny Brno finished third in the Final Four of the Central Europe Women’s League this weekend when they lost to eventual-champion Piešťanské Čajky, 60-67, in the semi-finals and beat Young Angels Kosice, 75-51, in the consolation final.
Post Marques Webb did not play in either game, so a lot was put on the shoulders of Lithuanian Justina Matuzonyté. She led the team in minutes and, on Saturday against Piešťanské Čajky, with 15 points. Then she added another 10 against Kosice. She
The bench was a key to the consolation final victory. Kateřina Zohnová had 14, Nikola Dudášová had 14 and Natálie Stoupalová had 10 to help outscore the starters 46-29.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Basket Brno Takes Court Saturday with Live Streak
egoé Basket Brno will take a three-game winning streak into their home game against Sluneta Ústí nad Labem on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The league has rested for two weeks and Brno (10-14) has a shot at moving up to seventh in the standings. Sluneta Ústí nad Labem (15-9) is third in the league, behind ČEZ Basketball Nymburk (23-0) and second-place DEKSTONE Tuři Svitavy (16-8).
Brno’s last loss was to Ústí nad Labem on Jan. 26 in the penultimate game of the regular season. They have since earned their way into Group A1, where they have won both games.
Deremy Geiger leads the team with 17.2 points per game. He is fourth in the league standings.
Reggie Keely averages 13.8 and Davell Roby averages 12.8.
HOCKEY
Erat Suspended, Kometa Win Two
Martin Erat was suspended for six games for an excessively aggressive hit, but HC Kometa won two games to stay in prime position to advance directly to the quarterfinals of the Tipsport
Brno won two road games — 0-3 at Karlovy Vary on Friday and 3-4 at Litvínov on Sunday — to stay in fifth place with 80 points. Třinec is in fourth place with 87 points and a game in hand.
Kometa, the two-time defending champions, play three games this week: at home against sixth-place Vítkovice (78 points) on Friday; at league-leading Liberec (97) on Sunday; and at home against Sparta (68) on Tuesday. They finish the regular season at Zlín (71) on March 8.
Erat was thrown out of the game against Karlovy Vary when he aggressively struck Tomáš Havránek in the middle of the second period. In a press release from the Disciplinary Commission, Viktor Ujčík, the chairman, said the contact was “without any effort to play the puck with the sole aim of hitting the opponent.”
Erat was suspended for the remaining five games of the regular season and the first game of the postseason.
Havránek, a young player on loan to Karlovy Vary by HC Kometa, suffered a concussion and stayed in the hospital overnight.
Erat, 37, is a former NHL player and captain of the Czech national team. He rested most of this season to be sharp for the postseason. In 18 games, he has 17 points from three goals and 14 assists.
If form holds, Kometa will play in the quarterfinals against HC Oceláři Třinec.
The playoffs include several levels. In the pre-playoff series, the seventh- and 10th-place teams and the eighth- and ninth-place teams play loser-out best-of-five series to move into the main Playoff Bracket.
In the best-of-seven quarterfinals (March 18 to 31), the lowest-seeded team from the pre-playoff series plays the regular-season winner and the higher seeded team from the pre-playoff series plays the regular-season runner up. Also, the third- and sixth-place regular season teams and the fourth- and fifth-place regular season teams play quarterfinal series.
The semifinals are best-of-seven and will be held from April 3 to 15. The best-of-seven finals will be from April 18 to 30.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka starts Spring Season with Momentum
FC Zbrojovka Brno has gone 8-1-1 since the end of the autumn half of the Fortuna:Národní Liga. The impressive record is, admittedly, during the winter Tipsport League and preparation games where the competition is not at its peak and coaches are tinkering with personnel and strategies — but, a win is a win is a win, and, for a team in the second biggest city in the country that is currently in the middle of the second-league standings, building confidence can only help.
FC Zbrojovka starts the spring season on the road this Saturday at Chrudim at 10:15 a.m.
The first home game of the season is against Žižkov on Sunday, March 10 at 6 p.m.
Zbrojovka is 6-5-5 through the 16 games of the Fortuna
Only the top three teams from the Fortuna
The highlight of the winter season was when Zbrojovka defended its Tipsport League title, beating Slovan Bratislava, 3-0, in Malta on Jan. 21.
The team has gone through significant changes. Four big-name players did not have their contracts renewed: Goalkeeper and captain Dušan Melichárek is now at Malmö (Sweden); defender Chico Gomes is now at Amora FC (Portugal); striker Musefiu Ashiru is now at Trnava (Slovakia); and longtime Brno native Milan Lutonský is now at Prostějov.
Pavel Halouska, a 23-year-old who has cut his teeth in the organization, has been playing well in the goal throughout the winter. Damián Bariš, 24, and Robert Bartolomeu, 25, have both scored multiple goals during the past two months.
At 36, Lukáš Magera is the oldest member of the team. He scored in the first six games of the regular season and ended the autumn half with nine goals and an assist. He is one goal off of the league lead.
Michal Škoda has a lot of back class. He had 10 goals in the top league in 2016-17.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: BLK Slavia Praha 62, Žabiny Brno 70
Friday, Feb. 22, 2019
— Hockey: K. Vary 0, Kometa 3
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 69, Loko Trutnov 61
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, semi-finals: Žabiny Brno 60, Piestanske Cajky 67
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, semi-finals: Sokol Hradec Kralove 90, Young Angels Kosice 62 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Teamstore Brno 65, Slovanka MB 80
— Hockey: Litvínov 3, Kometa 4
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, third-place game: Žabiny Brno 75, Young Angels Kosice 51
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, finals: Piestanske Cajky 60, Sokol Hradec Kralove 54
BRNO SPORTS SCHEDULE
The schedule for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the next two weeks. All dates and times subject to change. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X Teamstore Brno, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Slovanka MB X KP Brno, 6 p.m.
Friday, March 1, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa X Vítkovice, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Žabiny Brno, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Teamstore Brno X U19 Chance, 5 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: egoé Basket Brno X SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
— Hockey: Liberec X Kometa, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Chrudim X Zbrojovka Brno, 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa X Sparta, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
— Men’s Basketball: egoé Basket Brno X BK Opava, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 8, 2019
— Hockey: Zlín X Kometa, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
— Men’s Basketball: DEKSTONE Tuři Svitavy X egoé Basket Brno, 5 p.m.
The Brno Sports Report is published every Wednesday. All dates and times are subject to change. Most of the stories are about the traditional “English-speaking” team sports — football, hockey, baseball, basketball, American football, rugby, etc. — but it is also about the interesting local spectator and participation sports — tennis, badminton, running, horse racing, swimming, rock climbing, biking, etc. If you have any suggestions for what should be included, please comment below or send an email to brnosports@gmail.com.
