VK Šelmy Brno continue to lead the way in the women’s volleyball league. They host sixth-place Liberec at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The men’s team hosts Praha at 4 p.m. Photo credit: Viktor Šulc.
Brno, Dec 4 (BD) — KP Brno hosts Ramla of Israel at 7:10 p.m. tonight (CT Sport); mmcité1 Basket Brno adds Jakub Krakovič for second half of season; injured Jágr doesn’t play, but Kometa win again; and the Brno sports results and schedule.
VOLLEYBALL
Moravia Continues to Fill the Top Spots
Halfway through the Uniqua Extraliga Ženy season, Moravian teams are dominating. VK Brno leads the women’s league with 35 points and Olomouc is one point back. Prostějov (26) and Ostrava (25) are third and fourth. Královo Pole, which has 14 points, is in seventh.
This Saturday, VK Brno will host sixth-place Liberec at 6:30 p.m.
Královo Pole travels to Ostrava on Saturday for a 5 p.m. match.
Just prior to the VK Brno women’s game on Saturday, the men’s team will host Praha at 4 p.m. It’s a big match: Brno is fourth in the Uniqua Extraliga Muzi league with 16 points. Praha is third with 17 points.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno Plays Tonight With Chance to Advance in EuroCup
Women’s basketball is back after a break and both KP Brno and Žabiny Brno have shown that they are ready to go.
KP Brno got police escorts and an audience with the Czech ambassador before they beat Botas (Turkey) in Ankara on Thursday, 75-80, in a EuroCup game. On Sunday, they appeared sluggish in the first half against Loko Trutnov, before turning on the power to win the ZBL game, 104-66.
The team has a chance to advance in the EuroCup tonight when they host Elitzur Neve David Ramla of Israel at 7:10 p.m. This is the final game of the group stage. A win is essential and an 18-point differential would be helpful for the advancement scenario to pan out. The game will be on CT Sport.
“It is necessary to put as much as possible” into the game, KP Brno’s Michaela Stará was quoted as saying on zenskybasket.cz. “When everything comes together, it can turn out. We don’t mind the fact that the game is on TV. Everyone dives into the game and we don’t see the cameras.”
Žabiny Brno have won six games in a row, including the last three in international tournaments. They dominated Spirou Ladies Charleroi in a CEWL game, 83-39, last Wednesday. Then, over the weekend, Žabiny Brno won back-to-back EWBL Games, beating Horizont Minsk, 81-72, on Saturday and PINKK Pécsi 424, 59-82, on Sunday.
They travel to BC Pharmaserv Marburg today to play a CEWL tournament game at 6 p.m.
Žabiny Brno, which is fourth in the ZBL league, will next play at ZVVZ USK Praha, the undefeated top team in the country, on Saturday at 5 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcité1 Makes Changes to Prepare for Second Half
mmcité1 Basket Brno needed a breather after failing to win a single game in the first run through of the Kooperativa NBL 2019-20 season. They took one and made some personnel changes, too.
The team announced that they brought home Jakub Krakovič, a two-meter-tall post player who is a proven leader.
According to the team website, Krakovič scored his best career numbers in Brno when he averaged 14 points and nearly six rebounds in 27 minutes of game time as a young player. He has since gained a lot of experience during a solid run of success at Děčín, where he was the captain, and in the second Austrian Bundesliga in Mistelbach.
“The management approached me because it wants to change the current situation,” Krakovič said. “I believe that during my career I have accumulated experience that I can now use to help the boys. It will be a challenge for me, but I look forward to it.”
The native of Kyov started training with the team in late November.
“Kuba signed a two-year contract,” Filip Jimramovský, the Brno manager, said on the team website. “We bring in Kuba first and foremost because we lack a leader, someone who could help our young players and put adequate pressure on the referees. Last, but not least, his determination and militancy will help us. He is exactly the type who will fight to the bone and leave everything on the deck.”
In the Alpe Adria Cup on Tuesday, Brno traveled to Slovakia and lost to BC Levicki Patrioti, 82-62, when the home team pulled away in the final quarter.
Davell Roby, an American who played for Brno last season and recently returned to the team, led the way with 12 points. Krakovič had six points and five rebounds. Only nine players made the trip. Petr Heřman and Bryan Smithson are both injured.
Brno is 0-11 in the Kooperative NBL. The next game is on the road at Sluneta Ústí nad Labem (6-5) on Dec. 8. The following three are at home: USK Praha (6-6) on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m.; BK JIP Pardubice (8-3) on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.; and Dekstone Tuři Svitavy (7-5) on Dec. 21 at 6 p.m.
The remaining 11 rounds of the first part of the regular season will have another game against every team in the league. The top teams will earn a berth in Group A1, like Brno did last year, and then the postseason. The teams who are lower in the standings will play each other in Group A2, where they risk relegation to a lower league.
ICE HOCKEY
Injured Jágr Doesn’t Play, Kometa Wins
In the end, Jaromír Jágr did not make an appearance on the ice in Brno on Sunday. The sold out DRFG Arena may have been disappointed by his injury and his no-show, but the fans were surely happy that the home-team Kometa won another game: HC Kometa Brno 4, Rytíři Kladno 1.
It was the third win in four matches, which has changed the momentum from the six-game losing streak that had come before. Kometa are sixth with 41 points in the Tipsport extraliga. Sparta is first with 53.
The season reaches the midpoint later this week after Kometa plays at HC Škoda Plzeň on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and at HC Dynamo Pardubice on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The team has also made some personnel moves. On Monday, Jack Glover, a 23-year-old native of Minnesota, was brought in to bolster the defense. Glover is 191cm and 86 kg. He has a lot of international experience and the club hopes that he will shore up its porous back line.
“We have holes in defense, and we’re trying to do something about it and not just on-ice training,” Libor Zabransky, the club’s the owner and head coach, was quoted on the team website.
Peter Mueller, one of the team’s top offensive players, is back in Brno and in full of training after an injury.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).
Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019
— Women’s Basketball (CEWL): Žabiny Brno 83, Spirou Ladies Charleroi 39
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Botas (Tur) 75, KP Brno 80
Friday, Nov. 29, 2019
— Hockey: Bílí Tygři Liberec 3, HC Kometa Brno 2
Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019
— Men’s Volleyball: Odolena Voda 1, Brno 3
— Women’s Volleyball: Olymp 0, VK Brno 3
— Women’s Volleyball: Královo Pole 3, Šternberk 0
— Women’s Basketball (EWBL): BK Žabiny Brno 81, Horizont Minsk 72
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 104, Loko Trutnov 66
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno 4, Rytíři Kladno 1
— Women’s Basketball (EWBL): PINKK Pécsi 424 59, BK Žabiny Brno 82
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019
— Men’s Basketball (Alpe Adria Cup): BK Patrioti Levice 82, mmcite1 Basket Brno 62
BRNO SPORTS SCHEDULE
The schedule for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the next week. All dates and times subject to change. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019
— Women’s Basketball (CEWL): BC Pharmaserv Marburg X Žabiny Brno, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): KP Brno X Ramla (ISR), 7 p.m. CT Sport
Friday, Dec. 6, 2019
— Hockey: HC Škoda Plzeň X HC Kometa Brno, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
— Men’s Volleyball: Brno X Praha, 4 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: VK Brno X Liberec, 6:30 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Ostrava X Královo Pole, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: ZVVZ USK Praha X Žabiny Brno, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019
— Men’s Basketball: SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem X Basket Brno, 6 p.m.
— Hockey: HC Dynamo Pardubice X HC Kometa 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, cricket, 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 bruno@brnodaily.cz.
