Žabiny Brno twice beat SBŠ Ostrava last week and reached the Final Four of the CEWL. Tonight they have work to do in the Renomia ŽBL when they host BLK Slavia Praha at 6 p.m. Photo credit: Žabiny Brno.
Brno, Feb. 12 (BD) — VK Šelmy Brno look to continue winning streak; Third-place Volejbal Brno stretches top-team Karlovarsko to five sets; Kometa starts up again in sixth place; mmcité1 gets a long break after two wins to start Group A2; and the Brno sports results and schedule.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Žabiny Brno Earn Berth in CEWL Final Four
Žabiny Brno continue to play winning basketball by earning a berth in the Final Four by beating SBŠ Ostrava twice last week: 71-47 in Brno on Thursday and 45-82 in Ostrava on Sunday.
“We have successfully finished the series with Ostrava and now we will just look for the Final Four opponent and also the location where it will take place,” said Jakub Gazda, the Žabiny Brno assistant coach.
The location and the opponents for the Final Four are to be announced. Each of the other three quarterfinal matchups included a Russian team.
In the meantime, the Renomia ŽBL starts back up tonight with three rounds left until the end of the first phase of the regular season. Žabiny Brno (9-6) host BLK Slavia Praha (9-6) at 6 p.m. in an important game for standings purposes.
KP Brno (12-3) plays at ZVVZ USK Praha (15-0) tonight at 6 p.m.
USK Praha will most likely finish atop the standings and get the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The next four teams look like the Group A teams who will play home and away games against each other. The No. 1 seed, the Group A teams and the top three teams from Group B will then be sorted into quarterfinal series as part of the playoffs.
KP Brno will also host SBŠ Ostrava on Saturday and go to DSK Levhartice Chomutov on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.
Žabiny Brno go to BK ST – U19 Chance (1-14) on Friday for a 6:15 p.m. game and finish at home against Slovanka MB (2-13) on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Šelmy To Try to Continue Winning Streak
After a short break, league-leading Šelmy Brno will have two matches this week. Tonight they go to Liberec for a 6 p.m. start. On Saturday, they host third-place Prostějov on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Brno has not dropped a set in five matches and it has built an eight-point lead atop the Uniqua Extraliga Ženy standings. Brno has 58. Olomouc has 50 and Prostějov has 41.
There are five games left in the league season.
VK Královo Pole is seventh with 22 points. They are at Olymp tonight at 5 p.m. They are next at home on Feb. 20 against Šternberk at 5 p.m.
VK Královo Pole will host Šelmy Brno for a third cross-town match on Leap Day Saturday, Feb. 29. The Šelmy have won the previous two matches.
Brno Men In Third After Taking Karlovarsko to Five Sets
Volejbal Brno took top-team Karlovarsko into the fifth set but failed to get the win last Saturday.
The teams alternated winning sets until the final tally for Karlovarsko — 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 21-25 and 11-15.
ČEZ Karlovarsko is atop the standings with 47 points and Volejbalový klub Jihostroj České Budějovice is second with 39. Volejbal Brno is in third with 36 points and a match in hand.
Brno has two matches on the road against Ústí nad Labem on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. and against Ostrava on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.
The next home gain will be against Odolena Voda on March 2. It will be shown on CT Sport.
ICE HOCKEY
League Season Resumes with Kometa in Sixth
After a weeklong break, HC Kometa Brno start up again in the Tipsport extraliga tonight at home against HC Vitkovice Ridera at 6 p.m.
Then there are a total of nine games left in the regular season.
Kometa are in sixth place with 70 points.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcité1 Starts Group A2 Strong
Sometimes all you need is a new start. mmcité1 Basket Brno, which finished the first phase of the season in last place, has used the start of play in Group A2 for rebirth.
Brno beat Kingspan Královští sokoli in Hradec Kralove on Feb. 1 and, last Saturday, they beat NH Ostrava, 86-59.
Radek Farský, Zdeněk Nehyba (five of nine from 3-point range) and Davell Roby all had 15 points against Ostrava. Importantly, Brno outrebounded Ostrava, 46-32, with Lukáš Stegbauer grabbing 10.
The Brno defense held Ostrava to 23 points in the second half and just eight in the final quarter.
“We are finally healthy so we have been able to train as a full team,” said Brno head coach Lubomír Růžička. “We proved what we can do and I am happy about that.”
Group A2 has four teams — Kingspan Královští sokoli (7-17), NH Ostrava (6-18), Brno (5-19) and GEOSAN Kolín (5-19) — who will build upon their records from the first 22 games of the regular season, when each team played home and away games within the entire 12-team league. The top teams are in Group A1.
Group A2 teams will play two home and two away games against each other. After 12 rounds, the bottom team will play the top two teams from the lower league for the right to stay among the elite clubs. The top three teams from Group A2 will play for the chance to enter the playoffs with pig-tail series from April 10 to 14. The main playoff bracket is from April 17 to May 30.
Brno plays next on Leap Day Saturday, Feb. 29. They will be at GEOSAN Kolín. Their next home game is against Kingspan Královští sokoli on March 4. There are two games a week through the March and to the end of the Group A2 phase of the season.
“Our boys have earned a break,” Růžička said. “Then we need to prepare for the remaining 10 games and I think we’ll be okay.”
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020
— Women’s Basketball (EWBL): BK Žabiny Brno 71, SBŠ Ostrava 47
Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020
— Men’s Volleyball: Brno 2, Karlovarsko 3
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité1 Basket Brno 86, NH Ostrava 59
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020
— Women’s Basketball (EWBL): SBŠ Ostrava 45, BK Žabiny Brno 82
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, Feb. 12, 2020
— Women’s Basketball: ZVVZ USK Praha X KP Brno, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X BLK Slavia Praha, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Liberec X VK Brno, 6 p.m.
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno X HC Vikovice Ridera, 6 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 14, 2020
— Women’s Basketball: U19 Chance X Žabiny Brno, 6: 15 p.m.
— Hockey: HC Energie Karlovy Vary X HC Kometa Brno, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
— Men’s Volleyball: Ústí nad Labem X Brno, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Olymp X Královo Pole, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X SBŠ Ostrava, TBA
— Women’s Volleyball: VK Brno X Prostějov, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno X Mountfield HK, 6 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.
