The stands will be packed this Sunday when the spring football season starts and FC Zbrojovka hosts Sokolov at 5 p.m. Photo credit: FC Zbrojovka
Brno, March 4 (BD) — Žabiny Brno and KP Brno play tonight then get another rivalry game on Saturday; VK Brno beats VK Královo Pole and regular season rushes to a close this weekend, Volejbal Brno wins on TV;
HC Kometa earns postseason berth as sixth seed;
Lokomotiva Brno-Horni Herspice plays another Prague team tough; mmcité1 working on a Group A2 winning streak, Michal Jimramovský named new General Manager;
and the Brno sports results and schedule.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
FC Zbrojovka Starts Spring Season on Sunday
After more than three months, the Fortuna:Národní Liga football season is back. FC Zbrojovka opens the spring season at home against Sokolov this Sunday. The game starts at 5 p.m.
Brno (9-4-3, 31 points) is third in the standings, behind FK Pardubice (11-2-3, 35) and FC Vysočina Jihlava (9-5-2, 32). Fourth-place FK Dukla Praha (10-1-5, 31) and fifth-place FC Hradec Králové (9-3-4, 30) are not far behind.
Brno finished the fall half of the season with a three-game winning streak and by winning six of their final seven matches. Importantly, Zbrojovka entered the winter break by beating league-leading Pardubice, 1-2, on the road on Nov. 23.
Every game is important as Zbrojova tries to return to the top league in the country after two seasons in the second league. However, these are the games that you can circle on the calendar, although the dates may change:
• Friday, March 20 — Dukla Praha
• Saturday, April 15 — at SK Líšeň
• Sunday, April 19 — Jihlava
• Saturday, April 25 — at Hradec Králové
SK Líšeň, which is playing in its first season at this level, went 6-5-5 and tallied 23 points in the fall. It was a respectable showing that makes them likely to stay in the league for another season.
Líšeň opens the season on Sunday at FC Hradec Králové at 2:30 p.m. The first home game of the spring season is March 14 at 2:30 p.m. against FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Group A Continues at Fast Pace
Group A of the Renomia ŽBL is fast. Žabiny Brno beat KP Brno, 60-72, last Wednesday and the teams will have rematch this Saturday in Žabovresky at 5 p.m.
In between, both teams won last weekend and both teams play at home tonight: KP Brno (15-5) hosts BLK Slavia Praha (9-11) at 5:30 p.m. and Žabiny Brno (14-6) host Sokol H. Králové (16-4) at 6 p.m.
Unfortunately, Justina Matuzonyté of Žabiny Brno injured her knee against KP Brno. The Lithuanian post player is likely out for the rest of the season.
Žabiny Brno, however, wasted no time in trying to maintain the strength of its team. Two days later, on Friday, general manager Radek Šír announced that the team would bring Richelle Van der Keijl, a 196-cm Dutch post player, to the team. Van der Keijlwho averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds for Slavia this season; she is likely to suit up for Žabiny tonight (Wednesday) against Sokol Hradec Králové.
VOLLEYBALL
Women’s Regular Season Finishes Saturday
VK Brno maintained its perch atop the league standings when it beat crosstown rival VK Královo Pole, 0-3, on Saturday.
Šelmy Brno have 67 points lead Olomouc (62 points) and third-place Prostějov (44). They host Šternberk tomorrow (Thursday) at 6 p.m. and finish the regular season at Frýdek-Místek on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The best-of-five quarterfinal series will start on March 16 in Brno. The opponent is to be determined.
VK Královo Pole slipped to eighth with 24 points, one point behind seventh-place Šternberk. VK KP plays at Olomouc at 6 p.m. on Thursday and at home against Ostrava at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Brno Men Sweep on TV
Volejbal Brno swept Odolena Voda on Monday on national television. Brno is third in the league standings with 40 points. There are two more matches in the regular season: at Praha on Saturday and at home against Příbram at 6 p.m. on March 14.
ICE HOCKEY
Kometa Reaches Postseason as No. 6 Seed
After a tumultuous season that had a coaching change, several injuries and a public mea culpa from the owner / head coach, HC Kometa will make the Tipsport extraliga postseason, despite limping across the finish line.
Brno lost twice last week, at home, 1-2, on Sunday to Jaromir Jagr and Rytíři Kladno and on the road, 3-2, on Tuesday at HC Škoda Plzeň.
Brno plays Friday at home against HC Dynamo Pardubice but they are guaranteed to enter the postseason as the No. 6 seed.
The best-of-seven quarterfinal series will be against the No. 3 team in the standings, either Plzeň, Třinec or Sparta. The games will be March 16, 17, 20, 21, and, if necessary, 24, 26 and 28. Games No. 3, 4 and 6 would be in Brno.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Earns Respect, Loses Again to Prague Team
There are two dominant teams in the top women’s football league. Both are in Prague and both recently beat Lokomotiva Brno-Horni Herspice by just two goals.
Losses are losses, but the 1-3 loss on Saturday at home against SK Slavia Praha and the 3-1 loss on Feb. 23 at AC Sparta Praha can be considered successful endeavors for Lokomotiva because Slavia (13-0-0) has outscored its opponents 86-7 and Sparta (11-0-2) has outscored its opponents 71-9.
On Saturday in Horni Herspice, Lokomotiva (2-3-8) gave up two goals in the first half. Then, Nikol Mazúchová scored for Brno in the 63rd minute.
Lokomotiva next goes to FC Slovan Liberec (2-3-8). The games is Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Brno Working on Three-Game Group A2 Winning Streak
mmcité1 Basket Brno has found new life in Group A2 and the men’s basketball team will try to stretch its group streak to four games when they host Kingspan Královští sokoli tonight at 8 p.m.
Brno beat Kingspan Královští sokoli, 76-85, on Feb. 1 to start the streak. Then the team beat NH Ostrava NH Ostrava, 86-59, on Feb. 2 and, last Saturday, GEOSAN Kolín, 77-78.
Kingspan Královští sokoli (7-18) and NH Ostrava (7-18) lead the Group A2 standings, which build upon the records accumulated from the first part of the regular season. Brno (6-19) has doubled its wins during this three-game winning streak. GEOSAN Kolín (5-20) is currently last; 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.
On Saturday, Brno travels to NH Ostrava for a 5:30 p.m. game.
Michal Jimramovský Replaces Brother as General Manager
mmcité1 Basket Brno also announced a change in management: Michal Jimramovský has replaced his younger brother, Filip Jimramovský, as the General Manager of the team.
Michal is familiar with the club, having served for the past two season as the operations manager and team leader. Previously he worked for nine years with HC Kometa.
“I have been in the club for the last two seasons as an operations manager and team leader,” Michal Jimramovský said, “and during that time we have managed to create a team of people who share both the enthusiasm for basketball and the determination to move our club to where Brno basketball belongs historically. Every day the work on this common goal is very motivating for me. At the same time, I feel great respect for the history of basketball in Brno and the commitment to do our utmost to build on it with dignity.
“At the moment, short-term goals are a top priority, which are very simple in our case: to win as many A2 matches as possible and avoid fighting in the relegation round. However, the table is extremely balanced. At the same time, we have set out a vision for how to develop the club in the medium to long term. We have been working hard on it for several months.
“However, our main task is now to handle the upcoming nine games.”
Filip, who served as the General Manager from the 2017 season, will concentrate on his studies.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020
— Women’s Volleyball: Frýdek-Místek 3, Královo Pole 0
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 60, Žabiny Brno 72
Friday, Feb. 28, 2020
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno 3, Bílí Tygři Liberec 2
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H.H. 1, SK Slavia Praha 3
— Women’s Basketball: Sokol H. Králové 69, KP Brno 78
— Men’s Basketball: GEOSAN Kolín 77, mmcité1 Basket Brno 78
— Women’s Volleyball: Královo Pole 0, VK Brno 3
— Women’s Basketball: BLK Slavia Praha 64, Žabiny Brno 97
Sunday, March 1, 2020
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno 1, Rytíři Kladno 2
Monday, March 2, 2020
— Men’s Volleyball: Brno 3, Odolena Voda 0
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
— Hockey: HC Škoda Plzeň 3, HC Kometa Brno 2
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, March 4, 2020
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité1 Basket Brno X Kingspan Královští sokoli, 8 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X BLK Slavia Praha, 5:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X Sokol H. Králové, 6 p.m.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
— Women’s Volleyball: VK Brno X Šternberk, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Olomouc X Královo Pole, 6 p.m.
Friday, March 6, 2020
— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno X HC Dynamo Pardubice, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
— Men’s Volleyball: Praha X Brno, 6 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: NH Ostrava X mmcité1 Basket Brno, 5:30 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Frýdek – Místek X VK Brno, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Volleyball: Královo Pole X Ostrava, 2:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X KP Brno, 5 p.m.
Sunday, March 8, 2020
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Sokolov, 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.
