Brno Sports Weekly Report — Big Friday: Draci Start Czech Series, Basket Brno Starts Season

mmcité1 Basket Brno will have the prime-time spotlight when it hosts GEOSAN Kolín this Friday at 6 p.m., a day before the rest of the league. They now play at Hala vodova. Photo Credit: NBL.

Brno, Sep 9 (BD) – Draci play Ostrava Arrows in Czech Baseball series; mmcité1 Basket Brno starts Season Friday; Sígrs get first lost, Alligators get first win; Zbrojovka travels to Zlín on Sunday; Lokomotiva looking for first win; and the Brno sports schedule.

BASEBALL

Draci Begin Quest for 22nd Czech Title

Draci Brno beat Eagles Praha on Friday and Saturday to advance to the Czech Series this weekend. They will try to add a 22nd championship to their long history of success.

The Czech Series, which will pit the Draci against two-time defending-champion Arrows Ostrava, begins on Friday in South Brno. First pitch is at 7 p.m.

Last Friday, in Brno, veteran Martin Schneider led the Draci to a 5-4 victory with two home runs and 1 2/3 innings of pitching to get the win. The Draci manufactured the final run, which was driven in by a Filip Moštěk sacrifice, in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Saturday’s game was a steady offensive performance, with two runs in the second, third and fourth innings en route to a 5-7 victory (despite a Prague four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth) to close the best-of-three semifinal series.

The Czech Series has a best-of-five format. Game 1 (Friday), Game 3 (Sept. 18) and, if necessary, Game 5 (Sept. 20) will be in Brno. Game 2 (Saturday) and, if necessary, Game 4 (Sept. 19) will be in Ostrava.

This series will be a rematch of the 2018 series, which Ostrava won. Last year, the Draci failed to make the Series and finished third.

Draci Brno (13-2) earned the top seed in the Top Six phase by an impressive four games over second-place Kotlářka Praha (9-6). Arrows Ostrava, which finished third in the Top Six with a sub-.500 record (7-8), needed three games top get past Kotlářka Praha, losing the first game on the road by one run, winning the second with a shutout and then dominating the rubber game in Prague, 4-13, on Sunday.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

mmcité1 Basket Brno Starts Season Friday

New season. New home court. New owners. Some new players. There are a lot of things that have been updated for the Basket Brno organization.

Now it is time to show it all off. mmcité1 Basket Brno will have the prime-time spot when it hosts GEOSAN Kolín this Friday at 6 p.m., a day before the rest of the league.

The game will be in Hala vodova in Karlovo Pole, where the team moved for this season to accommodate the larger crowds. 

Though head coach Lubomír Růžička is back for the second season of the team’s long-term plan to leverage the deep youth programs of Brno into a top-notch program, these are some of the changes that have been realized:

– True Player Group, an Israeli firm, acquired an ownership stake in Basket Brno in May. The part-owner is the family of David Blatt, who is a decorated international coach with a European championship, a Euroleague championship and a stint working with LeBron James in Cleveland.

– Last month, Yedidia Rapaport also acquired an ownership stake. Most recently, Rapaport was the co-owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv, one of the most famous and largest clubs in Israel. He has more than 30 years of experience in basketball management.

– The youth program has been reinforced with a program named Next Generation.

The team has added significant players, including Šimon Puršl, Richard Bálint and Viktor Půlpán. Promising young players, including Radek Farský, are back.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Sígrs Drop First Game to Undefeated Gladiators

A fact of sports is that when two undefeated teams meet, one must lose (with the exception of rare ties). On Sunday, the host Western Division-leading Vysočina Gladiators scored three first-quarter touchdowns to take control of their meeting with the Eastern Division-leading Brno Sígrs, maintaining their lead to a 42-20 victory.

The Sígrs (3-1) inched back into the game with 12-yard and 63-yard receiving touchdowns by Kris Wedderburn, but seven points was the closest that Brno got.

In the end, Brno quarterback Douglas Webster added three touchdowns to his growing season tally. Wedderburn also caught a 19-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.

The Vysočina Gladiators (4-0) are the top scoring team in the league, with 162 points. After the loss, Brno is suddenly below Ostrava (3-1) in the Eastern Division standings, given that Ostrava has scored 155 points this season and Brno has scored a third-best 101. For what it is worth, the Brno defense has allowed a league-low 49 points.

Alligators Win First Game

Another fact of sports is that when two scoreless teams meet, one must win (again, with the exception of rare ties). In this case, the visiting Brno Alligators came out on top when they beat the Prague Mustangs, 15-41.

The Alligators (1-3) were led by David Kilian, who had scoring runs of 7 yards, 32 yards and 1 yard. Jan Nestr added scoring runs of 33 and 22 yards, and five extra-point kicks. Plus, Jaroslav Doležal caught touchdown passes of 34 and 14 yards from Tomáš Fortelný. Prague (0-4) scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the lopsided game.

The 41-point output for the Alligators offense put them in third place in the Eastern Division, 32 points ahead of the Přerov Mammoths (1-3).

The league takes a break this week. Then, on Sept. 20, the two Brno teams will face each other at Brněnské Ivanovice. The game starts at 5 p.m.

MEN’S FOOTBALL

Zbrojovka First Road Trip is to Zlín

Zbrojovka, which lost at home to Sparta Praha and tied Bohemians 1905 to start the season, will hit the road for the first time this season to visit Moravian rival Zlín at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

FC Zbrojovka has just one point in the Fortuna Liga standings through two rounds of the 2020-21 season.

Zlín has a win and a loss for three points. They lost, 1-2, to nearby rival 1.FC Slovácko in the opening game, then beat FK Mladá Boleslav, 1-3, in the second round.

FC Zbrojovka may have an emotional boost after Antonín Růsek, the 21-year-old offensive midfielder, got nine minutes of playing time in the Czech National Team’s 1-2 loss to Scotland in Olomouc on Monday. He headed the ball off the goal post in an attempt to tie the game late.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

Tough Schedule Drops Horni Herspice to 0-3

Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice dropped to 0-3 on the season when they lost, 4-0, in Uherske Hradiste to 1. FC Slovácko on Sunday.

It has been a tough slate of games to start the season. In Round 1, Brno lost, 1-5, to defending-champion SK Slavia and last Saturday lost, 0-2, to AC Sparta Praha (which beat its crosstown rival Slavia 5-1 on Sunday). Those three teams are clearly the top of the league, with AC Sparta Praha (3-0-0, 9 points) and 1. FC Slovácko (3-0-0, 9) at the top of the standings, and SK Slavia Praha (2-0-1, 6) just a notch below.

This Saturday, Lokomotiva hosts the fourth-place team, FK Pardubice (1-1-1, 4), in Hrušovany u Brna, at 10:15 a.m.

FK Dukla Praha  (1-1-1, 4) and FC Slovan Liberec (1-0-2, 3) have both won games this season.

Lokomotiva Brno H.H. (0-0-3, 0) and FC Viktoria Plzeň (0-0-3, 0) are both without points.

BRNO SPORTS RESULTS

Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).

Friday, Sept. 4, 2020

— Baseball (Semifinals, Game 1): Draci Brno 5, Eagles Praha 4

Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020

— Baseball (Semifinals, Game 2): Eagles Praha 5, Draci Brno 7

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020

— Women’s Football: 1. FC Slovácko 4, Lokomotiva Brno H.H. 0

— American Football: Vysočina Gladiators 42, Brno Sígrs 20

— American Football: Prague Mustangs 15, Brno Alligators 41

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).

Friday, Sept. 11, 2020

— Men’s Basketball: Basket Brno X GEOSAN Kolín, 6 p.m.

— Baseball (Czech Series, Game 1): Draci Brno X Arrows Ostrava, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020

— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H.H. X FK Pardubice, in Hrušovany u Brna, 10:15 a.m.

— Cricket: Brno CC 1st XI Rangers X Vinohrady CC 1st XI, 1 p.m.

— Cricket: Prague CC Rooks X Brno CC 2nd XI Raiders, 11 a.m.

— Cricket: Prague Barbarians CC Vandals X Brno CC 2nd XI Raiders, 3 p.m.

— Baseball (Czech Series, Game 2): Arrows Ostrava X Draci Brno, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020

— Men’s Football:Zlín X Zbrojovka Brno, 4:30 p.m.


Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020

— Men’s Basketball: Basket Brno X Olomoucko, 6:30 p.m.

— Men’s Football (MOL Cup) Rosice X FC Zbrojovka, TBA

Friday, Sept. 18, 2020

— Hockey: HC Kometa Brno X HC Oceláři Třinec, 6 p.m.

— Baseball (Czech Series, Game 3): Draci Brno X Arrows Ostrava, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020

— Men’s Volleyball: Brno X Praha, 5 p.m.

— Women’s Volleyball: Prostějov X VK Brno, 3 p.m.

— Women’s Volleyball: Kr. Pole X Šternberk, 5 p.m.

— Men’s Baskebtall: BK Armex Děčín X Basket Brno 6 p.m.

— Baseball (Czech Series, Game 4, if necessary): Arrows Ostrava X Draci Brno, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020

— Hockey: HC Verva Litvínov X HC Kometa Brno, 5:30 p.m.

— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Olomouc, 3:30 p.m.

— American Football: Brno Sígrs X Brno Alligators, in Brněnské Ivanovice, 5 p.m.

— Baseball (Czech Series, Game 5, if necessary): Draci Brno X Arrows Ostrava, 7 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.

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