Photo Caption: Basket Brno hosts USK Praha in Game 2 of the quarterfinals today at 6 p.m. Watch on TVcom.cz. Photo Credit: Jan Russnák.
Brno, Apr 28 (BD) — FC Zbrojovka fails again to capitalize on man advantage; Lokomotiva goes to Sparta on Sunday; and Hroši Brno win another weekend series.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Basket Brno Draws USK Praha for Postseason
Basket Brno failed to adjust in the final minute of Game 1 last night and lost the quarterfinal series opener to USK Praha, 69-76, on national television.
“It was a balanced match from start to finish,” said Martin Vaněk, the assistant coach of Basket Brno. “It was decided in the last quarter. We didn’t do anything, and USK changed.”
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is tonight at 6 p.m., also in Brno. It will be shown on TVcom.cz.
The opener was tied at 69 with a minute left. That was when Prague’s Ondřej Sehnal took control; he finished with a game-high 27 points.
Javion Blake scored more than a third of Brno’s points with 25 in his first Czech postseason game. He was 5-for-7 from 2-point range, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Brno (16-16) completed Group A1 play with a 3-7 record, yet earned a place among the top teams in the postseason as the No. 4 seed. USK Praha (16-16) was the No. 5 seed according to a points-scored tiebreaker.
“It took more than a decade for Brno men’s basketball to be in the playoffs again and at the same time to start the series at home,” said Lubomír Růžička, the Basket Brno head coach. “Fourth place after the superstructure is a motivation for all of us in the quarterfinal series. We go into the series with the determination to fight to the maximum and I firmly believe that the general basketball public will get their money’s worth. We are very sorry that the fans cannot be in the hall with us, but I firmly believe that my players will go to the maximum in every single match.”
The series will then shift to Prague for Game 3 on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Game 4 on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
For updated information and the schedule for Basket Brno games, go to the league website at https://www.nbl.cz/. The team website is: https://basketbrno.cz/ Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka Squanders a Big Opportunity
When FC Zbrojovka played with a man advantage against Slavia Praha for more than 70 minutes early this month, it was kind of understandable that they were unable to score against the best team in the league.
However, on Sunday at home against Teplice, the 15th-place team, when Zbrojovka was unable to take advantage of an extra player for the entire second half, the scoreless tie was maddening and frustrating for fans who are desperate to stay in the Fortuna Liga for a second season.
In reality, there are five games left for Zbrojovka to find at least four points in order to climb out of the regulation zone.
Zbrojovka is 4-9-16 with 21 points. Teplice is 6-7-16 with 25 points.
On Saturday, Brno travels to Baník Ostrava for a 7:30 p.m. game.
The following Saturday, May 8, Zbrojovka will host FK Mladá Boleslav (6-9-14, 27) at 5 p.m. in what looks like a must-win game.
Time is running out. And it looks like Brno will require late-season help from other teams if they are to stave off a return to the lower league.
For updated information and the schedule for FC Zbrojovka Brno games, go to the league website at https://www.fortunaliga.cz/. The team website is at https://fczbrno.cz/. Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Loses ‘Home’ Opener
Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice has one final game in the regular season. They go to AC Sparta Praha on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Lokomotiva (4-1-8, 13 points) is in fifth place in the top women’s league.
BASEBALL
Hroši Brno Maintain Standings Lead
Cardion Hroši Brno won their series against Tempo Praha last weekend to maintain their top position in the extraliga standings with a 7-2 record. They play at Eagles Praha on Friday, then host the Eagles for a double-header on Saturday.
Brno Draci lost two of three games to Sokol Hluboká (6-3), which is now second in the standings. The Draci (4-2) are fifth through three weeks of play. They host Kotlářka Praha on Friday, then travel to Prague for games on Saturday and Sunday.
For updated information and the schedule for Czech extraliga baseball, go to the league website at https://extraliga.baseball.cz/. Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
