Top-scorer Edita Šujanová has led KP Brno into the ZBL Finals. Game 1 is tonight in Prague. Game 2 is Saturday in Brno. Photo credit: David Titz
Brno, April 25 (BD) — Wesley Roemer no-hits Eagles; Čípa sets record in Brno Half Marathon; mmcité+ Brno goes for four straight wins tonight; Zbrojovka stuck in last place with five games left; Lokomotiva plays Liberec at home Saturday; Sígrs suffer another last-minute loss; and the Brno sports schedule.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno Starts ZBL Finals In Prague
When KP Brno takes the court tonight in Prague for Game 1 of the ZBL Finals, it will be the first time the team has played in the ultimate series of the top women’s basketball league in 24 years.
A dominating performance could add another title for the City of Brno, which celebrated when HC Kometa Brno won the Tipsport extraliga title on Sunday night.
Undefeated powerhouse VVZ USK Praha, however, will be a formidable opponent.
The Finals will alternate between Prague and Brno. Game 1 is tonight in Prague at 6 p.m. Game 2 will be in Brno on Saturday at 6 p.m. Game 3 returns to Prague next Wednesday at 5 p.m. If necessary, Game 4 would be in Brno on Friday, May 4 and Game 5 would be in Prague on Sunday, May 6.
Veteran Edita Šujanová averaged 17.5 points per game as KP Brno beat both Zabiny Brno (quarterfinals) and DSK Basketball Nymburk (semifinals), three games to one.
“We have nothing to lose from USK,” Šujanová said.
VVZ USK Praha was 22-0 in the regular season. They swept BA Karlovy Vary in the quarterfinals and Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové in the semifinals. In head-to-head competition this year, KP Brno traveled to Prague in the first week of the season on Sept. 23 and lost, 98-64; Brno also lost at home, 66-87, on Dec. 9.
KP Brno is, however, on a roll. They are 17-2 in their last 19 games. Earlier this year, KP Brno won its first Czech Cup, although USK Praha did not field its top team in that domestic competition.
BASEBALL
Draci Roemer No-Hits Eagles
It is a thing of beauty to behold: zeros across the scoreboard and, most importantly, a zero under the H for hits.
Wesley Roemer pitched a no-hitter last Friday to lead Draci Brno to a dominating 10-0 victory over Eagles Praha. It was his first professional no-hitter.
“It was a special game,” Roemer said. “From the beginning, even in the bullpen warming up, I felt good. It just clicked.”
Officially, Roemer pitched eight innings, walked three and struck out nine. His defense made no errors. Jakob Hajtmar and Pavel Budsky made excellent plays to keep the no-hitter alive.
“Petr Čech behind the plate called a great game,” Roemer said. “I only made two or three bad pitches where I missed my spot all night.”
A no-hitter is rare at any level of baseball. As the innings stack up, the superstition of baseball kicks in. Nobody talks about it and teammates avoid the pitcher in the dugout, lest they jinx him
“Everybody knew what was going on,” Roemer said. “In between innings you just try to stay focused. Just don’t worry about anything else. Then just throw strikes.”
Because of a scheduling conflict, the game was actually played in Brno instead of Prague. That made the Draci the visiting team. Roemer’s mother, who watches every home game online in rural Illinois, happened to check to see if there was an available feed. She was surprised to see that the game was actually in Brno.
“She was watching it during work,” Roemer said. “Around the sixth inning it was time to leave for a massage. She called her masseuse and she said I’m going to have to watch this game, there’s something going on. I’m going to stay here and watch the game.”
The Draci offense was led by Dondrei Hubbard, who had three RBIs, and Hajtmar, who went 3-for-3 with four runs scored.
Draci Brno finished the week with a perfect 10-0 record. Cardion Hroši Brno are 5-4. Technika Brno is 1-8
RUNNING
Jiří Čípa Wins Brno Half Marathon in Record 1:08:51
More than 1,500 runners braved the springtime heat to run the streets of Brno on Sunday as Jiří Čípa defended his title in the Brno Half Marathon in a record time of 1:08:51.
“The race was quite challenging due to the heat and wind,” said Čípa, who won the Bratislava Marathon earlier in the month. “I ran a large part of the race myself so I had to work a lot. The course had the normally well-equipped refreshment stations. The sprinklers were very pleasant. I am very happy with the end result.”
Race time temperature, especially on the reflective streets, was well over 20 C.
Martin Kučera was second in 1:14:13 and Jan Mynář was third in 1:18:39.
Tereza Ďurdiaková was the top woman in 1:27:08. Marketa Vechetová (1:29:57) was second and Lenka Jančaříková (1:30:51) finished third.
Jiří Petr won the 10km in 35:23.
“We are glad that the race went without serious injuries and that everyone enjoyed it,” said race director Aleš Čtvrtníček. “Despite the heat, the track record was overtaken and many improved their personal times from previous years.”
Athletes from more than 35 countries competed.
The two winners: Jiří Čípa (right) won the Brno Half Marathon and Jiří Petr won the 10km. Photo credit: Daniel Oralek.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcité+ Brno Goes for Four in a Row Tonight
mmcité+ Brno came from behind and forced overtime to win its third game in a row on Saturday, a 95-104 victory at Fio banka J. Hradec. It was the second 100-point game of the three-game streak.
Brno will go for four in a row tonight (Wednesday) when they host NH Ostrava at 8 p.m. They travel to USK Praha to play on Saturday at 6 p.m.
mmcité+ Brno is undefeated through the first half of the Play Out bracket, including a 101-point night in Ostrava on April 11. They have three games left.
Against Hradec, three players topped 20 points: Dorde Lelić scored half of his team-high 24 points at the free throw line; Kentwan Smith and Jan Tomanec both had 21. Mladen Primorac had 12 rebounds.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Last-place Zbrojovka Plays Friday Night at Dukla
The good news is that Musefiu Ashiru scored a goal in the 81st minute against Plzeň on Saturday night to break a string of 570 minutes of play without an FC Zbrojovka Brno tally. The bad news is that Plzeň already had three goals and the league-leaders held on to win the HET Liga game, 1-3.
Zbrojovka, which is in last place in the 16-team league, will need a lot more offensive if it wants to stay in the top league. Brno has 20 points. They play five more games.
Zbrojovka is within six points of the next six teams in the standings. Brno travels to Dukla Praha (26 points) on Friday for a 6 p.m. game; they host Jablonec (41) on May 5; and travel to Teplice (33) on May 12. The final two weekends will likely seal their fate: Zbrojovka hosts 14th-place Jihlava (25) on May 19 and finish the season at 15th-place Baník Ostrava (22) on May 26. The bottom two teams are relegated to the second league at the end of the season.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Loses to Dukla, Face Liberec this Saturday
Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice gave up a second-half goal to lose, 0-1, to visiting FK Dukla Praha on Saturday in its first game of the Play Out bracket of the top women’s football league.
Lokomotiva plays at home again this Saturday, hosting FC Slovan Liberec at 11 a.m.
Lokomotiva will play home and away games with the other three teams from the bottom half of the regular-season standings: Liberec, FC Hradec Králové and FK Dukla Praha. The team that finishes the six rounds with the least points will be relegated to the second league.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Sígrs Lose Another Heartbreaker
The Brno Sígrs were tied with Aquaponik Ostrava Steelers, one of the top teams in the league, with time ticking away on Sunday, but they gave up a touchdown with 16 seconds left and then allowed an inconsequential safety to lose, 20-28.
The Sígrs, who lost the season opener when the Brno Alligators returned a blocked kick for a no-time-on-the-clock touchdown, had a 13-0 first-quarter lead against Ostrava after a 36-yard touchdown pass from Filip Ondrášek to Michael Lindsey and a 32-yard Ondrášek run. Ondrášek added another 9-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The Steelers, however, scored two unanswered touchdowns to take the lead and, eventually, the game.
The Brno Alligators played the perennial league-favorite Prague Black Panthers and managed only a 31-yard Jan Nestr field goal just before halftime, losing 3-49.
Both Brno teams hit the road for the next two weekends. This Sunday, the Alligators play the Pilsen Patriots at 1 p.m. and the Sígrs play the Pardubice Stallions at 3 p.m.
The next home games at Ragby Bystrc are in mid-May: The Sígrs play the Pilsen Patriots on May 12 at 2 p.m. and the Alligators play the Prague Lions on May 13 at 2 p.m.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
— Hockey, Finals Game 3: Kometa 3, Oceláři Třinec 2
Thursday, April 19, 2018
— Hockey, Finals Game 4: Kometa 5, Oceláři Třinec 2
Friday, April 20, 2018
— Baseball: Olympia Blansko 2, Cardion Hroši Brno 8
— Baseball: Eagles Praha 0, Draci Brno 10
— Baseball: Arrows Ostrava 4, Technika Brno 2
Saturday, April 21, 2018
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H. H. 0, Dukla Praha 1
— American Football: Brno Alligators 3, Prague Black Panthers 49
— Baseball: Skokani Olomouc 7, Technika Brno 1
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno 3, Tempo Titans Praha 2
— Baseball: Třebíč Nuclears 7, Draci Brno 9
— Men’s Basketball: Fio banka J. Hradec 95, mmcité+ Brno 104
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno 1, Viktoria Plzeň 3
Sunday, April 22, 2018
— American Football: Brno Sígrs 20, Aquaponik Ostrava Steelers 28
— Baseball: Draci Brno 3, Tempo Titans Praha 1
— Baseball: Technika Brno 1, Třebíč Nuclears 11
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno 12, Arrows Ostrava 1
— Hockey, Finals Game 5: Oceláři Třinec 1, Kometa 4. Kometa wins the Tipsport extraliga title, four games to one.
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, April 25, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno X NH Ostrava, 8 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 1: ZVVZ USK Praha X KP Brno, 6 p.m.
Friday, April 27, 2018
— Baseball: Olympia Blansko X Cardion Hroši Brno, Blansko, 7 p.m.
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Eagles Praha, MBS, 7 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Dukla Praha X Zbrojovka Brno, 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
— Baseball (doubleheader): Technika Brno X Arrows Ostrava, Kraví hora, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Eagles Praha X Draci Brno, Krč, 7 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: USK Praha X mmcité+ Brno, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H.H. X FC Slovan Liberec, 11 a.m.
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 2: KP Brno X ZVVZ USK Praha, 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno X Olympia Blansko, Hroši, 4 p.m.
— American Football: Pardubice Stallions X Brno Sígrs, 3 p.m.
— American Football: Pilsen Patriots X Brno Alligators, 1 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, 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 brnosports@gmail.com.
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