KP Brno is down 0-2 in the ZBL finals. They need to rally tonight at USK Praha. Photo credit: KP Brno
Brno, May 2 (BD) — Both Sígrs and Alligators win road games; Hroši win twice; mmcité+ Brno plays final game Saturday; Zbrojovka must start winning or relegation; Lokomotiva hits the road for three games; and the Brno sports schedule.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno Plays Tonight, Down 0-2 in ZBL Finals
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. And they have beaten KP Brno twice in the ZBL Finals: 79-61 in Game 1 and 62-89 in Game 2.
In other words, KP Brno is in tough when they play Game 3 in Prague tonight (Wednesday) at 5 p.m. USK Praha needs only one victory to take the best-of-five series and the league title.
In Game 1 of the Finals, KP Brno had the lead after the first quarter, but lost it in the second and they were unable to catch up afterward, losing by 18 points.
In Game 2, KP Brno hosted a nice crowd to watch the game and honor Ilona Burgrová, who will end her 34-year career after the Finals. Burgrová was a longtime member of the Czech national team and also played four seasons at the University of South Carolina.
“I’m not sad and unsettled that my career is over,” Burgrová said, according to a release on www.zenskybasket.cz. “Basketball will continue to be part of my life, but something else is starting now. My goal is to set up a family, which I, like a lot of my teammates, have postponed for a long time,”
KP Brno, which is in the Finals for the first time in 24 years, won its first Czech Cup earlier this year, although USK Praha did not field its top team in that domestic competition.
Photo credit: David Titz
AMERICAN FOOTBALL
Sígrs, Alligators Both Win Road Games
After two late-game loses to open the season, the Brno Sígrs took their frustration out when they hit the road to play Pardubice Stallions, winning 0-42.
Michael Lindsey scored with runs of 47, 32 and 11 yards. He also threw touchdown passes to Ivan Baykalov (26 yards) and Jakub Čudovský (29 yards). He even had 2-point conversation passes to Baykalov and Čudovský. In all, Lindsey was part of 36 of the Sígrs 42 points.
The only points to which Lindsey was not directly connected was a 5-yard touchdown run by Anthony Cesar.
With a little bit of luck, the Sígrs (1-2) might be undefeated through the first three games, but two potential tie scores were ruined by late-scoring plays by the Brno Alligators on April 8 and the Aquaponik Ostrava Steelers on April 22.
The Brno Alligators (2-1) rebounded from a loss to the Prague Black Panthers to beat the Pilsen Patriots 14-24 on Sunday.
The Alligators reached halftime with a 0-16 lead after a Tomáš Fortelný 1-yard run, a 51-yard Fortelný pass to David Kilian and a 23-yard Jan Nestr field goal. Pilsen got to within two points in the third quarter, but Fortelný hit Kilian for a 43-yard score.
Both Brno teams are on the road again on Saturday: The Brno Sígrs play the Pilsen Patriots at 1 p.m. and the Brno Alligators play the Prague Lions at 2 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.
BASEBALL
Hroši Win Twice to Finish April
The first month of the Extraliga baseball season has Brno teams spread throughout the standings.
Perennial leaders Draci Brno finished with an 11-1 record, after losing their first game on Friday. Cardion Hroši Brno are 7-4. Technika Brno is 1-10.
The Hroši beat Olympia Blansko, 5-7, on Friday and then again at home, 6-2, on Sunday. They are in the middle of the pack but only a 1½ games out of second place.
Technika Brno hosted Arrows Ostrava for a doubleheader, losing 9-12 and 2-17. They are struggling near the bottom of the standings, although their lone win keeps them from the absolute bottom.
Draci lost to Eagles Praha on Friday, 6-7. The Eagles got out to a quick 1-5 lead, lost the lead, then scored two runs in the top of the seventh. The previous time the teams had met at MBS, Wesley Roemer threw a no-hitter. Brno rebounded Saturday in Prague to beat the Eagles, 6-10.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcité+ Brno Hosts J. Hradec Saturday to Finish Season
mmcité+ Brno fell just short of extending its winning streak when they lost at USK Praha, 70-68, on Saturday. Their previous four consecutive victories, however, have put them in a position to challenge for 10th place in the Kooperativa NBL.
Nevertheless, mmcité+ Brno will finish their season on Saturday with the knowledge their place in the top league is secure, while their opponent, last-place Fio banka J. Hradec, is still in limbo and will have to prove its mettle in a three-team barrage with the top two teams from the lower league.
In Prague, Brno was unable to stay ahead of USK Praha in the final four minutes of the game, getting outscored 11-7. Kentwan Smith was 8 of 8 from 2-point range for a Brno team-high 17 points. He also had nine rebounds. Michal Jedovnický had a similar line: He was perfect from three shots in close and 3 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line and finished with 15 points.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka In Live-or-Die Fight to Stay in Top League
Zbrojovka has one clear way to stay in the HET Liga: win the final four games of the season. And even that is not guaranteed.
Clearly, the team that has won only five times this year and scored only five points during the 10 games of this spring half of the league schedule is in deep trouble.
Zbrojovka is last in the 16-team league, six points deep in the relegation zone with only 20 total points. There are four games remaining: Jablonec (41 points) on Saturday at home at 4 p.m.; at Teplice (33) on Sunday, May 12 at 5 p.m.; Jihlava (26) at home on Saturday, May 19 at 4 p.m.; and at 15th-place Baník Ostrava (25) on Saturday, May 26 at 4 p.m. The bottom two teams are relegated to the second league at the end of the season.
“We are making fatal mistakes that result from the players being afraid to play,” head coach Roman Pivarnik was quoted as saying in a biting article in idnes.cz.
Last Friday evening in Prague, Zbrojovka got on the board first when Michal Škoda cleaned up a goalkeeper rebound in the 31st minute. It was a nice play that started with an exceptional long feeder from Musefiu Ashiru to Rafael Acosta, who blasted it off the goalkeeper to Škoda.
Dukla, however, picked up its game and dealt with their own relegation fears, scoring twice to win, 2-1.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Drops Second Home Game in Play Out Bracket
Desana Dianišková was able to control an awkwardly spinning ball and put it into the goal in the 64th minute, but that was all Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice was able to score while losing 1-3 to visiting FC Slovan Liberec last Saturday.
Despite several other opportunities and close calls, Lokomotiva dropped its second game in the
Play Out bracket of the top women’s football league. Both loses were at home.
Lokomotiva goes on the road for its next three games: at FC Hradec Králové on Saturday; at FK Dukla Praha on May 13; and at FC Slovan Liberec on May 26.
They return to Horni Herspice for the final game of the season on June 2 when they host FC Hradec Králové at 11 a.m.
The team that finishes the six rounds of the Play Out bracket with the least points will be relegated to the second league.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno 120, NH Ostrava 68
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 1: ZVVZ USK Praha 79, KP Brno 61
Friday, April 27, 2018
— Baseball: Olympia Blansko 5, Cardion Hroši Brno 7
— Baseball: Draci Brno 6, Eagles Praha 7
— Men’s Football: Dukla Praha 2, Zbrojovka Brno 1
Saturday, April 28, 2018
— Baseball, Game 1: Technika Brno 9, Arrows Ostrava 12
— Baseball, Game 2: Technika Brno 2, Arrows Ostrava 17
— Baseball: Eagles Praha 6, Draci Brno 10
— Men’s Basketball: USK Praha 70, mmcité+ Brno 68
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H.H. 1, FC Slovan Liberec 3
Sunday, April 29, 2018
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno 6, Olympia Blansko 2
— American Football: Pardubice Stallions 0, Brno Sígrs 42
— American Football: Pilsen Patriots 14, Brno Alligators 24
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 2: KP Brno 62, ZVVZ USK Praha 89
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).
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 3: ZVVZ USK Praha X KP Brno, 5 p.m.
Friday, May 4, 2018
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 4 (if necessary): KP Brno X ZVVZ USK Praha, TBD
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Třebíč Nuclears, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
— Women’s Football: FC Hradec Králové X Lokomotiva Brno H.H., 1:30 p.m.
— American Football: Pilsen Patriots X Brno Sígrs, 1 p.m.
— Baseball, Game 1: Technika Brno X Skokani Olomouc, 1 p.m.
— American Football: Prague Lions X Brno Alligators, 2 p.m.
— Baseball, Game 2: Technika Brno X Skokani Olomouc, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno X Tempo Titans Praha, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Třebíč Nuclears X Draci Brno, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Jablonec, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno X Fio banka J. Hradec, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
— Women’s Basketball, Finals Game 5 (if necessary): ZVVZ USK Praha X KP Brno, TBD
— Baseball: Tempo Titans Praha X Cardion Hroši Brno, 2 p.m.
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Friday, May 11, 2018
— Baseball: Třebíč Nuclears X Cardion Hroši Brno, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Skokani Olomouc, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
— Baseball, Game 1: Kotlářka Praha X Technika Brno, 1 p.m.
— American Football: Brno Sígrs X Pilsen Patriots, Ragby Bystrc, 2 p.m.
— Baseball: Skokani Olomouc X Draci Brno, 2 p.m.
— Baseball, Game 2: Kotlářka Praha X Technika Brno, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno X Třebíč Nuclears, 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
— Women’s Football: FK Dukla Praha X Lokomotiva Brno H.H., 10:30 a.m.
— American Football: Brno Alligators X Prague Lions, Ragby Bystrc , 2 p.m.
— Baseball: Arrows Ostrava X Draci Brno, 2 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Teplice X Zbrojovka Brno, 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, 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.
