Michaela Vacková and Žabiny Brno start the CEWL Final Four against Piestanske Cajky on Saturday at 3 p.m. Photo credit: Jan Russnak.
Brno, Feb. 20 (BD) — HC Kometa fighting to maintain sixth place with two weeks left in regular season, egoé Basket Brno resumes play March 2 with a three-game winning streak and the Brno sports schedule.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Žabiny Brno Hosts CEWL Final Four
Žabiny Brno will host the Final Four of the Central Europe Women’s League this weekend.
The semifinal games are Saturday, with Brno playing Piestanske Cajky at 3 p.m. Brno was undefeated in four Group B games to earn the spot; the Slovak team was the runner-up in Group A.
Sokol Hradec Králové faces Young Angels Košice in the other semifinal.
The third-place and championship games are on Sunday.
In ŽBL news, KP Brno lost at long-time undefeated league-leader ZVVZ USK Praha, 83-56, on Saturday. It was a rematch of last year’s championship series. USK Praha (18-0) has not lost for at least two seasons. KP Brno (13-4) is second in this year’s standings.
Teamstore Brno (1-16) lost at Loko Trutnov (11-7), 103-74, on Sunday. However, it was Teamstore’s best offensive performance since their only win, the 80-86 road victory at Ostrava on Oct. 17.
Prior to their CEWL Final Four, Žabiny Brno slipped a bit in the ZBL when it lost to visiting DSK Basketball Nymburk, 74-77, last Saturday. Žabiny Brno (11-6) are fifth in the domestic standings, although they have played less games than third-place Hradec Králové (13-6) and Nymburk (12-6).
HOCKEY
Kometa Grinding Out End of Regular Season
HC Kometa earned only six points from four games and maintained a tenuous hold of sixth place in the Tipsport extraliga standings. Three teams are just below, within six points.
Kometa, who caught fire in the last two postseasons, are the two-time defending champions.
The good news is that the rest of the season includes teams that are lower in the standings, except Litvínov, which is just a notch above. There are six games left in the regular season: at Karlovy Vary on Friday; at Litvínov on Sunday (on ČT Sport); at home against Vítkovice on March 1; and at Liberec on March 3. The season ends with two rivalry games: at home against Sparta on March 5 and at Zlín on March 8.
The playoffs include several levels. In the pre-playoff series, the seventh- and 10th-place teams and the eighth- and ninth-place teams play loser-out best-of-five series to move into the main Playoff Bracket.
In the best-of-seven quarterfinals (March 18 to 31), the lowest-seeded team from the pre-playoff series plays the regular-season winner and the higher seeded team from the pre-playoff series plays the regular-season runner up. Also, the third- and sixth-place regular season teams and the fourth- and fifth-place regular season teams play quarterfinal series.
The semifinals are best-of-seven and will be held from April 3 to 15. The best-of-seven finals will be from April 18 to 30.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
egoé Basket Brno Rests With Live Three-Game Streak
egoé Basket Brno beat BK Armex Děčín last Wednesday, 89-70, to win their third game in a row and prove that they deserve to be in the more advanced Group A1.
Brno (10-14) has a two-week rest before hosting Sluneta Ústí nad Labem (15-9) on March 2. Another victory could move them up to seventh in the standings.
Brno’s last loss was to Ústí nad Labem on Jan. 26 in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Against Děčín, Brno used defense to control the game. The game was deadlocked at 30 at halftime. In the third quarter, Brno made several steals of interior Děčín passes that led to fast breaks to build at 10-point lead. The fourth quarter was all Brno, who pulled away for the 19-point margin of victory.
Lukas Stegbauer had the best game of his season, scoring 18. Deremy Geiger led the team with 22 points, mostly in the second half.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019
— Hockey: Ml. Boleslav 2, Kometa 1, extra time
— Men’s Basketball: egoé Basket Brno 89, BK ARMEX Děčín 70
Friday, Feb. 15, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa 2, Pardubice 1, extra time
Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno 74, DSK Basketball Nymburk 77
— Women’s Basketball: ZVVZ USK Praha 83, KP Brno 56
Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Loko Trutnov 103, Teamstore Brno 74
— Hockey: Oceláři Třinec 0, Kometa 1
Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa 0, Mountfield HK 3
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).
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: BLK Slavia Praha X Žabiny Brno, 4:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 22, 2019
— Hockey: K. Vary X Kometa, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Loko Trutnov, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, semi-finals: Žabiny Brno X Piestanske Cajky, 3 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, semi-finals: Sokol Hradec Králové X Young Angels Košice, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Teamstore Brno X Slovanka MB, 5 p.m.
— Hockey: Litvínov X Kometa 4 p.m. (ČT Sport)
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, third-place game: TBD
— Women’s Basketball, CEWL Final Four, finals: TBD
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019
— Hockey: HC Masaryk University X Bo Ostrava, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X Teamstore Brno, 6 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Slovanka MB X KP Brno, 6 p.m.
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Friday, March 1, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa X Vítkovice, 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Žabiny Brno, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Teamstore Brno X U19 Chance, TBD
— Men’s Basketball: egoé Basket Brno X SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
— Hockey: Liberec X Kometa, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Chrudim X Zbrojovka Brno, 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
— Hockey: Kometa X Sparta, 5:30 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.
