Radek Farský has been a mainstay who has grown with the Brno men’s basketball team, which has guaranteed its first postseason in eight NBL seasons after being USK Praha last weekend. Photo Credit: Jan Russnák.
Brno, Jan. 27 (BD) — Zbrojovla needs a win this Sunday; third-place KP Brno to face second-place Hradec Králové on Friday; and HC Kometa hits the skids.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Basket Brno Guaranteed Postseason Berth
Basket Brno earned a spot in postseason when it held off a late charge by USK Praha (11-6) on Saturday, winning 69-70. It is the first postseason for Brno in eight NBL seasons.
Brno (11-8) is in fourth place with three more rounds remaining in the regular season. Ústí nad Labem (8-12) comes to Hala vodova on Saturday at 6 p.m. Games are shown on Tvcom.cz.
In Prague last weekend, Brno squandered a 15-point halftime lead. Javion Blake had to put Brno on top with a jump shot with 21 seconds left, and the score remained unchanged. Radek Farský led the team with 18 points.
The 22-round regular season will conclude on Feb. 6 after every team has played every other team at home and away. The top eight teams move to Group A, with each playing home-and-away games with each other team. The top six teams move on to the postseason. The seventh- and eighth-place teams will need to earn their way with an extra step. The ninth- to 12th-place teams from the regular season will move to Group B and play each team twice at home and twice away. The top two teams from Group B will play the bottom two teams from Group A in order to earn a place in the postseason bracket. The bottom team of Group B will play in a relegation series with the top team from the lower league. The postseason is scheduled for April 9 to May 22.
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 Faces Last-place Opava
FC Zbrojovka Brno, which is currently in 16th place in the standings, is in a fight to stay in the top league of the country. They will have a gut check this Sunday when they play at last-place Opava at 2 p.m.
Brno was flat in its first home game of the spring part of the Fortuna Liga season and they lost 0-3 to Liberec last Friday. Previous to that, the team returned from the winter break with a tie at Mladá Boleslav. They are now 2-4-10 through 16 games.
Sunday will be important because Brno has precious logical chances to move up in the standings. Earning points in Opava this weekend is important. Then, Brno will host Opava during the week of May 22 in the penultimate game of the season, when relegation may be on the line.
If Brno cannot win and pick up points against teams in the bottom third of the standings, then it will be improbable for them to stay among the top teams of the country. They next play at Bohemians, which is 4-3-8 and in 14th place, on (week of Feb. 6).
Other big games will be at Příbram (the week of March 20); at SK Dynamo Č. Budějovice (the week of April 10); Teplice (the week of April 24); and FK Mladá Boleslav (the week of May 8).
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 BASKETBALL
KP Brno Out of EuroCup, Face Hradec Friday
KP Brno started its three-game EuroCup mini-tournament with an exciting win against Gorzów WLKP, 72-70, on Tuesday, but they were unable to beat MBA Moscow on Thursday (72-78) and Elazig Idare of Turkey on Friday (61-73). They will not continue in the international tournament.
In the domestic league, KP Brno (11-4) travels to Sokol Hradec Králové (14-2) for a third-place vs. second-place game on Thursday at 4 p.m.
BK Žabiny Brno nearly reached the century mark when it beat Slovanka on the road, 98-74, last Saturday. Kateřina Galíčková scored 21 to lead the game. Klára Křivánková added 20.
Žabiny Brno (10-6) host SBŠ Ostrava (6-8) tonight (Wednesday). Then there will be a long break until the final game, which is scheduled for Feb. 19 at Levhartice Chomutov.
The 18 rounds of the regular season are scheduled to end on Feb. 20. At that point, the top four teams move into Group A, which will play home-and-away games among each other. The fifth- to eighth-place teams will move to Group B, which will play to determine the four teams that will move into the postseason bracket and the best-of-five quarterfinal series (and one team that will play in a relegation series with the top team from the lower league).
For updated information and schedules for both local teams, go to the league website at https://www.zbl.basketball/. The KP Brno team website is: http://www.kpbrnobasket.cz/ The Žabiny Brno team website is: https://www.bkzabiny.cz/ Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
MEN’S HOCKEY
HC Kometa Hits the Skids
Suddenly, everything has changed. After starting a six-of-seven-game series of wins after Christmas Day, HC Kometa has hit the skids, losing four of its last five games in the past two weeks.
Most recently, Brno lost to HC Oceláři Třinec, 2-3, on Tuesday, which was the first game of the season that was rescheduled because of a massive COVID-19 outbreak on the team. The two teams will meet in North Bohemia on Friday at 5 p.m.
The legendary Brno hockey team, which has won more national titles than any other, is currently in ninth place in the 14-team Tipsport extraliga with 50 points through 35 games. The regular season, which includes 52 rounds, ends on March 7. Then the postseason series begin.
For the league website, go to https://www.hokej.cz/tipsport-extraliga. For updated information and the schedule, go to the team website at https://hc-kometa.cz/. Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
