Photo Caption: HC Kometa rallied from two games down to advance to the quarterfinals of the Tipsport extraliga season. Game 1 at Oceláři Třinec is Saturday at 3 p.m. Photo Credit: HC Kometa / Vít Golda.
Brno, March 17 (BD) — Zbrojovka goes to last-place Příbram for important tilt; Lokomotiva women’s football gets point at Pardubice; Brno undefeated in women’s basketball postseason; and Basket Brno games postponed.
MEN’S HOCKEY
Kometa Digs out of 0-2 Hole to Win Series
After back-to-back 1-2 losses in Ostrava put HC Kometa in a hole, the Brno team rebounded with two home victories (both 2-1 wins) to stay alive in the Tipsport extraliga postseason.
On Tuesday, HC Kometa won the rubbermatch against HC Vitkovice Ridera, 1-3, to move forward into the quarterfinal round against Oceláři Třinec.
The best-of-seven quarterfinal series will start — back again in the Ostrava area — with Game 1 on Saturday at 3 p.m. and Game 2 on Sunday at 5 p.m. Brno will host games on Wednesday and Thursday.
HC Kometa, which finished the regular season in ninth place, lost all four meetings with Oceláři Třinec, which finished second.
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”.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka Season Could Hinge on Saturday Result
FC Zbrojovka scored late and had a solid shot to score a second extra-time goal, but they were not able to garner a point when they lost to Jablonec, 1-2, last Sunday.
Brno travels to last-place Příbram on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start in a very important game. Overall, Zbrojovka (3-6-14, 15 points) is in 16th place and four points deep in the relegation zone. Příbram (2-6-15, 12) is in 18th place.
After this round, there is an international break that precedes the final two-month 10-game stretch that will decide whether FC Zbrojovka retains its spot in the Fortuna Liga. Strictly from placement in the standings, Zbrojovka has three “winnable” home games against 14th-place Teplice (6-4-13, 22) in late April; against 15th-place Mladá Boleslav (4-7-12, 19) in early May; and against 17th-place Opava (3-6-14, 15) in mid May.
Of course, even if Zbrojovka falters, all might not be lost for the city of Brno: SK Líšeň 2019 is atop the standings of the Fortuna: Narodni Liga and they have a good chance to be promoted to the top league for next season.
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 Nearly Beats Moravian Rival
Lokomotiva Brno-Horni Herspice salvaged a tie against last-place FK Pardubice to retain fourth-place in the top women’s league of the country. The key was a penalty-kick score by Katka Kukučová in the 83rd minute.
The previous week, the Brno team lost to 1. FC Slovácko, 0-1, on an 80th-minute penalty kick.
Lokomotiva, which is fourth in the women’s standings, is having its best season. In the fall, it lost its first three games against the top teams in the league, then fought back. Slovácko is in third place behind the two Prague teams.
On Saturday, Lokomotiva travels to second-place SK Slavia Praha for a 2 p.m. match.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Brno Women Dominate Early Postseason
KP Brno has beaten BLK Slavia Praha twice, 82-65 and 76-60. They could sweep the best-of-five postseason series tonight in Brno at 5 p.m.
BK Žabiny Brno swept SBŠ Ostrava in the first round of the playoffs.
Opponents and the schedule for the next round are to be announced.
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 BASKETBALL
Virtual Tickets Sell, but Games Cancelled
Coronavirus infections have returned to men’s basketball, starting with the postponement of the Basket Brno game against BC GEOSAN Kolín last week. Games against BK Opava and BK JIP Pardubice were also cancelled.
Basket Brno, which is 1-3 in Group A1 play, is scheduled to play next on March 24 at USK Praha.
In any case, the team has started a fund-raising campaign through the purchase of virtual tickets, the proceeds of which will be shared by the Brno Children’s Hospital and the Brno youth basketball players. Noted Brnoans, like actor Bolek Polívka and football-player Petr Švancara, were among the dozens of fans who purchased the symbolic tickets.
Group A1 includes the top eight teams from the regular season, who play home-and-away games with each other. 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 against teams from Group A2. 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”.
