Victory in the European women's basketball Final Four for Czech team Brno. Tomas Enge brings home Czech colors in first place at the final A1 Grand Prix event, Slavia puts Ceske Budejovice on the brink of elimination and the weekend's football all in this week's sports news.
Brno wins women's European League basketball crowns
Ivana Vecerova (right), photo: CTK
The Brno women's basketball team has gone where no Czech basketball team has gone before. By defeating Samara 68-54 on Sunday, Brno took the season-long European League basketball title, a feat never before accomplished by a Czech team. Brno had made the Final Four six times in the past and was in the final last year against Samara as well. However, Samara was able to pull out the game last year played in Russia. This year, playing on their home court, Brno jumped out to a 20-6 lead after six minutes. The Russian team came back, but American Nykesha Sales, later named the tournament MVP, took the game into her own hands and scored 16 key points down the stretch to take the game for Brno. Ivana Vecerova had this to say after the triumph:
"I fell great. It's amazing to win the Final Four. We did a fantastic job to hold onto the lead despite the fact that the starting five wasn't on the court. We went into the second half with an eight point lead and then Nykesha Sales took the game into her own hands. She showed why she's a star in the WNBA."
Slavia on top in Extraliga playoffs
Photo: CTK
In the Czech ice hockey Extraliga playoffs, Slavia stole two games in Ceske Budejovice at the weekend to take a 3-1 lead over the south Bohemian team in their semifinal series. On Wednesday, Slavia can advance to the finals with a win at home in Prague. The other semifinal continues on Monday and Tuesday in Prague with Sparta and Znojmo tied 1-1 after the first two games of the series.
Enge wins final A1 Grand Prix event of the season
Tomas Enge, photo: CTK
Tomas Enge brought home victory in the final A1 Grand Prix race of the season in Shanghai at the weekend. This was the first Czech victory in the inaugural A1 Grand Prix season. After the race, Enge speculated as to the future of Czech participation in this new racing series.
"Czech participation is not 100 percent sure, but after this success here in China, I think the Czech team will appear in the next season of the A1 Grand Prix. Whether it will be me or someone else at the wheel, that remains to be seen."
Rosicky nets one, Cech gets shuout
Tomas Rosicky, photo: CTK
Taking a quick look at Czech athletes abroad, Tomas Rosicky scored a goal in the Bundesliga at the weekend, but his Dortmund lost to Moenchengladbach 2-1. Petr Cech managed to keep all the shots he faced in Birmingham out of his net, but his teammates were also unable to score and Chelsea now leads the Premiership by only seven points over Manchester United.
Jagr leads NHL scorers, Hasek may return for the playoffs
In the NHL, Jaromir Jagr leads Joe Thorton by eight points in the race for the Art Ross trophy with eight games to play. Goaltender Dominik Hasek, sidelined since the Olympics with a groin injury will allegedly return for Ottawa Senators in the playoffs. The 40-year old Hasek hasn't practiced since he was injured in the opening minutes of his first game in Turin.
