Third week of December kicks off with one game in Group B as Basket Brno will host Keila Coolbet. The hosts are searching their first win, while Estonians may double the win count.
Basket Brno vs Keila Coolbet
Series history: Basket Brno and Keila Coolbet will face each other for the first time.
Key matchup: Ondřej Šiška leads Basket Brno with 14.8 points and 5.3 assists.
Experienced point guard has 425 NBL games under his belt.
Šiška returned to Brno after eight years at Dečin and Kolin.
Kevin Anthony Johnson (University of Illinois at Chicago 2022) averages 16.3 points and 3.8 rebounds for Keila Coolbet.
He also has 2.9 assists and a team high 2.6 steals.
Four more players – Kristen Kasemets (11.9), Kārlis Žunda (10.4), Luka Majstorovič (12.8) and Denis Krestinin (13.3) – have scored in double figures.
Krestinin missed four games at the start of season.
National championships: Brno has a 9-8 record at the Kooperativa NBL.
Martin Vanek and his men are one win away from USK Praha (10-6).
There are three more teams with nine wins in 16 games – Dečin, Kolin and Usti nad Labem.
Brno is 5-3 on the home floor and won the last two games.
The most famous win was registered on December 9, when Brno defeated ERA Basketball Nymburk, 81-79.
Last Saturday the hosts defeated Kolin as well, 77-72.
Keila has a 6-10 record at the Pafbet Estonia and Latvia league.
Playoff zone is two wins away as Ogre, TalTech and Liepāja share a 8-6 record.
Keila suffered five losses in last six games due to a tough schedule – games against VEF, Kalev/Cramo and Tartu.
Keila is 3-5 on the road – the last win was posted on December 3 at Kalev/SNABB, 101-91.
Know your referees
Crew chief: Michal Scholze (Czechia) – FIBA referee from 2023, has worked at the 2022 ENBL Final Four, including gold medal game.
Umpire 1: Hendrik Laas (Estonia) – Pafbet Estonia and Latvia league referee, has worked at the 2023 Pafbet league Final Four.
Umpire 2: Jonaš Kavan (Czechia) – Czech competitions from 2017, first year as a Czech NBL referee, has worked at the 2022 ŽBL final.
Observer: Oskars Lucis (Latvia).
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream