Žabiny Brno went on a 11-5 game closing run to beat SBŠ Ostrava 57-51 for a 2022 European Women`s basketball league`s title on Sunday, March 20, at the Diplomat arena in Pieštany, western Slovakia.
Players of the game
Almost heaven, West Virginia. Blue Ridge mountains, Shenandoah river.
Bria Holmes scored 14 points in the first half to help Žabiny Brno achieve a double digit lead before the break.
West Virginia standout made shots from all positions and finished the game with a final high 18 points.
Holmes struggled in the second half but added four important points in the clutch time.
Forward added seven rebounds, one assist and one steal for a efficiency rating of 16.
A New Haven, Connecticut native was named the 2022 Final Four Most Valuable Player.
Monika Grigalauskyte scored 9 of her 13 points in the first half.
Lithuanian power forward made 6-of-8 two point shots and grabbed eight rebounds for a final high efficiency rating of 18.
Michaela Vondrackova had 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Petra Zaplatova struggled from the field but registered a game high three steals.
She had two points, four rebounds and earned a 2022 EWBL All Star nomination.
Eliška Hamzova scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Ke`Shunan James led Piešťanské Čajky with 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field.
Murray State star added 11 rebounds to complete a double-double,
James also dished out three assists for a team high efficiency rating of 16.
Sarah Boothe scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Stanford graduate also stole the ball once for a efficiency rating of 14.
Matea Tadič filled the stat sheet.
Čajky captain had nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Tadič earned a 2022 EWBL All Star nomination.
Natalia Martiškova got injured with 06:22 minutes to go when the game was tied at 46.
Shooting guard posted six points and five rebounds for a 2022 EWBL All Star nomination.
Key stats
Holmes and Grigalauskyte were unstopbble in the first half.
The Žabiny duo combined for 23 points and ensured a 39-24 lead with 01:32 to go in the second quarter.
Jankovič defense set in after that.
Piešťanské Čajky limited Žabiny to seven (!) points in the next 15 minutes.
The hosts went on a 7-22 run and tied the game at 46 with less than seven minutes to go.
Natalia Martiškova got injured during the next Žabiny attack and was forced to left the court.
The things went downhill for Čajky after that as they scored just two points during the next six minutes.
Žabiny went on a 11-2 run for a 57-48 lead with 28 seconds to go.
Ke`Shunan James made a three pointer in the last full Čajky attack.
Čajky held the winners to 57 points but it wasn`t enough.
Žabiny Brno outrebounded the hosts 52-40.
Both teams struggled from the three point line – Žabiny made 3-of-19 attempts, Čajky 3-of-17.
The Frogs reserves outscored Čajky bench 26-4.
Grigalauskyte and Vondrackova combined for 23 points coming off bench.
Photos: Laco Duracka
Game notes
Viktor Pruša and Žabiny Brno added another two cups to their impressive trophy case.
The Maestro – Jan Bobrovsky – was present himself.
Anna Jurčenkova became a three time EWBL champion.
Slovak center won the first two titles together with Peter Jankovič and Good Angels Košice.
Jurčenkova is the first player to win multiple EWBL titles with two different teams.
Lenka Šoukalova lift the EWBL trophy as “We are the Champions” were played via the loudspeakers.
Jankovič also has three EWBL finals – and two titles – under his belt.
Good Angels held TTT Rīga to a season low 44 points at the 2017 EWBL final in Košice.
Piešťanské Čajky played in its first EWBL final, earned a silver medal and a prize money – 2500 euros.
General manager Bronislava Borovičkova and sports director Tomaš Horky worked hard to deliver a great Final Four.
Well done, Piešťanské Čajky!
FINAL FOUR 2022
Saturday, March 19, semifinals
Žabiny Brno – SBŠ Ostrava 82-44
Piešťanské Čajky – Kibirkštis Vilnius 70-34
Sunday, March 20, medal games
Kibirkštis MRU Vilnius – SBŠ Ostrava 87-69
Žabiny Brno – Piešťanské Čajky 57-51
Final Four history
Rīga 2016: TTT Rīga, Basket 90 Gdynia, Astana Tigers, Tsmoki Minsk
Košice 2017: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Basket 90 Gdynia
Rīga 2018: Good Angels Košice, TTT Rīga, Dynamo Moscow, Udominate Basket
Rostov on Don 2019: TTT Rīga, Tsmoki Minsk, Rostov Don SFEDU, Žabiny Brno
Brno 2020: season five cancelled due to pandemic (Žabiny Brno-Tsmoki, Novosibirsk-Pieštany)
Maladziechna 2021: Horizont Minsk, Nika Syktyvkar, TTT Rīga, Prometey Kamianske
Pieštany 2022: Žabiny Brno, Piešťanské Čajky, Kibirkštis MRU, SBŠ Ostrava
FORMAT
Playoffs: canceled
A1 – B4, A2 – B3, B2 – A3, B1 – A4
Final Four: March 19-20, 2022
Our geography
EWBL member countries so far: Belarus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Turkey.
Follow us on Website: www.ewbl.eu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EWBL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/EWBLLive Live TV: http://ewbl.eu/live-tv/
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