Žabiny Brno went on a 23-6 run in the second quarter to beat SBŠ Ostrava 82-44 on Saturday, March 19, at the Diplomat arena in Pieštany, western Slovakia. Czech club will play in the EWBL final for the first time.
Players of the game
Monika Grigalauskyte paced the winners with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Lithuanian power forward added 11 rebounds and two assists for a game high efficiency rating of 31.
Anna Jurčenkova had a perfect first half.
Slovak center made all six shots in the first 20 minutes and finished the game with 14 points without a missed field goal or free throw attempt.
Jurčenkova blocked two shots for a efficiency rating of 21 in just 15 minutes of playing time.
Sarah Berankova connected 4-of-6 three point shots enroute to 16 points.
Petra Zaplatova chipped in with four points, five assists and five steals.
Adela Smutna led SBŠ Ostrava with 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting from the three point line.
Power forward contributed with eight rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot for a team high efficiency rating of 16.
Stella Tarkovičova added nine points.
Key stats
Žabiny won the first half 40-18 thanks to a excellent work in the paint 24-8.
Frontcourt players Grigalauskyte and Jurčenkova combined for 18 points before the break.
Brno added some fast breaks in the second half and almost doubled its lead.
Žabiny reserves outscored Ostrava 49-10.
Eleven Žabiny players entered the scoring board and 10 of them scored from the field.
Photos: Laco Duracka
Game notes
Žabiny Brno had a 0-2 record at the Final Four before coming to Pieštany and posted its first win in the season ending tournament.
Viktor Pruša used a 12 player rotation – only Berankova and Grigalauskyte played more than 20 minutes.
SBŠ Ostrava played its first ever game in the Final Four.
FINAL FOUR 2022
Saturday, March 19, semifinals
Žabiny Brno – SBŠ Ostrava 82-44
18:30 Piešťanské Čajky – Kibirkštis Vilnius (Vavrova, Simanoviča, Holubek)
Sunday, March 20, medal games
13:30 Bronze medal game
16:00 Final
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
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.
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