The Prague Post
September 7th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions

Home » Archives » Sports

Tough times

Next games critical to team's playoff hopes

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 12th, 2008 issue

For Coach Ken Scalabroni and his USK Praha basketball squad, the numbers look menacing.
With 11 games remaining in the 2007–08 NBL season, USK finds itself three games out of a playoff spot. The team is in the midst of a horrid streak, winning only two of its last 12 contests, and it is wrapping up the season against the deadly trio of Nový Jičín, Nymburk and Prostějov.
So how does it all add up? For Scalabroni, a March 12 match up against Brno is critical.
“We have to win that game,” he says.
Should seventh-place Brno knock off USK and Sadská win at Liberec, Scalabroni’s young team would find itself in a dire position. (Sadská is tied with Brno in the won-lost column but eighth in the standings.)
Back on Jan. 19, things looked rosier for USK. That evening they upset Prostějov on a last-second jumper by Daniel Dvořák, taking a one-game lead for the final playoff spot.
The surprising victory capped a 6-5 record through the schedule’s second round and seemed to promise a winning season.
“I thought we had turned the corner,” Scalabroni recalls.
But Brno clobbered USK and soon old inconsistencies began to pop up: Guard Lucious Wagner scored 16 points against Liberec; the next game, Pardubice held him to two points. If big man Roderick Platt went nine-for-nine, his partner in the paint, Muris Andelija, would fall flat.
It’s a scenario the team has struggled against all season long. Inexperience, problems at point guard and the lack of a real power forward hurt USK over and over again.
But the opportunity remains to put together a winning streak and get into the playoffs: “It’s tough, but it’s still there,” Scalabroni says. “We just have to win in Brno.”

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


Other articles in Sports (12/03/2008):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.