by Michal Hanus
Eight team arrived last Saturday morning at the training hall of the Eagles Prague at Krc Praha. The first series of Czech Winter Leagues started there and everybody had to admit that it was really good youth tournament.
Teams were divided into two groups of round robin play. Group A, which was later also called “group of death”, consisted of Louny, Kotlarka Prague, Tempo Titans Prague and ZSJW Storms Prague. In group B played home team Eagles Prague, Sparks Mlade Buky, SaBaT Prague and the reserve team of Kotlarka Prague. The winner of group A, Lokomotiva Louny, played nice games against Kotlarka and Tempo Titans and prevailed in both games thanks to the last inning. No surprises in Group B, because everybody expected a win by the Eagles, which also happened, but they needed an extra inning to beat Sparks which came in second.
ZSJW Storms Prague were happy to win the game for 7th position, their first in the tournament, defeating Kotlarka Prague II (team of boys and girls of age from 6 till 8 years) by a score of 19-10. Although the Tempo Titans presented good t-ball during the round robin games, in the match for 5th they gave more playing time to their rookies on the roster, but still won 7-6 against SaBaT Prague.
The Sparks played another thrilling unlucky game in the bronze medal match against Kotlarka Prague I. Sparks lost this game 15-16 and finished in 4th, while Kotlarka, one of the biggest favorites before the tournament, finished in 3rd.
In the final game the two winners from the preliminary round pools met, Lokomotiva Louny and Eagles Prague. Lokomotiva showed a good defensive and a very strong offensive performance and deservedly won this game 10-7 and the first tournament of the Winter League.
The next round of Winter League will again be played in Prague, but in Modrany. The Tempo Titans Prague will organize this tournament on Sunday, January 10th, 2010. Already six of the eight teams from Krc have confirmed their participation, so everybody can look forward for more nice games in of girls and boys.
Final standings:
- Lokomotiva Louny
- Eagles Prague
- Kotlarka Prague I
- Sparks Mlade Buky
- Tempo Titans Prague
- SaBaT Prague
- ZSJW Storms Prague
- Kotlarka Prague II
