EXL: TOP 6 begins. Will Draci remain the champions? Or will we see a new one?
Extraliga TOP 6 started on Tuesday with a duel between Eagles and Tempo. Reigning champions Draci Brno finished second in the regular season behind Arrows. Ostrava don’t hide they would like the title back, however, there will be four teams who will all have say in it.
Draci and Arrows will be the favorites this seasons. Brno club strengthen at the end of the regular season, bringing in two Venezuelans, who already played for the club and showed why the club picked them. Ostrava, on the other hand, showed their power even without imports, and the few they brought only bolstered their chances. There is, however, a chance they won’t be able to use duo Smith – Holtz in the eventual finale.
But we can’t forget about the remaining four teams. Eagles Praha is a young team and maybe the biggest surprise of the season. Coach Vladimír Chlup was able to regularly win the games with the young team and for a while Eagles were seated at the top of the Extraliga table.
Hluboká, as Extraliga newcomer, entered the league with a bang and they reached the hearts of sympathies of many fans. In the second half of the season, their performance decreased, so we will have to see whether they will be able to find the lost form.
Hroši Brno had a similar start to the season, but in the end they finished fifth. Team led by Alex Derhak doesn’t have big names in their lineups (if we don’t count Michal Ondráček who has been excellent so far), but they can play against the best of the teams. Only time will tell whether it will be enough for the play-offs.
Tempo Praha finished sixth and narrowly took the final spot in TOP 6. Unfortunately, Prague team will have to deal with loss of Joey Wagman who should be part of Isreali Olympic team. Martin Zelenka returned to the lineup before the end of the regular seasons and they can also count on Marek Minařík’s great form. The universal, who can pitch and bat, has been fun to watch this year and the way he plays can certainly energize not only the fans but his teammates as well.
