Linx Liberec secured a 81:77 win over Radovec in the Czech First League on Thursday evening, closing out a tight contest between two sides separated by just a single place in the standings. The hosts held firm after a scrappy second half to claim all three points at home, moving level on points with their visitors while maintaining their fifth-place position.
Both teams arrive at this juncture having played eighteen matches, with Liberec sitting on nine wins and nine defeats while Radovec carry eight victories against ten losses. The margin between them remains razor-thin, and tonight's result does little to separate the two squads in what has been a competitive season.
Liberec's recent form has been mixed, having lost three of their last five fixtures including defeats to Nový Jičín on both 29 March and 27 March, before a heavy 78:101 loss to SVITAVI on 20 March. They showed resilience against Opava 2 with a 74:55 victory on 13 March, but consistency remains a question mark for the home side.
and here's the thing — we had tipped the hosts at 55 per cent confidence before kick-off, and it came good. Radovec came into this match with slightly better momentum, winning three of their last five including a 91:78 demolition of SVITAVI on 15 March, but they couldn't quite hold their nerve when it mattered.
By then the game had been decided in the final quarter, where Liberec's experience showed through against a Radovec outfit that kept knocking on the door but couldn't find the breakthrough. The home side worked hard to keep their composure when the visitors pushed, and that professional edge made the difference.
The result leaves Liberec in fifth with eighteen points from eighteen games, while Radovec remain sixth with sixteen points. Neither side has anything to separate them in the table, and if the season plays out as expected, these two will meet again before December.
