Pardubice secured a 76-67 victory over Opava in the 1st league on Friday evening, maintaining their grip on second place while Opava remain in sixth. The home side had lost their previous outing 60-70 to Zábřeh, so this win provides a steadier footing after that setback.
What stood out was Pardubice's ability to weather the early pressure and find a way back into it when needed. By then, the tempo had settled into something more controlled, and the old head of the squad seemed to settle them down rather than letting things get frantic.
We'd called for a home win beforehand at 58 per cent confidence, and it came through exactly as expected. Not a dramatic turnaround, just a match where the home side knew their structure and didn't let Opava run away with it.
Opava's recent form has been uneven — they'd pulled off a massive 111-73 win over Polabí back in March, but more often found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreline. Against Pardubice, they simply couldn't switch off at the defensive end when it mattered.
The result leaves Pardubice two points clear of the sides below them, while Opava's nine defeats in eighteen games put them firmly in the lower half. Both teams have played the same number of matches, so the gap between them in the table isn't going to close any time soon.
