By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A superb week for ERA Nymburk and Vojtech Hruban paired a Basketball Champions League overtime win on the road with the 31-year-old forward becoming the first player surpassing the 800-point mark in the BCL. Despite being treated as the top offensive threat by opposing teams, he always finds ways to sink buckets pumping up his side.
The Champions League regulars suffered defeat at the hands of JDA Dijon tipping-off their 2020-21 run. A rough patch in Bursa made a 16-point cushion go away and displayed signs of a 0-2 start. However, Hruban and teammates punched their way back and eventually secured the “W” over Tofas after five extra minutes.
The all-time BCL leader in points and the first moving past 800 points ended up with 17 points for a total of 811 in 75 appearances since the inaugural campaign. The 10.8 points per contest demonstrate his constant impact on Nymburk. His 43 points this season are good enough for sixth place overall in the scoring list.
| Player | Points |
| 1. Steven Gray | 54 |
| 2. C.J. Harris | 52 |
| 3. Andrew Andrews, Q.J. Peterson | 46 |
| 5. TaShawn Thomas | 45 |
| 6. Vojtech Hruban, Keith Langford, Phil Scrubb | 43 |
Stretching from last year through the Final Eight in Athens completing the campaign and the first two games of the ongoing season, Hruban registered at least 16 points in his last seven Basketball Champions League outings. A streak shy only to Kevin Punter, Ricky Ledo, and Tyler Stone scoring 16 points or more in eight games in a row.
The Czech Republic outlet has gone through a series of tough breaks since becoming part of the first-ever BCL field. One single point in two-game series aggregate scores signaled elimination in 2016-17 and 2017-18, while the past season initially granted home-court advantage in a best-of-three quarterfinal series versus AEK but in the end, Nymburk faced the Queen in Athens, Final Eight venue.
“We would like to finally get the better of our first-round struggles,” Hruban told Eurohoops one year ago with Nymburk going strong in the 2019-20 season, “We had some good seasons, but never made it past the first round due to some bad games and tough luck.”
| Season | Elimination |
| 2016-17 | Playoffs qualifiers (157-156 aggregate score versus Dinamo Sassari) |
| 2017-18 | Round of 16 (181-180 aggregate score versus AEK) |
| 2018-19 | Regular Season (4-10 record) |
| 2019-20 | Final Eight (94-82 loss to AEK) |
What could have been for Nymburk if the 2019-20 season was not severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic can be a lasting question, but Hruban among the remaining Oren Amiel players generates optimism for yet another extended run in FIBA’s premier European club competition. Getting to 1-1 after two away matches can go a long way in advancing through the six-game Regular Season.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League