SK Slavia Praha opens Czech season with statement win over rival USK Praha

SK Slavia Praha went into rival territory and left with an 88-80 road win over USK Praha, an eight-point margin that sent a message. The win came at Sh Folimanka in Prague on September 19, 2026, in Phase 1 of the Maxa NBL's opening weekend, and it stood as the headline result of a Czech top-flight round that featured five games in all.

Segu's double-double and Hruban's spark off the bench

Ronaldo Segu posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, adding 4 assists and 3 steals in 24.1 minutes as a starter, shooting 5-of-9 from the field including 1-of-3 from 3-points. But the scoring load belonged to Vojtěch Hruban, who came off the bench and dropped 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line in 19.25 minutes. Jaromír Boháčík chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds as a starter, and Nana Owusu-Anane added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

USK Praha didn't back down. K.J. Doucet led the home side with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in just under 26 minutes, and Ondřej Švec added 14 points off the bench while knocking down 8-of-13 from the free-throw line. Patrik Auda and Matěj Šafařík each scored 10, with Auda also hauling in 7 boards, while Sidney Wilson and Xavier Johnson rounded things out with 9 points apiece for the home team.

Rebounding and the bench shift the balance

Segu grabbed 10 rebounds, Owusu-Anane pulled down 8, Boháčík added 7, and Bohm and Kříž each hauled in 5. Bohm, a starter, contributed 8 points in just 13.7 minutes. Off the bench, Hruban's 18 points and Kříž's 5 gave Slavia the extra juice it needed, while Švec's 14 kept USK's bench in the fight. USK got a balanced night from all five starters, but it wasn't enough to flip the result.

A statement to open a five-game Maxa NBL weekend

The win kicked off Slavia's 2026-2027 Maxa NBL season in style. The Czech top flight ran four other games that same weekend: BK KVIS Pardubice beat PUMPA Basket Brno 85-79 at Hala Sportovní Gymnázium in Pardubice, NH Ostrava took down BK Opava 89-77 on the road, BK GAPA Hradec Králové topped BK Olomoucko 93-81, and Sršni Photomate Písek edged SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem 80-78.

The Maxa NBL's opening round was part of a bigger wave across Europe. Germany's EasyCredit BBL and Lithuania's Betsafe LKL also tipped off between September 18 and 20, alongside Luxembourg's Enovos League. The continent's marquee competitions still haven't tipped off: the EuroLeague and the BKT EuroCup start September 24, France's Betclic ELITE follows on September 25, Spain's Liga Endesa on September 26, and Italy's Lega Basket Serie A on September 27. Slavia's derby win puts a bow on the Maxa NBL's opening weekend while the rest of Europe's top leagues get ready to join the party.

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