Two months have passed since the start of the new United League season and the most important thing is that almost all the teams played 13 games, that is, they played with all the rivals in the league. Thus, now comes the time when it is possible to draw the first solid conclusions about the performance of the clubs.
We found it especially interesting to compare the current table with the disposition of the teams at approximately the same period last season and see which clubs took a step back. Let’s go to November 26, 2022, when there were 12 clubs in the league and most had already played 11 games. When comparing the tables, we notice two teams that now occupy much lower positions in the championship, we will also talk about another team that, although it occupies the same place as last year, at the beginning of the season showed far from the same basketball. as expected of her. Let’s talk about the main disappointments of the first day of the United League of the 2023/2024 season.
MBA at PBC
Maxim Lichutin
Photo: Ksenia Bogdanova, BC UNICS
2022/2023 season, November 26: 4th place, 66.7% wins. 2023/2024 season, November 30: Tenth place, 38.5% wins.
Perhaps the most unique club in the United League in its philosophy is still nowhere near showing the wonderful successes that accompanied the team last year. Let us remember that MBA managed to reach group A after the first phase and subsequently win a game in the playoffs. The brilliant and modern private club, which played without foreign players, immediately aroused public sympathy.
If we look specifically at game quality, we don’t really see a catastrophic reduction. The club’s problems are in the finals. If we take only those matches that ended with the victory of one or the other team with an advantage of five points or less, then in those games the Moscow club was stronger only once – with the newcomer to the league Runa (86: 84). In the remaining four cases, MBA could not be stronger than his opponent at the decisive moment. The club’s experienced forward Evgeniy Valiev spoke about the same problem in an exclusive interview with the Championship.
“How would you rate the start of the season? Probably a little different than we expected. In the end we lost all the games, of course, we wanted to win them, but they haven’t given us the end yet, and when we enter an even fight, luck is not yet on our side, nor is experience. He is not yet on our side to win his. It could have been better, but we have what we have.”
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How can this problem be explained? It all comes down to the club’s very philosophy: emphasis on young national players. The decisive moment is the moment for the outstanding individual players to take the decisive shot. In most clubs in the league, this role is played by foreign players who have excellent dribbling skills and taking closed shots. The MBA simply does not have such technicians.
But is it necessary to give up one’s identity for the opportunity to improve results? Of course not. The special features of the organization allowed the MBA to occupy a clear place in the league and receive the funding that the team receives. This is a great place to develop Russian players who would not have similar opportunities at other clubs with a large number of foreign players. Destroying your own identity can destroy the franchise itself. Could any foreign player help Athletic in the short term? 100%. But then this club would stop occupying a unique place in terms of the discovery and development of Basque players, who then go on to the most prominent clubs in the world, bringing good income to the organization. The club itself fights almost every year to qualify for European competitions and has its own special brand, which every football fan has heard about.
“Paris Nizhny Novgorod”
Zoran Lukic
Photo: Alexander Pavlov, BC Zenit
2022/2023 season, November 26: 5th place, 50% win. 2023/2024 season, November 30: 13th place, 25% win.
Paris NN’s failures, at first glance, are due to general bad luck with injuries. The team’s most notable players missed much of the season: Dragan Apich, Ivan Strebkov, Dmitry Khvostov and Andrey Vorontsevich. This was especially noticeable in the recent match against Zenit, where the Nizhny Novgorod team’s rotation included only nine people, two of whom had never played at the United League level. However, Zoran Lukic’s team managed to force the fight – 65:68.
The most worthy defeat occurred in the match against CSKA, which took place on November 26. However, the aftertaste for Pari was completely unpleasant, given that the team was leading in the first two quarters. But only seven players could participate in this match, which was not the first time Lukic noticed it.
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“CSKA bided their time and in the end took advantage of the difficult situation our team found itself in. For the first time in my life I am playing a game with seven players on the court. At the same time, I want to congratulate my boys. Both in the previous match with Zenit and today with CSKA they showed that they are the best of our basketball club.
Well done! I take my hat off to them. I appreciate the dedication of both the young and experienced players. Yes, there are times in the game when we fight. For the umpteenth time we are close to victory, but I am already thinking: “God forbid we win seven.” Then we will have to show that even four people can win,” the coach is quoted in the club’s press service.
Paris NN is in a critical situation and there is practically no chance to change the course of the season. However, the organization does not need to take drastic measures. The distinguished coach continues to demonstrate his talent, fighting with the team against all terrible circumstances and at the same time managing to play on equal terms with the giants of the league. All you need to do is try to build a better and better team every year so that Zoran’s coaching skills don’t go to waste. But in the most difficult moments you also have to resort to an ambulance, which is why they signed Anton Ponkrashov the other day.
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“Zenith”
Trent Fraser
Photo: VTB United League
2022/2023 season, November 26: 3rd place, 81% win. 2023/2024 season, November 30: 3rd place, 69% win.
I understand why there may be those who disagree with the inclusion of the St. Petersburg team on this list. Judging by the place at the table, everything is back to normal. But the winning percentage has decreased, and this is largely due to major problems at the beginning of the season, which continued almost until the team’s current winning streak.
The problem is that Zenit was not only able to retain its entire core and its illustrious mentor Javier Pascual, but also managed to do quality work in the off-season. The signings of Kyle Kuric and Bojan Dubljevic seemed like a very strong move and many considered the St. Petersburg club to be the main favorite of the season.
This assumption was confirmed in the preseason, where the blue and white managed to win both the Kondrashin and Belov Cup and the Super Cup. But United League games have already revealed systemic problems in attack. This was especially felt in the games in which point guard Thomas Ertel, who even the French team misses greatly, was absent.
The general director of the club, Alexander Tserkovny, considers the start of the season ambiguous.
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“How do I evaluate the start of the season? Ambiguous. We prepared well for it, confidently winning both the Kondrashin and Belov Cup at home and the VTB United League Super Cup. Then a series of injuries began that caused negative adjustments in the team’s game. When two or three players from the starting five cannot help, it is necessary to rebuild the team’s game, look for new interactions and change what was developed before the start of the regular season. “Zenit before the game against Uralmash and now they are, in fact, two different teams,” Tserkovny said in an exclusive interview with Championship.
Pascual is known for pushing teams to their peak well into the season. The club is moving up the ranks by leaps and bounds, but Zenit can face a crisis at any time, whether due to injuries or a drop in form. The inhabitants of Petersburg do not look like machines that cannot be stopped.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS