The President of the VTB United League visited the 4th game of the semifinal series "Loko" vs "Zenit" to present individual awards to Kirill Yelatontsev and Antonius Cleveland. During the big break of the game, Sergey Valentinovich answered questions from journalists.
- How do you like the game?
- Compared to the last time I was here, it seems to me that the spectators here got much more understanding of the game. You can see that people acknowledge what is going on on the court and thoughtfully discuss it. It is very pleasant to see how the team has merged with the fans at the Basket Hall. Also, the national anthem performed by the children's choir sounded very soulful, and I liked the dance for the 80th anniversary of the Victory. In general, our clubs pay a lot of attention to this: CSKA, Kazan, St. Petersburg, you. And that is great. As for the game, the contact is hard, both teams do not give the opponent a chance to breathe from the first minutes, no easy points allowed. Cleveland has entered the game very well for Lokomotiv, he shows a professional attitude, without unnecessary emotions. Many players, especially young ones, tend to fall into emotions in high-level games, so not everything works out. But both teams have a lot of good performers. Lokomotiv has a good history of developing their talents. Andrey Vladimirovich [Vedishchev] still keeps this standard. Even in tense moments, he lets young guys play, and they gain invaluable experience. The Lokomotiv system, as I have repeatedly said, is truly a role model. It develops young players, but at the same time shows top basketball and gives good results every season. If the Russian national team played tomorrow, then 8 people from Loko, or at least 6, would definitely be invited. We hope that we are starting to move towards everyone remembering that sport is not politics.
- You are watching the match from the front row. What moment in the first half was the best at your opinion?
- Do you know why I love games like this? They give a lot of energy from the very first second. This time, in the first seconds, the teams showed excellent passion. The ball had nowhere to go, because the players were everywhere. And the most memorable moment is Cleveland's entrance. Miller immediately gat a contact, gave Cleveland a great assist... That is, this pair arranged a chase, and when Cleveland found his shot, Zenit's emotional explosion began – a timeout and another nervous chase. This game will be made up of such pieces. Whoever gets to the end with more energy, with less emotion, with a cool head, will take this match.
- Can we say that Cleveland is one of the best legionnaires of the VTB United League?
- Without a doubt. Our so-called "Big Four" constantly sign players of the highest level. With such signings, the VTB United League keeps basketball at a high level even after we were suspended from European competitions. You know, the League sends a television signal to Serbia, and I know that many people abroad watch us through Serbia. The previous Lokomotiv game and yesterday's game in Kazan both had a very high rating. They are watching us, and I think everyone is waiting for us to return to big basketball – both at the club team level and the national team. And the national teams are especially waiting for Lokomotiv, because, as I already said, the national team can consist of 50-60% of your alumni.
- Is there an updated format for the next season yet?
- There is no updated format yet, this issue will be discussed with the clubs at the League Council, in mid-June, after the end of the championship. Of course, we have already preliminarily decided on some issues. For example, it is known that Astana, due to some legislative initiatives in Kazakhstan, will not be able to play with legionnaires. And they want to take – we call it "vacation". Next season, their U21 team will play in the VTB United Youth League, and we will think about how to return their main team in another year. Because they have been playing with us for a long time, they want to continue, and we want this too.
- Will there be new teams?
- As we always do, we are currently processing the applications received, making sure there are no financial or other gaps. It seems to me that the League will still remain in the format it is now. More details – after the League Council.
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