The Kyiv club regained the championship title

Basketball

On Friday, Kiev's Budivelnik became the champion of Ukraine in basketball for the eighth time in history. To win the gold medals, Ainars Bagatskis' team beat Azovmash from Mariupol at home in the seventh match of the final series of the Super League play-offs with a score of 82:70. Thus, after a season, the capital club regained the championship title, which last year went to Donetsk, which failed in the current championship.

In the final of the play-off of the Ukrainian basketball championship that ended on Friday, the Kiev “Budivelnik” proved that it is they, and not the main competitors of the Kiev residents in the national championship - “Azovmash”, “Donetsk” or “Ferro-ZNTU” - that is currently the best club countries. In the European Cup, where the status of current finalists of the Ukrainian championship did not help the Mariupol and Donetsk players get through the first group stage, Ainars Bagaskis' team reached the 1/2 stage, only losing there to Bilbao from Spain. The Kyiv basketball players also made it through the national regular championship much more consistently than their opponents. In it, they won three more victories than Azovmash and Ferro-ZNTU, as well as five more than Donetsk, which defended the championship.

After the end of the decisive play-off series, it seemed that none of the finalists counted on gold medals this season. Azovmash head coach Sergei Zavalin, despite the fact that his team alternately knocked out the national champion Donetsk and the Super League Cup winner Ferro-ZNTU during the play-offs, noted that the second silver in a row is the current limit of the Mariupol club’s capabilities . Zavalin's colleague from Budivelnik, Ainars Bagatskis, recalled that before the start of the championship he did not see the Kievites as favorites.

Ainars Bagatskis recalled that before the start of the championship he did not see the Kievites as favorites

Donetsk was considered the main favorite. However, before the start of the season, the Donetsk team lost the coach who led them to the championship: Sasa Obradovic headed the German Alba. Vlade Jovanovic and Josep Berrocal, who came to his place, did not provide the club with stable success, although the former won the Serbian championship twice with Partizan, and the latter, in the 2010/11 season, led the capital's Budivelnik to win gold in Ukraine. Until the end of the season, “Donetsk” was coached by the former press attache of the “Kyiv” club, Alexey Efimenko. He was able to lead the team to the play-offs, but as expected, he was unable to survive in the quarterfinals with Azovmash.

Budivelnik, in fact, could have secured the championship in the sixth match of the final series. After five meetings, the Kiev team led with a score of 3:2, and then won several times during the away match with Azovmash in Mariupol. But the hosts constantly fought back. And thanks to their excellent actions in the final quarter, Zavalin’s team achieved victory - 96:95 - and a draw in the confrontation - 3:3.

But in the seventh game in the capital's Sports Palace the fight did not work out. In just over three minutes, the Mariupol team did not score a single point. By this time, Mikhail Anisimov had chalked up four points for Budivelnik, and Leo Lyons added five more, including a long-range goal. Ainars Bagatskis' team led 9:0. Surprisingly, the guests continued to act half-heartedly while defending their ring. Until the end of the period, Artur Drozdov, Georgy Tsintsadze, and the same Lions scored three-pointers for the Kiev team. By the first break, the Kiev team's nine-point advantage remained. And by the end of the second quarter it was already 19 points - 58:39 - from afar Malcolm Delaney, Drozdov, Lions continued to accurately “shoot” for the hosts.

After this, the fate of the set of gold awards was sealed. "Budivelnik" brought the match to victory - 82:70 - and became the most titled club in the country. The current championship is the eighth for the people of Kiev; Azovmash has seven titles left.

Sergey Melnik

Ukrainian Basketball Championship. Super League Playoffs. The final

"Budivelnik" - "Azovmash" 82:70; The series score is 4:3.

"Budivelnik" became the champion of Ukraine.

Newspaper "Kommersant Ukraine" No. 89 dated 06/03/2013, p. 8

Authors:

Sergey Melnik

Themes:

Basketball

"Budivelnik" tuned in for the best