BC Astana

BC Astana
BC Astana
Leagues	Kazakhstan Championship; VTB United League; FIBA Asia Champions Cup
Founded	2011; 11 years ago
History	BC Astana; (2011–present)
Arena	Saryarka Velodrome ; (capacity: 10,000); ; (capacity: 5,000)
Location	Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Team colors	Black, blue ;
President	Valeri Tikhonenko
Head coach	Darko Russo
Championships	8 Domestic Titles; 9 Domestic Cups
Website	pbcastana.kz/en
Home	Away

Astana Basketball Club (Kazakh: Astana Basketbol Kluby), commonly referred to as BC Astana, is a Kazakh professional basketball club that is based in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Founded in 2011, it has competed in the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the VTB United League since, obtaining a slew of domestic titles in the process.

History[]

BC Astana was created in March 2011, with the aim of competing in the VTB United League. Valery Tikhonenko was chosen as the team's general director. There were doubts expressed by other clubs in the VTB United League, about whether or not the club would be a good addition to the competition, due to the lack of basketball tradition in Kazakhstan; but the side answered all the admission requirements, including their budget, stadium (a revamped Saryarka Velodrome) and the proximity of hotels, and an international airport. The side received the totality of its funding from the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund.^[1]^[2]

They would sign a number of Kazakhstani players from successful side Astana Tigers, also recruiting their head coach, , to serve as the team's assistant coach.^[3]^[4]

In their first season in the VTB United regional league, the team from Kazakhstan won 7 games out of 16 during 2011–12 regular season, including games against strong sides, such as Žalgiris and the defending title holders, Khimki, nearly reaching the playoffs.^[5] They had more success on the domestic front, winning the Kazakhstani national domestic league championship, and the Kazakhstani Cup.

The team became a part of the Astana Presidential Club multi-sports club, when it was formed in December 2012.

Arenas[]

BC Astana vs. BC Azovmash, VTB United League regular season game in 2014, at Saryarka Velodrome.

BC Astana plays its home basketball games at the Saryarka Velodrome, which has a seating capacity of 10,000 people for basketball games. There is also a possibility to play games at newly built (2019) martial arts palace Zhekpe-zhek with capacity of 5000 people in the stands.

Logos[]

Logo (2011–2017).
Logo (2017–present).

Roster[]

Current roster[]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

BC Astana roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
SG	0	Barford, Jaylen	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	92 kg (203 lb)	26 – (1996-01-23)23 January 1996
PF	6		2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	109 kg (240 lb)	27 – (1994-07-11)11 July 1994
SF	7		1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	31 – (1990-12-09)9 December 1990
PG	8	Hickey, Anthony	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	29 – (1992-11-22)22 November 1992
SG	9		1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	28 – (1993-05-24)24 May 1993
PG	10	Murzagaliyev, Rustam	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	84 kg (185 lb)	29 – (1992-05-24)24 May 1992
PF	13		2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	97 kg (214 lb)	23 – (1998-03-13)13 March 1998
SG	20		1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	25 – (1997-01-28)28 January 1997
C	22		2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	99 kg (218 lb)	24 – (1997-05-28)28 May 1997
C	23		2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	110 kg (243 lb)	26 – (1995-04-18)18 April 1995
C	24	Gavrilov, Dmitriy	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	94 kg (207 lb)	35 – (1986-11-27)27 November 1986
SF	25		1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	28 – (1994-01-17)17 January 1994
F	33	Campbell, Antonio	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	102 kg (225 lb)	27 – (1994-12-24)24 December 1994
SF	47		1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	96 kg (212 lb)	24 – (1997-12-19)19 December 1997
PG	99		1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	22 – (1999-05-17)17 May 1999

Head coach

Darko Russo

Assistant coach(es)

Dean Medan
Vladimir Vasiliev

Team manager

Rustem Mukanov

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Updated: October 5, 2021

Depth chart[]

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1
C	Antonio Campbell	Dmitriy Gavrilov
PF
SF
SG	Jaylen Barford
PG	Anthony Hickey	Rustam Murzagaliyev

Season by season[]

Season	Domestic competitions				Kazakhstani Cup	Regional competitions			Continental competitions
Season	Tier	League	Pos.	Postseason	Kazakhstani Cup	League	Pos.	Result	Tier	League	Result
2011–12	1	KBC	1	Champion	Winner (x2)	VTB	7	N/A	DNP
2012–13	1	KBC	1	Champion	Winner	VTB	5	1R	DNP
2013–14	1	KBC	1	Champion	Winner	VTB	5	1R	DNP
2014–15	1	KBC	1	Champion	DNP	VTB	8	QF	3	FIBA EuroChallenge	T16
2015–16	1	KBC	2	Runners-up	DNP	VTB	15	N/A	3	FIBA Europe Cup	RS
2016–17	1		1	Champion	Winner	VTB	8	QF	DNP
2017–18	1		1	Champion	Winner	VTB	10	N/A		FIBA Asia Champions Cup	Bronze
2018–19	1		1	Champion	Winner	VTB	6	QF	DNP
2019–20	1		1	Champion	DNP	VTB	9	N/A	DNP
2020–21	1		1	Champion	Winner	VTB	12	N/A		FIBA Asia Champions Cup

Championships[]

Kazakhstan Basketball Championship:

9x Champion: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

Kazakhstan Basketball Cup:

9x Winner: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

FIBA Asia Champions Cup:

Bronze: 2017

Head coaches[]

Matteo Boniciolli: (2011–13)
Aleksandar Trifunović: (2013–15)
Ramūnas Butautas: (2015–16)
Ilias Papatheodorou: (2016–17)
Kostas Flevarakis: (2017–2018)
: (2018)
Emil Rajković: (2018–2021)
Darko Russo: (2021–present)

Notable players[]

To appear in this section a player must have either:

- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team.

References and notes[]

^ "A brand of our country is well-known all around the world". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
^ "Report on the use of property, BC Astana for the year 2012". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
^ "Valery Tikhonenko: The goal of "Astana" - is return big basketball to Kazakhstan". VTB United League. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
^ Ibraev, Serik (6 April 2011). "Новые "Тигры"" Русский [New Tigers]. Sports.kz (in Russian). Np.kz. Retrieved 26 June 2015 – via Sports.kz.
^ "Valeriy Tikhonenko: We are ready to bring multiple surprises in the upcoming season". VTB United League. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

External links[]

[1] "A brand of our country is well-known all around the world". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

[2] "Report on the use of property, BC Astana for the year 2012". BC Astana. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

[3] "Valery Tikhonenko: The goal of "Astana" - is return big basketball to Kazakhstan". VTB United League. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.

[4] Ibraev, Serik (6 April 2011). "Новые "Тигры"" Русский [New Tigers]. Sports.kz (in Russian). Np.kz. Retrieved 26 June 2015 – via Sports.kz.

[5] "Valeriy Tikhonenko: We are ready to bring multiple surprises in the upcoming season". VTB United League. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

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v t BC Astana current roster
0 Barford 6 7 8 Hickey 9 10 Murzagaliyev 13 20 22 23 24 Gavrilov 25 47 99 -- Campbell
Head coach: Russo Assistant coaches: Medan Vasiliev