VTB United League
 | |
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2008 |
| Country |  Russia |
| Other club(s) from |  Belarus Estonia Kazakhstan Poland |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe (Europe) FIBA Asia (Asia) |
| Number of teams | 13 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Russian Cup |
| International cup(s) | EuroLeague EuroCup Champions League FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions | CSKA Moscow (11th title) |
| Most championships | CSKA Moscow (11 titles) |
| TV partners | Match TV |
| Website | VTB-League.com |
 2021–22 season | |
VTB United League (Russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, with some others from surrounding countries. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league is also named Russian national champions. Its goal is to unite the leading basketball clubs of Eastern Europe and Northern Europe together into one league.[citation needed] The league is sponsored by VTB Bank.
The current champions are CSKA Moscow, who secured their 11th title after defeating UNICS 3:0 in the 2021 Finals. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, the VTB United Youth League.
Formats[]
In its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus, Finland and Poland were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured a total of 18 teams, with new teams being added from the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.[1] In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams was decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams from Lithuania and Ukraine dropped out of the league.
History[]
The first step in the creation of the league was a competition named the VTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December, 2008.[2] The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2008, and was won by CSKA Moscow, who defeated Khimki 70–66. Kyiv ended third.[3]
Unification with the Russian PBL[]
In May 2012, all the PBL clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league would be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League.[4][5][6]
In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League gave a definitive decision. It was decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some of the games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games.[7] The first tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season.
The VTB United League was officially recognized by FIBA Europe in September 2013.[8][9] The league was then officially recognized by FIBA World in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones.
The honorary head of the league is Sergei Ivanov and its official sponsor is Pavel Vrublevsky of ChronoPay who are often seen together.[10][11][12]
Arena rules[]
In order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.[13]
Current clubs[]
| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astana |
Nur-Sultan | Arena Velotrack | 9,270[14] |
| Avtodor |
Saratov | DS Kristall | 5,500[15] |
| CSKA Moscow |
Moscow | USC CSKA | 5,000[16] |
| Enisey |
Krasnoyarsk | Arena.Sever | 4,000[17] |
| Kalev/Cramo |
Tallinn | Saku Suurhall | 5,500[18] |
| Khimki |
Khimki | BCMO | 4,000[19] |
| Lokomotiv Kuban |
Krasnodar | Basket-Hall | 7,500[20] |
| Nizhny Novgorod |
Nizhny Novgorod | Trade Union Sport Palace | 5,500[21] |
| Parma |
Perm | UDS Molot | 7,000 |
| Tsmoki Minsk |
Minsk | Minsk-Arena | 15,000[22] |
| UNICS |
Kazan | Basket-Hall | 7,000[23] |
| Zenit |
Saint Petersburg | Sibur Arena | 6,381[24] |
| Zielona Góra |
Zielona Góra | CRS Hall Zielona Góra | 6,080 |
Team appearances[]
| Team | 2008 (8) |
09–10 (8) |
10–11 (12) |
11–12 (18) |
12–13 (20) |
13–14 (20) |
14–15 (16) |
15–16 (16) |
16–17 (13) |
17–18 (13) |
18–19 (14) |
19–20 (13) |
20–21 (13) |
21–22 (12) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsmoki-Minsk |
GS | GS | GS | GS | 14th | 12th | 12th | 9th | 14th | 13th | 13th | |||
 Nymburk |
GS | GS | GS | 15th | QF | |||||||||
| Kalev/Cramo |
GS | GS | GS | GS | 9th | 14th | 11th | 12th | QF | 8th | 10th | |||
 Bisons Loimaa |
13th | 13th | ||||||||||||
| Espoon Honka |
GS | |||||||||||||
| Torpan Pojat |
QR | |||||||||||||
 VITA Tbilisi |
16th | |||||||||||||
| Astana |
1/8 | 1/8 | QF | 15th | QF | 10th | QF | 9th | 12th | |||||
 ASK Rīga |
7th | |||||||||||||
| VEF Rīga |
GS | GS | QF | GS | GS | 11th | QF | QF | 10th | |||||
 Lietuvos rytas |
GS | 3rd | GS | SF | ||||||||||
| Neptūnas |
GS | GS | ||||||||||||
| Šiauliai |
QR | |||||||||||||
| Žalgiris |
5th | 3rd | 1/8 | 1/8 | 3rd | |||||||||
| Anwil |
QR | |||||||||||||
| Prokom |
8th | GS | GS | |||||||||||
| Turów |
GS | GS | ||||||||||||
| Zielona Góra |
12th | 7th | QF | |||||||||||
| Avtodor |
QF | QF | 10th | QF | 11th | 12th | 9th | |||||||
| CSKA |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | |
| Dynamo |
4th | |||||||||||||
| Enisey |
GS | GS | 1/8 | 11th | 10th | QF | 13th | 9th | 11th | 11th | ||||
| Khimki |
2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | 4th | QF | 2nd | SF | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | QF | |
| Krasny Oktyabr |
1/8 | 12th | 9th | |||||||||||
| Krasnye Krylia |
GS | QF | QF | 16th | ||||||||||
| Lokomotiv Kuban |
4th | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | SF | QF | QF | 3rd | SF | ||||
| Nizhny Novgorod |
1/8 | QF | 2nd | SF | QF | 9th | QF | QF | 10th | QF | ||||
| Parma |
13th | 11th | 13th | 5th | QF | |||||||||
| Spartak |
QF | 1/8 | 1/8 | |||||||||||
| Triumph |
1/8 | QF | ||||||||||||
| UNICS |
2nd | 3rd | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | 2nd | QF | 4th | SF | 4th | 2nd | ||
| Zenit |
QF | SF | SF | 3rd | SF | 6th | SF | |||||||
 Azovmash |
6th | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | ||||||||
| Budivelnyk |
GS | |||||||||||||
| Dnipro |
GS | QR | ||||||||||||
| Donetsk |
GS | 1/8 | GS | |||||||||||
| Kyiv |
3rd |
Titles[]
| VTB United League Promo-Cup |
| Season | Finals & Final Four Hosts | Finals | Third Place Playoff | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Score | Silver | Bronze | Score | Fourth Place | ||
| 2008 Details |
Russia (USK CSKA, Moscow) † |
 CSKA Moscow |
70–66 | Khimki |
 Kyiv |
86–73 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 2009–10 Details |
Lithuania (Sports Hall, Kaunas) |
CSKA Moscow |
66–55 | UNICS |
 Žalgiris |
78–72 | Khimki |
| 2010–11 Details |
Russia (Basket Hall, Kazan) |
Khimki |
66–64 | CSKA Moscow |
UNICS |
95–75 | Azovmash |
| 2011–12 Details |
Lithuania (Siemens Arena, Vilnius) |
CSKA Moscow |
74–62 | UNICS |
Lietuvos rytas |
91–83 | Lokomotiv-Kuban |
| 2012–13 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–1 Series |
Lokomotiv-Kuban |
Žalgiris |
Did not play | Khimki |
| 2013–14 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–0 Series |
Nizhny Novgorod |
UNICS |
Did not play | Lietuvos rytas |
| 2014–15 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–0 Series |
Khimki |
Lokomotiv-Kuban |
Did not play | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 2015–16 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–1 Series |
UNICS |
Zenit |
Did not play | Khimki |
| 2016–17 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–0 Series |
Khimki |
Zenit |
Did not play | Lokomotiv-Kuban |
| 2017–18 Details |
Russia (VTB Ice Palace, Moscow) |
CSKA Moscow |
95–84 | Khimki |
Zenit |
93–79 | UNICS |
| 2018–19 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–0 Series |
Khimki |
UNICS |
Did not play | Zenit |
| 2019–20 Details |
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic - no champion announced. | ||||||
| 2020–21 Details |
In home and away venues | CSKA Moscow |
3–0 Series |
UNICS |
Lokomotiv Kuban |
Did not play | Zenit |
- ^† The whole 2008 tournament was staged in Moscow, including the Final Four.
Russian basketball clubs in European and worldwide competitions[]
Awards[]
Major awards[] |
Awards by nationality[]
Statistical Awards[] |
Records[]
Sponsor[]
- VTB Bank
Although during 2014 Andrey Kostin's VTB Bank contributed 150 million rubles to VTB Union League which was third to its 4.5 billion rubles contributed to FC Dynamo Moscow and 750 million rubles contributed to support HC Dynamo Moscow, his VTB bank recorded very large losses of 5 billion rubles in March 2015 connected to its sponsorships and contributions to charities of over a total of 15.5 billion rubles that had 10 billion rubles given to undisclosed recipients. This led to the Bank of Moscow giving VTB Bank an 8 billion rubles loan at 0.51% per year with maturity in 2021. Of VTB Bank money given away during 2014, 80% of the total of 17.5 billion rubles were given away in the fourth quarter.[25]
See also[]
- Russian Professional Championship
- Russian Professional League
- Russian Super League 1
- USSR Premier League
- Russian Cup
- USSR Cup
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ "New clubs in the VTB United League". VTB United League. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "About League". vtb-league.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "PROMO-CUP: CSKA WIN". Sport Express. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
- ^ 20 clubs will play in VTB United League championship in seasone-2012/13 Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, vtb-league.com, May 20, 2012
- ^ "PBL looks to a better future". ULEB. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Triumph applied an application to participate in the new season of VTB United League Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine, may 20, 2012, vtb-league.com
- ^ BEKO PBL Press service. "BEKO PBL Board suggests scheme of 2012/2013 season". pbleague.ru. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ VTB League Officially Recognised.
- ^ "FIBA Europe officially recognizes VTB United League". Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
- ^ Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России Беглый Украинский ехс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer found refuge: What the runaway Ukrainian ex-duputy Shepelev seeks in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России беглый Украинский экс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer has taken refuge: What the fugitive Ukrainian ex-deputy Shepelev is looking for in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Врублевский: ЕЛ ВТБ — это возрождение баскетбола в России" [Vrublevsky: EL VTB is the revival of basketball in Russia]. championat.com (in Russian). 29 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Krasnye Krylia not to compete in VTB United League next season". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Arena Velotrack Capacity: 9270 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
DS Kristall Capacity: 5500
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
USC CSKA named after Alexander Gomelskiy Capacity: 5000 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Arena.Sever Capacity: 4000 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
«Saku Suurhall» Capacity: 5500 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Sportscomplex «BCMO» Capacity: 4000 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
«Basket-hall» Capacity: 7500 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
«Nizhniy Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace» Capacity: 5500 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
«Minsk-Arena» Capacity: 15,000 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
Basket-Hall Capacity: 7000 spectators
- ^ "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
SK Yubileyniy Capacity: 6381 spectators
- ^ Воронова, Татьяна (Voronova, Tatiana); Еремина, Анна (Eremina, Anna); Казакулова, Галина (Kazakulova, Galina) (16 April 2015). "Убытки – не помеха для благотворительности ВТБ: В I квартале 2015 года госбанк получил 5 млрд рублей убытка и при этом 15,5 млрд рублей потратил на благотворительность" [Losses are not a hindrance to VTB's charity: In the first quarter of 2015, the state bank received 5 billion rubles in losses and at the same time spent 15.5 billion rubles on charity]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
External links[]
- Official website (in Russian)
- Official website (in English)
| show Basketball in Russia |
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- VTB United League
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