History of the League

2012-13 Season. CSKA defends title

The league expanded to 20 teams in 2012 and introduced a new playoff format. Krasnye Krylia, Astana and VEF enjoyed breakout seasons; the league witnessed its first triple-double; while E.J. Rowland won the MVP and Sergey Karasev picked up the Young Player of the Year award. Other highlights included a legends game, new attendance record, regular season drama, Lokomotiv-Kuban's first-ever finals berth and CSKA repeating as league champs.

Back Story
The geography of the VTB United League expanded once again in 2012, as well as the number of clubs. New clubs were approved at the league board meeting in Tallinn, while a new playoff format was introduced with the Final Four replaced by best-of-five series.

"This season will include eight reigning domestic champions and seven Euroleague teams, if you include the Euroleague's qualifying tournament. The level of our league is higher than any other domestic league. Another bonus is that we have the best insurance, even compared to the Euroleague. The league also takes care of all officiating expenses. Finally, in addition to the prestigious title of champion, a berth in the 2013-14 Euroleague qualifying tournament will be at stake this season," noted league president Sergey Ivanov during the preseason press conference in Tallinn.

Format and Participants
The new format featured an 18-game schedule with 20 teams divided into two groups (two games, home and away, against each group opponent). The new members of the league were Triumph (Russia), Turow (Poland), Neptunas (Lithuania) and Donetsk (Ukraine). The number of countries remained the same at nine.

Following the draw in Tallinn, the teams were divded into the following groups:

Group A: UNICS (Russia), Khimki (Russia), Spartak (Russia), Krasnye Krylia (Russia), Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania), Astana (Kazakhstan), Azovmash (Ukraine), Kalev (Estonia), Turow (Poland), Donetsk (Ukraine).

Group B: Tsmoki-Minsk (Belarus), CSKA (Russia), Lokomotiv-Kuban (Russia), Enisey (Russia), Triumph (Russia), Nizhny Novgorod (Russia), Zalgiris (Lithuania), Neptunas (Lithuania), Nymburk (Czech Republic), VEF (Latvia).

Six teams advanced to the playoffs from each group with the top two advancing directly to the quarterfinals, while the remaining clubs started in the first round.

Expanding the playoffs was the biggest change of the season. The league first introduced best-of-three series in 2012, but only for the two rounds preceding the Final Four. Now the VTB United League was ready to go all in for the postseason.

Regular Season
The VTB United League's fourth season opened in thrilling fashion in Astana, as the home team knocked off reigning bronze medalists Lietuvos Rytas, 72-71. In the first game in Group B, Zalgiris defeated Lokomotiv-Kuban in Krasnodar, 78-70, taking revenge for its elimination in the 2012 playoffs. 

Group A was expected to be the "group of death" entering the season, while bitter rivals CSKA and Zalgiris headlined Group B.

The first game between the two legendary clubs came in Week 4 in Kaunas. Cheered on by 15,000+ fans at Kaunas Arena, the Lithuanians knocked off the league's top favorite, 76-66, and set the league's single game attendance record (15,812)!

Zalgiris went on to sweep the regular season series against CSKA, defeating the Army Men in Moscow, 74-68. 

Overall, Zalgiris lost just twice in the regular season, cruising to a 16-2 record to finish in 1st place (CSKA went 15-3). Lokomotiv-Kuban took 3rd place with a 12-6 mark, while VEF enjoyed its first winning season, going 11-7 to reach the postseason. The two final playoff berths went to Nizhny Novgorod (10-8) and Triumph (9-9). 7th-place Enisey finished three games out with a 6-12 record.

The "group of death" lived up to its billing. Traditional league powerhouses Khimki (14-4) and UNICS (14-4) tied for 1st place with Moscow Region earning the top seed thanks to point differential. Sergei Bazarevich's Krasnye Krylia shocked with a 12-6 mark, tying Spartak for 3rd place. The battle for 5th and 6th place, meanwhile, was the highlight of the regular season. 

Astana, Donetsk and Lietuvos Rytas battled it out for the final two postseason berths. Donetsk proved the biggest surprise, bouncing back from a terrible start to close the season on a four-game winning streak, including a win against Spartak in the final game of the regular season. The other two teams played the next day. Rytas was in major trouble, needing a victory against Azovmash and an Astana loss in Tallinn. The Black-Reds took care of business, defeating Mariupol, but the Kazakh champs refused to lose, squeaking out an 85-81 win over Kalev to advance to the postseason and drop the Estonians to last place in the group.

Triple-double
The VTB United League's first triple-double took place during the 2012-13 season. It's an unusual accomplishment in the European game, but Viktor Khryapa did it on January 20, 2013. In a game against VEF, the CSKA forward dazzled with a 10-point, 13-rebound and 10-assist performance.

Surprise
Krasnye Krylia's breakout season was a pleasant surprise. Chester Simmons led the club in scoring, while Aaron Miles and Andre Smith also made big contributions. Much of the credit, of course, went to head coach Sergei Bazarevich.

Krylia lost at home to Astana on October 22, 2012, in a game the Russians were expected to win. There was talk that Bazarevich might even be fired, but that quickly died down as Samara put together a nine-game winning streak (including the EuroChallenge and Russian Cup) and turned its season around 180 degrees. Krylia even had a chance to catch Khimki in the standings, but lost a heartbreaker in Khimki on the final day of the regular season.

Samara met Triumph in the first round of the playoffs, sweeping the series, 2-0. CSKA was up next in the quarterfinals. Despite getting eliminated, Bazarevich's men did not embarrass themselves against the reigning champs and even won one game at home.

Krasnye Krylia enjoyed even more success outside the league, winning both the Russian Cup and EuroChallenge. Bazarevich's aggressive, up-tempo basketball proved the perfect recipe for the small-budget club.

Highlight
It's always memorable when legends of the sport take the court. During the 2012-13 season, basketball fans had two opportunities to watch the former stars of the CSKA - Zalgiris rivalry duke it out one more time, first in Kaunas and later in Moscow. The legends game were played prior to regular season contests between Zalgiris and CSKA and matched the emotions and excitement of the official games both times.

Arvydas Sabonis, Vladimir Tkachenko, Sergejus Jovaisa, Sergei Tarakanov, Anatoly Myshkin and other famous players suited up at a sold-out Zalgiris Arena, putting on a real show. Sabonis was the star, dunking, blocking shots and hitting 3-pointers to put the crowd into a frenzy. The score was close until the final seconds, just like the good old days in the Soviet league. In the end, Sabonis blocked a potential game-winning shot from Tarakanov to give Zalgiris a 46-45 victory. 

The return game was played in Moscow's USH CSKA. Arvydas Sabonis's arrival in Moscow was a highlight all of its own, both on and off the court. The other basketball legends also did not disappoint, putting on a show and finishing the game in a 28-28 tie. There would be no overtime as friendship won the day!

Beyond the basketball, these two games provided an opportunity for old friends to get together and reminisce about old times, while giving the fans a chance to relive the glory years of Soviet basketball.

Playoffs
The 1st and 2nd-place teams in both groups advanced directly to the playoffs, while eight more teams got started in the first round. Two of the four first-round series went to a decisive Game 3. The outcome of the Spartak - Nizhny Novgorod series was the biggest surprise. The Black-Whites had made steady progress, but St. Petersburg had more experience and higher expectations.

The series started well enough for Spartak as they picked up a 14-point road victory. The teams then moved to St. Petersburg, where everything changed. Nizhny evened the series, before pulling out a thrilling 88-85 double-overtime win in Game 3 to reach the quarterfinals. 

The VEF - Astana series also piqued plenty of interest. Both teams had enjoyed breakout seasons and made the postseason for the first time, while playing attractive basketball. After three games, VEF escaped to the quarterfinals, led by the magnificent E.J. Rowland.

The top seeds entered the competition in the second round. Three of the four teams backed up their seed with CSKA and Zalgiris advancing past Krylia and Nizhny in four games, respectively, and Khimki needing just three games to eliminate VEF. UNICS was the only club to come up short, dropping a four-game series to Lokomotiv-Kuban.

In the semifinals, Lokomotiv continued its steady play, knocking off Zalgiris in four games, 3-1. 

The second semifinal series between CSKA and Khimki was far more dramatic and became an instant classic, going all five games. The showdown featured close finishes, outstanding individual performances and hard-fought battles on every inch of the court.

The Yellow-Blues won Game 1, before dropping the next two. Game 4, however, belonged to Khimki, setting up a dramatic Game 5 in Moscow Region. Despite a sellout crowd, Rimas Kurtinaitis's club came up short, falling to CSKA 87-64.

Finals
Lokomotiv-Kuban reached a new level in 2013. The club won the Eurocup and got on a roll in the VTB United League, advancing all the way to the finals. But the southern club couldn't knock off CSKA and win the league championship, even with injuries to several key CSKA players (Milos Teodosic and Alexander Kaun). The Red-Blues had the home-court advantage and they took advantage, winning both games in Moscow comfortably before the series shifted to Krasnodar.

Game 3 at Krasnodar's Basket Hall was a sellout. Prior to this, the opponents had played 41 games, with Loko enjoying victory just twice. The huge crowd helped the home team get off to a good start and hold on for a 69-58 win, forcing Game 4.

CSKA not only lost Game 3, but also leader and captain Viktor Khryapa to injury. That couldn't help but have an effect on the team's play. Derrick Brown helped Lokomotiv jump out in front in the first half of Game 4 with a return to Moscow for Game 5 appearing quite likely. The momentum shifted, however, in the third quarter after Alexey Savrasenko and Dmitry Sokolov got a little too chippy under the basket and were both ejected. 

Without Savrasenko, Loko had a big hole at center and completely lost its rhythm. Krasnodar's offense began to sputter and CSKA gradually took control, taking the lead in the 4th quarter. Lokomotiv failed to mount a comeback, giving CSKA a 59-54 victory and second straight VTB United League championship!

"These playoffs and the entire season were probably the most difficult of my career and they brought a lot of joy in the end. I don't think any other league in Europe has such a difficult path," - CSKA head coach Ettore Messina. 

Stars
E.J. Rowland. Alongside Krasnye Krylia and Astana, VEF took the biggest step forward in the 2012-13 season. Much of the credit for the Latvians' breakthrough campaign belongs to Rowland. The offense ran through the American star, who led the league in scoring and efficiency rating and knocked down several clutch buzzer-beaters. Rowland fully deserved his MVP title, averaging 17.1 points, 5.9 assists, 6.1 rebounds, 2.0 steals and an efficiency rating of 20.8 per game. 

Nick Calathes. Named Eurocup MVP and regular season MVP by league fans, the unstoppable Calathes enjoyed a terrific season. Lokomotiv-Kuban's Greek point guard kept it up in the playoffs, averaging 12.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.4 steals per game. After leading Lokomotiv to the playoff finals, Calathes signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason.

Ksistof Lavrinovic. The Zalgiris center put up big numbers in the regular season and playoffs. Despite financial difficulties and injuries in Kaunas, Ksistof helped Zalgiris overachieve much of the season and posted impressive individual numbers.

Semen Antonov. Nizhny Novgorod enjoyed its best season yet in 2012-13 and captain Antonov was recognized as the team MVP. The Russian forward delivered when his team needed him most, helping Nizhny to a hard-fought series win vs. Spartak before dropping a quarterfinal series to Zalgiris. Antonov had an impact in every facet of the game, which was also reflected in his stats: 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.

Sergey Karasev. The Triumph guard made waves across Europe with his play at Triumph. Just 19 years old, Karasev starred for the Lyubertsy club, helping the team reach the postseason in its first VTB United League campaign. Karasev averaged 16.3 points per game, finishing in the top five for scoring while winning the Young Player of the Year award.

Andrey Vorontsevich. He was the X-factor in the playoffs after a quiet first half of the season. Vorontsevich stepped up after CSKA's loss in the Euroleague Final Four, helping lead Ettore Messina's squad to another championship.

Viktor Khryapa. The CSKA captain was the biggest reason the Army club was able to defend its title. Khryapa was among the league's most valuable players during the regular season and even recorded the first VTB United League triple-double. Once the playoffs started, he got even better despite lingering injuries. Not surprisingly, he picked up the playoff MVP in addition to winning the championship.

Stats
15,812 fans at the Zalgiris - CSKA game in Kaunas, which set the league attendance record.

49:36 - record amount of time on the court in a game, set by Neptunas guard David McClure against Enisey.
35 assists - Khimki set a new league record in a game against VEF.
22 steals - Triumph set a new league record in a game against Nymburk.

Video

Final Standings