Oleksiy Pecherov – League’s top Ukrainian player

Azovmash forward Oleksiy Pecherov has been named the VTB United League’s top Ukrainian player for the 2012/13 season.

The VTB United League inaugurated the award this season, recognizing the top player from each of the nine participant-countries in the League. The winners (determined by citizenship, not by team) are named at the end of the season. In the six countries with only one VTB United League club (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Czech Republic, and Kazakhstan), the winners were determined by a panel of League experts. The top Russian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian players are determined jointly by the League and leading sports media outlets in those countries – Russian information agency R-Sport (RIA-Novosti), Lithuanian website Basketnews.lt and Ukrainian website Basket-Planet.com.

Three factors went into determining the top Ukrainian player: VTB United League and Basket-Planet.com expert opinions, as well as results from the bimonthly rankings of the top three Ukrainian players. Oleksiy Pecherov earned a total of 14 points to beat out Donetsk guard Oleksandr Lypovyy (10 points), Azovmash forward Kyrylo Natyazhko and Donetsk guard Denys Lukashov (2 points each).

Pecherov played 13 games this season, averaging 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and a 9.0 efficiency rating per game.

Oleksiy Pecherov is the seventh player to be honored. Petr Benda (Nymburk) of the Czech Republic, Tanel Sokk (Kalev) of Estonia, Aaron Cel (Turow) of Poland, Anton Ponomarev (Astana) of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Veremeenko (UNICS) of Belarus and Kristaps Janicenoks (VEF) of Latvia have already received their awards.

How the League’s top Ukrainian player was determined:

Bimonthly Top 3 rankings*:
1. Oleksiy Pecherov (Azovmash) – 8 points (1st – twice, 2nd – once)
2. Oleksandr Lypovyy (Donetsk) – 5 points (1st – once, 2nd - once)
3. Kyrylo Natyazhko (Azovmash) – 2 points (2nd – once)
4. Denys Lukashov (Donetsk), Igor Zaytsev (Azovmash), Dmytro Gliebov (Donetsk) – 1 point (3rd – once each)

* - The League and Basket-Planet.com named the top three Ukrainian players every two months (October-November, December-January, February-March).

Basket-Planet.com experts:
1. Oleksiy Pecherov (Azovmash) – 3 points
2. Oleksandr Lypovyy (Donetsk) – 2 points
3. Igor Zaytsev (Azovmash) – 1 point

League experts:
1. Oleksiy Pecherov (Azovmash) – 3 points
2. Oleksandr Lypovyy (Donetsk) – 2 points
3. Kyrylo Fesenko (Donetsk) – 1 point

Final results:
1. Oleksiy Pecherov (Azovmash) – 14 points
2. Oleksandr Lypovyy (Donetsk) – 10 points
3. Kyrylo Natyazhko (Azovmash), Denys Lukashov (Donetsk) – 2 points
5. Dmytro Gliebov (Donetsk), Kyrylo Fesenko (Donetsk) – 1 point

- Of course, I’m very happy about this recognition, - said Oleksiy Pecherov in an interview with VTB-League.com. – And for the players, and the fans, it’s always interesting and pleasant to play with strong opponents and test yourself against the best teams in Europe. Thanks to the VTB United League our Mariupol fans can watch some of the best players of our time. The players can gain confidence that they’re able to compete with the highest quality opponents. That’s why participating in this league is important for every Ukrainian club from the point of view of their development.