“This season has been the most unpredictable in 14 years. Interest in the United League has increased dramatically. Final interview with Ilona Korstin

Ilona scheduled the interview for May 30, her birthday, which could only come as a surprise.

“The UNICS Championship is absolutely deserved”

– Not every sports executive will dare to interview on his birthday. How did you decide?

— Of course, a birthday is a special day, but it’s also a working day. No one canceled the job. I hardly have any days off during the season, because there are always games on weekends.

You know, I have two children, but the decree was very conditional. Work brings me pleasure, and above all, it is not a burden. Therefore, if something needs to be done for work, I do it with pleasure. I think the career as a professional athlete taught me dedication. I’m used to doing my job without looking at the schedule.

– That is, the work even costs you somewhere?

— Yes, I am charged here with energy and positive emotions.

– The last season of the United League has just given basketball fans a lot of positive emotions. Can we say that he was the most sparkling in the history of the league?

– Each season, probably, was interesting in its own way. But last season was certainly the most unpredictable. Because no one could have imagined that our hegemony CSKA and Zenit, who became champions last year, would not even go to the final! Nobody would have thought that we would have new finalists and new heroes. This last season has been special.

— Which event of the season do you consider the most brilliant?

— For me, of course, it’s the victory of UNICS. At the end of the regular season, CSKA seemed to be the big favourites, and Zenit had a strong team led by Javier Pascual, and it was hard to assume we would see the UNICS – Lokomotiv Kuban final. But the teams from Kazan and Krasnodar still reached the decisive series.

The season turned out to be very bright: seven matches in the semi-finals, a new pair of finalists in the decisive series and the most significant event – the UNICS championship.

I think it’s absolutely deserved. Kazan’s team showed their best qualities, demonstrated their fighting spirit and revealed their 100% potential. This was largely due to the dedication of the players, the professional work of the coaching staff and management, their site advantage and the good atmosphere of the games in Kazan. UNICS took the opportunity to win gold medals for the first time, for which I congratulate them.

– How did Lokomotiv manage to make a splash in the playoffs?

– There are several factors. The first is a good balance between students and quality foreign players. The second is a coach, Alexander Sekulich managed to reveal basketball players. At Lokomotiv, we have seen a lot of interesting training decisions both during the championship and during the playoffs. The work of the team mentor really played an important role here. Well, of course, the work of the management has been very important, which during the season has assessed the ups and downs and made the necessary corrections within the team.

Maybe the fans and the club were upset that this year the team didn’t become champions, but I think Lokomotiv have everything ahead of them. With such talented students and the right development vehicle for young people, the victories are sure to come.

“We want to make the Super Bowl international and expand it”

– Can we say that the popularity of basketball and the United League in the country has increased during this season?

– Interest has grown. And here we must note the correctness of the decisions we made in the United League board last year. By dividing the regular season into two stages, they made it more competitive. All of this contributed to a serious increase in interest in basketball and the league.

In addition, the teams have recently made progress both sportingly and financially. We’ve seen tight competition in every game of the regular season and exciting playoffs.

I can give you numbers. Last season we had 229 matches, 1572 broadcasts (live and recorded), which were watched by 576 million people. The increase in broadcasts compared to the previous season is doubled, in terms of views – three times. If we talk about social networks, then a significant increase in viewership is also noticeable here. The highest percentage in Telegram: for the season – over 700%! We had nothing like this before! Of course, all these numbers are very, very encouraging. Interest in the league has increased several times over.

It is also important here that we have compiled the schedule in such a way that there are matches almost every day and the fan, if he wishes, can watch the United League matches almost daily. We have filled the space that has been freed up in the season without European competition. Teams have more free time – we took advantage of it and instead of Euroleague, Eurocup and Champions League matches we organized United League matches. The schedule is therefore tight.

– Which of the players took a qualitative step forward?

— I would like to mention Nenad Dimitrievich from UNICS. The Macedonian defender opened up gradually, adding as the season went on, and played a key role in the deciding games, becoming the leader and then the MVP of the playoffs.

If we talk about Lokomotiv, young Russian players have played there throughout the season. At the start of the championship, they made a lot of mistakes, lost in the last seconds due to incorrect decisions, but gradually they gained experience, became wise in basketball and made very serious progress. Here, one can distinguish Alexander Shcherbenev, Andrey Martyuk and Vladislav Yemchenko. These basketball players have made serious progress. I’m sure a lot of clubs would love to see these players at home.

I also liked the way CSKA’s Samson Ruzhentsev presented himself during the season. MBA striker Andrey Lopatin is also happy with the progress, becoming the leader of the young team.

– The coming season will be the 15th for the United League. Will there be interesting events on this occasion?

Of course we plan. The league is growing very slowly. 15 is already a serious age. Many here draw parallels with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ask: why isn’t it like the NBA? And you look at how old is the NBA already? 76! And we are 15 years old. The United League has not yet reached maturity, but despite its young age it is recognized by experts as one of the best leagues in Europe: we are second in terms of sporting level and interest in the tournament.

– As in the past two years, the start of the upcoming season’s regular season will precede the United League Super Bowl. Is anything already known about what will be its format and the composition of the participants?

– We plan the participation of Serbian teams, we want to make the Super Cup international and expand it. Attract more Russian teams there. We are working on these issues. We are currently in the process of negotiating potential participants. There will be Russian and foreign clubs.

“Our matches this season were no less interesting than those of the European Cup”

– At the last United League Council, Runa and Uralmash were accepted as participants. Were there any disputes as to whether to accept them or not?

– “Runa” and “Uralmash” sent their applications last year. These requests turned out to be incomplete. They were unprepared and did not follow the rules. And now the clubs under the league’s guidance have been working to ensure that applications comply with the regulations and match our format. Runa and Uralmash have worked hard over the past year to meet all requirements. The main questions were about the financial part and the arenas where the teams will perform. Over the past period, clubs have calculated all points and now meet league requirements.

Broadening the roster of participants will benefit the league. Because the teams that came are quite strong from a sporting point of view. They have performed well in the Super League.

But, of course, all the teams in their first year of participation in the United League are a bit shocked, because here it’s a whole different level. On our side, we also take a little risk. Yes, there are all the necessary documents, but theory and practice are completely different things. Therefore, both clubs entered the United League with a one-year trial period. Just as was the case with MBA and Samara last year. These clubs have confirmed their status as United League teams and are now full participants in the Championship.

– Do you plan to invite foreign teams to the league in the future, as was the case before? Maybe clubs from the post-Soviet space or friendly Serbia?

“You are well aware of the situation. We live in modern realities. Now we focus more on the interior and on the development of Russian basketball players. We must use this time, when we are not playing in European competition, to develop clubs and national players.

Also, there are “Minsk” and “Astana” in the league. These are two clubs that have been in the league for a long time. We are not chasing anyone. Foreign clubs left for certain reasons. But from this departure, the United League did not become less interesting.

– Last season, as you have already noted, passed without the participation of our clubs in European competition. What was missing from the European Cup tournaments? When is it possible for our clubs to return to the international scene?

“I don’t take responsibility for saying when that might happen. It does not depend on me or us. When they give us back, then we will return to European competition. No one can tell now. The predictions to be given, it seems to me, are wrong.

Of course, our clubs don’t have enough participation in European Cup tournaments. The fans and our top teams are used to playing in these competitions. It’s interesting to try and achieve ambitions at the international level. But now that’s the situation.

Everywhere, as they say, there are advantages. The fact that there are no more European cups has allowed the United League to open up. I can say with confidence that our matches were no less interesting than those in the European Cup.