On Friday, June 9, the Russian national team played a game against the national team of Belarus as part of the summer training camp, losing with a score of 80:83. After the match, spoke with the President of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) Andrei Kirilenko on several important topics.
Below:
– How do you rate the level of the Belarusian national team, which managed to defeat our team?
– Thanks to the Belarusian team, they fought, used their chances, and when the opportunity arose to counterattack, they took the initiative. They had a lot of fun late in the third and early in the fourth quarter, getting off to a start and punishing our guys. Their leader Salash clearly stood out, fulfilling his potential in every quarter.
– Have other rivals except Belarus been discussed for this training camp?
– Of course, we discussed it, but in the current situation, it is very difficult to find rivals. Moreover, now a huge number of national teams are preparing for the World Cup.
We would also like to be there, in fact (laughs). We started very well with a 3-0 result. I think the current Russian team would qualify for the World Cup and could perform well there. Unfortunately, at the moment – this is a dream.
– In the foreseeable future, new rivals could appear? Maybe the Chinese team?
– Undoubtedly, they can, but the same China participates in the World Cup. In one way or another, almost all the teams are involved in the preparation for this tournament. Clearly no one wants to break it. If we agree with one of the opponents, we will immediately announce such a match.
— How do you find the last season of the VTB United League, where UNICS became champions for the first time?
– Crazy semi-finals and final heats. I would like to say thank you to both the UNICS champion and Lokomotiv-Kuban, who surprised everyone, especially the Russian players. The same Sasha Shcherbenev is now one of the main players of the Russian national team and looks great on the field.
– Does the streak for 3rd place between last year’s finalists CSKA and Zenit indicate an increased level of competition?
– Certainly. There has always been competition, but often CSKA snatched a victory at the last moment, sometimes even in sensational fashion. Now, after all, CSKA’s halo of authority has faded, maybe that’s because there are no Euroleague games and the degree has gotten a bit attenuated.
In any case, the season turned out to be excellent and, in addition to the semi-finalists, I would also note the MBA, which started the season superbly and scalped the leaders. Nizhny Novgorod won the Russian Cup this year, and now two new clubs have appeared. I like that the geography of basketball is expanding, and we will be able to see even more Russian players.
– Both seasons, despite the suspension of international competitions, turned out to be surprisingly beautiful and interesting. It turns out that our basketball was able to take some advantage of the current situation?
– Of course, I see more disadvantages, but I also managed to extract the advantages. Because losing the habit of playing on the international court is a huge disadvantage for current basketball players and the young generation. Without a doubt, the sporting level cannot grow in such conditions, but we are trying to find something positive, because there is nothing left.
Now we have a great opportunity to pay attention to Russian basketball and, in particular, to the national national championship.
– Zoran Lukic said that you are in contact with Russian basketball players playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and in Europe. What is the probability that we can see them in the Russian team?
– As soon as we are admitted to international tournaments, we will see them in the national team. Without a doubt, these guys are also our future. In addition to the guys from the NCAA, there is a big diaspora in the Spanish league: Yegor Demin is now on everyone’s radar at Real Madrid, and Vadim Vorontsov plays there in the youth team. Makar Voronin excelled in the youth Euroleague for Barcelona, as did Pavel Savkov of the Basque Country system.
It’s great that a whole cohort of guys are performing at such a level. They just have the opportunity to gain international experience. Therefore, when we come out of this “quarantine”, these guys will also help us.
– You said that FIBA opposes the politicization of sport. After we weren’t allowed to qualify for the Olympics, do you still have your opinion?
– FIBA can be configured in any way, it is more a question for the IOC, since the federations are subordinate to this body, which determines the vector of sports policy. Unfortunately, the IOC is now very exposed to the political agenda and I see no chance of returning to international competitions in the next two or three years. Especially in team sports. This is only my personal subjective opinion.
– Follow the Denver NBA Finals» — “Miami?
– By the way, I don’t watch the matches themselves, but I know the results and the statistics.
— Do you have any preferences for the winner?
I would like Denver to win. I really like the way Jokic plays, he’s a classic, beautiful and smart basketball. I want him to win the title, so nobody wonders how to play that way.
– There are no Russians in the NBA, is it very depressing?
– Such a situation that there was a coronavirus for two years, now there are political events. I don’t think now anyone will consider Russian players as candidates for the NBA.
– How did you react to the fact that Alexei Shved was attacked after losing the match?
It is impossible to answer this well. Of course, this is a terrible situation. It’s frustrating that this can happen in the middle of a beautiful city. But it can happen anywhere: in Moscow, New York, London, Beijing. The question of what to do with this is more for law enforcement agencies. Catching and punishing is not our job.
– How does Alex feel now?
– I don’t communicate so closely to know everything 100%, but from what I know, it’s already better. There are no complications that would affect the career, but again, a head injury is very dangerous. Of course, I would like everything to go well and that there are no consequences from this terrible injury.
The Russian basketball team on Sunday June 11 in Moscow will organize a second friendly match against the team from Belarus. Watch the match broadcast at 2:55 p.m. (Moscow time) on Match! Country” and “Match! Game”, as well as the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru
Source : MatchTV
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