“It was important to draw conclusions about how we can react to a stressful situation like the one in Colombia.” Interview with Andrei Kirilenko

The Fonbet Friendship Cup ended on Sunday in Perm. The Russian Basketball Federation had to deal with a force majeure situation and quickly change the tournament schedule: after the devastating defeat of the Colombian national team against Parma, the basketball federation of the South American country unexpectedly announced that it had not sent its team to the tournament, and then it turned out that the Colombians simply did not send the first or even the second team, but they gave their consent to participate, signed by the head of the federation. The fire was extinguished, the situation was resolved and it was possible to play calmly, but not with a team that could not provide adequate competition.

At the same time, the Russian team was able to train fully in two matches with Parma and two with the Venezuelan team. RFB head Andrei Kirilenko spoke about this and much more in an interview with .

“From an organizational point of view, the Perm tournament became a huge challenge for us”

— How do you assess the results of the last tournament? Were all the assigned tasks accomplished?

— An excellent tournament, especially considering what we had to experience during this tournament, reacting quickly both on a sporting and organizational level.

On the sporting side, the Fonbet Friendship Cup also went well, we really got what we wanted: our reserve team received maximum training, advantages, playing time, different game situations and scenarios that played out differently in each match. In some places we were slightly ahead, we had to hold the score, in others we were behind, in others we were facing a well-equipped team.

The head coach of the national team, Zoran Lukic, managed to combine the roster in such a way that the guys who did not have enough playing time, even in their clubs, found themselves on the national team field and showed themselves. Everything went well on this part.

— What can you say about the basketball presented by the Russian team? How satisfied are you with the teamwork of the team at this stage?

– We are very happy. All the matches we play are very close in terms of score and level.

As for our team, we managed to implement what we wanted to work on at this tournament: give more time to young players, promote the reserves. It was absolutely justified: all the guys played and trained well, and in different scenarios. I think it was a great springboard for the coaches to try different things: when you get there, you lose a few points, you have to come back eventually. Or vice versa, when you are in the lead and you have to keep the score a little.

So it’s great, the work continues, we are all happy that the Russian team won, but that was not the goal of the tournament, after all, the main goal was to gain experience and playing time.

— The situation with the Colombian national team has caused a lot of noise. How shocking was it that the Colombians sent such a weak team and at the same time declared that they did not send the team to the tournament?

— Coming back to the interesting incident that happened, I will say that it was important for us, as an organizing team, to draw conclusions about how we can react to such a stressful situation. And it turned out that we were doing well. Of course, the level of attention was off the charts and we would not have attracted so much interest artificially.

The experience we had during this tournament was crazy. From an organizational point of view, it was a huge challenge for us to try to change the program and regulations during the tournament in accordance with the principles of ensuring equal sporting conditions. I will certainly raise this point at the Central Office: the issue of communication must be worked on and finalized at the level of the international federation.

— We agree that Belenitsky, Chadov, Ogarkov showed themselves very well at the tournament. Who became a discovery for you?

— Belenitsky, Yemchenko and Lopatin lived up to expectations, but they were also key figures in this team. In a good way, Chadov surprised, who became the most valuable player of this tournament. We knew he could play, but here he revealed himself in a slightly different light, as a leader. Although he is a young man, it was in this younger team that he revealed himself as a person who took the game at the right moment, started and really moved the team forward, and therefore made a good impression. Lev Svinin left a great impression as a youngster and he played both for the Russian national team and for his local club, playing for Parma in the last match.

All the young players lived up to expectations, especially Ogarkov, Ermakov, Dulkay, Adaikin and Temirov. It’s good to see the guys progressing and I would like to see more tournaments in this format where you can test the strength of basketball players.

— Did you expect such good preparation from Parma?

— Yes, Parma is well equipped and had enough time to play, although they updated their squad very seriously, almost 80%. The Perm team has two foreign leaders, one of whom, Garrett Nevels, played a crazy game in the Friendship Cup. This is a team that is trying to live up to the expectations of the fans and its history as a club playing in the Russian basketball capital. In addition, the tournament showed how ambitious Parma’s youth is, for whom these games have become an unprecedented experience and have given rise to the desire to run.

“Our ceiling at the moment is the World Cup qualifiers, where 32 teams play”

— How do you find the performance of the Venezuelan national team?

“A team that took a responsible approach to the tournament and also gathered talented and promising players behind whom lies the future of Venezuelan basketball. The team showed a decent fight and the Venezuelan Basketball Federation expressed a desire to continue our cooperation in the next tournaments, which was the subject of a separate meeting in Perm.

— It is clear that we have very few matches now, but still, in your opinion, what is the level of our team? Is it the level of the top 10, the top 20 among the national teams?

— We are now outside the top 20 among national teams. To be there, you need to play regularly with foreign opponents. If you try to guess and really imagine, then our ceiling at the moment, I think, is the World Cup playoffs, where 32 teams play.

— Do you think that if we played on the international stage now, we would reach the Olympic Games? How would you play in Paris?

— I believe that the best should participate in a tournament like the Olympic Games, otherwise the Games will not be sold out. And our athletes had to perform at the best competitions in the same way as athletes from any country. Only then can you be considered an Olympic champion or a world champion – when you beat the best.

It’s difficult to speak in the subjunctive, but we had to qualify for the World Cup first, and I’m convinced we would have played well there. I couldn’t guarantee that we would be at the Olympics, because the competition in Europe is very high. Both the men and women have very strong teams that represent a serious challenge for us, but we are in the same weight category as the others.

— When can we expect the team’s next international matches?

— In November, we plan to hold a team meeting again, but it is not yet known whether there will be fights. I do not see the point, since we do not play official international competitions. In any case, the final decision on this will be made later in cooperation with the technical staff.

“We are used to dealing with crises, whether it is the coronavirus or political pressure”

— When do you think we will return to the international scene?

“Again, there is no point in guessing, but what is really worth it is to stay fit and be ready to return to the Olympic movement and international competitions at any time. This applies to both the women’s and men’s 5×5 and 3×3 basketball teams.

Although we have good relations with our colleagues from FIBA, the global situation does not depend on us. There is always a chance to return, but I consider it unlikely to resume participation in the same Olympic Games in four years. At the same time, most of the leaders I spoke with wish us a quick return both to the Olympic family and to the family of international basketball. We just have to wait until the degree of tension in the political situation decreases.

— You have been at the head of the federation for nine years. How would you assess the results of your work during this period and what do you think about the upcoming elections?

— It is not me who should evaluate, but I can say what these two terms have been for me. They have turned out to be very different. First, we have done the fundamental work – with the structure of the federation, looking for sponsors and staff. The last point is particularly valuable to me: we have formed our “team” – a team of dedicated people aiming for excellent results.

The next term was devoted to building infrastructure. In four years, we launched a large number of projects, ranging from building basketball centres across the country to education, inclusive work and organising various events.

Now that the basic processes have been established, it is time to work with what is most valuable to us: the young generation and coaches. I hope that in the next five years we will be able to work hard to improve the sporting conditions of our reserves across the country, and we have a lot of talent. The plans include a lot of organizational work related to children’s competitions and training of children’s coaches. There is energy, strength, desire and a lot of optimism for this.

We are used to dealing with crises, whether it is coronavirus or political pressure. The main thing is not to stop and draw conclusions from our own mistakes, and they happen because we work and do not stand still.

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Source : MatchTV

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