Russian basketball, like all domestic sports, continues to live under large-scale sanctions. In an interview with Sport, the head of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF), Andrey Kirilenko, assessed the likelihood of the organization moving to the Asian Basketball Confederation, expressed his attitude to the conditions put forward by the IOC, and also suggested how long sports isolation would last.
— Andrey Gennadyevich, don't you see the problem that there are few foreign clubs left in the VTB United League?
— I don't think there is any problem with that. I do not think that the league has a goal to get rid of foreign teams. If there are foreign clubs, great, but first of all it is the Russian league, so there should be a large number of our teams. Today we have 12 of our teams and two foreign ones. Of course, I would like more foreign teams in terms of their experience, but I understand that the current situation does not allow it.
— The same can probably be said about the number of foreign players in the clubs.
— There are fewer foreigners, but we are attached to the wrong moments. I do not consider this in the context that their number should decrease or increase, I want to have more of our players. This is more a question not for the league, but for clubs and their managers who encourage Russian players. I love that there are teams like MBA, a debutant team that came in and scalped the leaders. Yes, it didn’t win, but it looked organic and competitive. Lokomotiv Kuban reached the final with a roster with an average age of 23, the playoffs were fantastic by Alexander Shcherbenev, Andrey Martyuk, Vladislav Yemchenko, Zakhar Vedischev, Kirill Elatontsev, who was a great substitute.
I congratulated (president of the club) Andrey Vedishchev on the fact that his team constantly has replenishment from the academy. In my opinion, this is the right approach, and there can be no «thorn» in the direction of the league, from which no one requires to reduce the number of legionnaires. This is more a question for clubs. If a club decides to play only foreign players, that's their problem. So, you need to ask the owner of the club, the manager, why this is happening. Do we really not believe in our players?
Practice shows that the Russians know how to play basketball and know how to do it well, you just need to believe in your players and give them opportunities. And the league is just a body that organizes the championship and organizes it at a great level. The last two years have been fantastic. This season I saw not only sports, there are a lot of stories. It all started with a CSKA record, and everyone thought: «Well, here it is again,» then the MBA burst in, which began to clobber everyone, Samara came in, which has a lot of fans, «Nizhny Novgorod» won the Russian Cup, finally, UNICS, which was in the top so much , but without victory — won, deserved. In the middle of the season, we held the All-Star Game at a classy, high level. Very great interest in it, I received several thousand requests for tickets. The plot of the season is based on these moments.
— Let's start with the fact that the VTB United League is a private league, and the conditions it creates can be anything. For example, in our Women's Premier League, we now allow three legionnaires, and we see that in each team there are new leaders among our girls. Yes, they make mistakes, but they learn to take the initiative, they play really good games. strong
— Of course, the format has changed a bit. If earlier we took part in international competitions every year, looking for opportunities to gather the best in order to maximize our experience, now we understand that for at least a year, and potentially for another four or five years, we will not be represented in an international format, so for all cons we have a positive opportunity to play the backbone of the younger guys. We keep veterans in mind if something suddenly appears, but we need to understand what is in the future. And Zoran Lukic (head coach of the Russian men's team — ed.) understands this very well, he focuses on players of a certain age category. Of course, it is very difficult to find sparring matches, but this is a fact that we must come to terms with.
— What are the agreements at the moment?
— In February, we played friendly matches with Serbian teams. In mid-June there will be a game with the Belarusian team, our U-16 youth team went to the Russian-Chinese games, the first games have already been played. The competition is good, that's exactly what we lack, because we need international sparring to gain experience. We are conducting a huge number of negotiations with Asian teams, the same Iran, a participant in the World Cup. But these are only preliminary negotiations, there are no agreements.
— Have there been requests from Russian basketball players to change sports citizenship?
— No, we didn't. Not yet. Maybe they will.
— How do you feel about this opportunity?
— With annoyance, disappointment. Of course, we don't want to lose players. But it's hard for me to blame them now, especially the young ones who want to play in the international arena. We cannot give it to them now. This is always a very complex and delicate issue, you can't treat everyone with the same brush. Everyone has a different life situation, each particular case must be considered individually. But I have not heard of such cases here in the eight years that I have been here (as head of the RSE — ed.). sensitive topic — the requirements of the IOC. They baffle many functionaries and experts.- There should be a clear decision — yes or no. And now it's a hopeless situation. Team sports are definitely without us, a lot is decided in individual sports. Of course, I would like athletes to participate in the Olympic Games and other competitions, but at the moment this is not possible. Visa mechanisms do not work, there will be constant provocations, no doubt. If we take some youth competitions, then I'm not sure that parents will now let their child go somewhere in Europe. Until there is some kind of permission, we need to participate in competitions in the East, where they want to see us. And not where the roads are closed for us.
— Considering this, do you not rule out a transition to the Asian Basketball Confederation?
Not yet, but no one knows. Maybe yes. I would consider such a transition. At least in some temporary format. It's better to play than not to play. Today, I do not see a situation in which we quickly return to European basketball.
— The last time we saw the men's Olympic team at the Games was in 2012.
— Of course, I'm sorry, because in 2022 our young team won against Italy, Iceland and the Netherlands, we had a confident first place in the group. Everything was done with an eye on the World Cup, which will be held in August this year. Potentially, we should have been there. But what happened happened.
—Have you watched the Euroleague Final Four?
—Honestly, I haven't. It's just that I'm not very interested in watching competitions to which I have no connection.
— But what about Yegor Demin?
— Yegor Demin — yes, the «youth team» is super. And not only he, but also Makar Voronin, Barca strengthened him. Parents are always afraid to over-praise, but Egor at the moment is the first prospect, the first talent in Europe. Everything is in his hands, he has a huge amount of work to do. At the moment, he is on the right track, so I would like to wish him to continue in the same spirit. You need to focus on yourself, on your work, on your progress. In addition to Yegor, there are a huge number of our guys who play in Europe, North America. For example, Viktor Lakhin, who played in the NCAA Finals. We are in touch with almost all the guys, and I like that with today's isolation of world basketball, we have 15-20 people who play abroad, who have this experience, who have all the necessary conditions to develop as much as possible.
— Finally, I would like to ask you about Alexei Shved. You keep your finger on the pulse. Are there any positive developments?
— I hope there is no threat to my career. Yes, a very serious injury, a terrible situation. It seems to me that after some time, two or three weeks, he should have a second examination in order to determine whether the tumor has gone. Head injuries are very complex, maybe everything is fine, you smile and jump, but after a week something pressed somewhere … This is a very delicate moment that is better to comment on to doctors. Of course, I would like to wish him the very best, so that his health in three or four weeks will show that he can continue his basketball career. I want to see him healthy on the site.