Well, not the Moscow one, but still.
The local authorities said they made a huge effort to show FIBA their desire to bring the event to Russia. And they did it well, so well that Basketball Champions League CEO Partick Comninos admitted it was an easy choice.
Do you know what else was an easy choice? To decide to travel to Nizhny to cover this Final Eight for Eurohoops.
Hello, I’m Artem Komarov, a basketball journalist from Russia, and I am your on-site BCL host for the next few days.
There was a time I studied in Nizhny, and I remember the city sports life pretty well. Nizhny is known in Russia for its ice-hockey and football teams, though its basketball team has always deserved much more attention than it used to have.
They always lean on Russian players, and don’t be naive – of course they do it because they can’t afford the foreign roster; but what they do with what they have is enormous. They saved Dmitry Khvostov’s career and showed Semen Antonov to the world, they sent Trey Thompkins to Real Madrid and gave Taylor Rochestie the opportunity he explored so well, and you better sit down now – back in 2014 they qualified for the Euroleague with Antonov as their biggest star.
Hosting the BCL pinnacle event could be a very good promotion for the club and the city, and you can be sure they will take the chance. It is the culmination of the season and we are not going to watch a lot of games held with fans on the arenas, so it looks very promising. Though NN’s general manager Sergey Panov is a little bit concerned about injuries and joking nervously. ‘’Our team was the first one to qualify for the Final Eight, and we play the first game, so we wouldn’t like if we are the first club to leave the competition’’, he said.
Partick Comninos noted that this is his second time in Nizhny. The first one was two years ago when he came to watch a playoff game against Venezia. Well, this is my second time in Nizhny since the BCL was established, too, and what a coincidence – we’ve been here for the exact same game before. Though I have a feeling Partick is secretly following me, it’s my pleasure that he chooses the games that I choose…
Right, games! This one is not professional, but it could tell a little bit about the atmosphere in front of the arena one hour prior to the tip-off between Nizhny and Zaragoza.
Some vibes less than an hour prior to the first quarterfinal game of the #BasketballCL Final Eight ? pic.twitter.com/kLCzy43A0D
— Artem Komarov (@art_basket) May 5, 2021
The atmosphere is great and, in these times, long-forgotten. The decision to bring the Final Eight to the place where fans are partly permitted was a wise one.
Looking at the pre-game tweet do not forget that this arena was never made for basketball. Apart from all the concerts and shows in the world, this is a home of an ice-hockey team with all the consequences – temperature, glass sides, stands, etc. But what Basketball Champions League has made here is nothing but a huge job.
And they managed to get rid of the glass sides! Believe me, this is even bigger.
Long-forgotten atmosphere of the world-class event with fans on the stands. Good job, @BasketballCL ? pic.twitter.com/u2Hy8ENgHL
— Artem Komarov (@art_basket) May 5, 2021
What else is big is the desire fans all over Europe have to follow their favourite teams around the globe. This is something that attracted even before the coronavirus broke into our lives, and now you can just double it.
Or triple it.
Or just admit that there are people the guys on the floor are playing for. And here they are, those people. No idea what exactly they are singing, but it has got to be beautiful.
Hats off to the fans who made it to Russia in corona times. That’s a real desire ? #basketballcl @CasademontZGZ @Eurohoopsnet pic.twitter.com/AHzNGgg32G
— Artem Komarov (@art_basket) May 5, 2021
What is sad about this Final Eight is the fact that the first game had probably the most fans on the stands. After Nizhny Novgorod lost to Zaragoza there are noticeably less people inside the arena.
Dylan Ennis powers Zaragoza to BCL semifinal
Though, when those people are hot Turkish fans you can expect some extra noise, right?
Less fans on the stands is never a problem when it’s Turkish fans ?? #basketballcl @KSKBasket pic.twitter.com/AdFdQSAy9v
— Artem Komarov (@art_basket) May 5, 2021
There was even more noise, I was just afraid to come close. It is no wonder Nymburk did not dare to disappoint the stands.
Karsiyaka beats Nymburk for historic BCL semifinal qualification
I hope you enjoyed my blog today. See you all tomorrow and don’t forget to bring some good mood – it is Basketball Champions League Final Eight time!