By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow won its 8th VTB League title by sweeping its way through the postseason and imposing its rule in the Finals vs Khimki Moscow. However there were also some other clubs that can be considered “successful” in regards to achieving the goals they set when the season began.
Actually lifting the trophy wasn’t the only cause for celebration since there were other rewards up for grabs. And don’t forget that even a qualification to the playoffs meant much for teams that had rarely (if not ever) tasted that flavor before.
CSKA Moscow – The Champion
The regular season was characterized by pretty much a sheer dominance by CSKA Moscow that reached the playoffs on first seed and carrying absolute home court advantage. Following a sweep over Astana in the first round, they took a break from their VTB obligations for the EuroLeague Final Four. While they failed to defend their title in Istanbul, there still some job to be done back home. And this time, the goal of the “Army Men” wasn’t simply to win the VTB League championship once more, but also accomplish this in the most emphatic manner imaginable.
Lokomotiv Kuban went down 3-0, albeit not easily in the first two games but the finals were a monologue for Dimitris Itoudis, Nando De Colo, Milos Teodosic and co: Another sweep, this time against Khimki Moscow with an average margin of 16 points in the three games of the title series. A number that could have been much bigger.
Goal Reached? Yes
The season couldn’t have gone better for CSKA Moscow that reacted in style following the elimination in the EuroLeague semifinal by Olympiacos. They played excellent basketball, particularly in the Finals, showing why there were levels above the other teams in the league.
Khimki Moscow – The “We’re back in EuroLeague so we can’t complain”
Since the beginning of the season the target for Khimki was first and foremost to return to EuroLeague. Two doors were leading back to the continent’s elite: A) Winning the EuroCup , or B) Advancing to the VTB Finals (given that CSKA was the other finalist). While Khimki had some ups and downs during the regular season it managed to finish third, thus avoiding a possible match-up with CSKA in the semis and rolled the dice for a EuroLeague ticket against Zenit St. Petersburg. Minus home-court advantage.
With Alexey Shved leading the charge and Earl Rowland providing key assistance in clutch moments, Khimki came back from a 0-2 deficit in the series and won the decisive Game 5 on the road getting back to EuroLeague after 2015/2016. The last taste left left in the Finals against CSKA wasn’t particularly pretty, since Khimki players weren’t even competitive against the champions-to-be, as if all their juice ran out in the semis. Still, “Mission EuroLeague” was accomplished.
Goal Reached? Yes
Khimki Moscow is back in EuroLeague and this can be considered a success.
Zenit St. Petersburg – The “Close but no Cigar”
Like Khimki and by walking similar paths towards this target, Zenit craved for a EuroLeague golden ticket more than Charlie in the Willy Wonka films. During the season, coach Karasev’s guys played such an attractive, fun to watch and, most importantly, game-winning (21-3, second place in the standings) basketball that they gave you the idea that they can go until the end of the road indeed. That they would join the EuroLeague for the first time in the history of the franchise.
Alas, the wasn’t the case in the end. While all odds were in their favor against Khimki in the semifinals where they kicked in with a 2-0 entrance, they lost three games in the row and were eliminated. In the decisive Game 5 they lacked leadership, character and someone to simply lift them up in crucial moments.
Goal Reached? No
No EuroLeague, no party.
Lokomotiv Kuban – The Locomotive crashed on the “Army Men”
The arrival of Sasa Obradovic heralded a new day dawning for Lokomotiv Kuban following a rocky start in both VTB and EuroCup. With the Serbian’s coach signature, Loko splashed for a 13-game winning streak that was finished around mid-February by CSKA Moscow. Still, the Krasnodar squad failed to make the most out of the 15-2 season entrance and two key defeats at home (by Khimki and Zenit) forced them to complete the regular season at the fourth seed. Straight into the hands of CSKA in the semifinals where they were overpowered 0-3.
Goal Reached? No
Like Khimki Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg, Loko sought to gain entrance in next season’s EuroLeague. And that didn’t happen.
Unics Kazan – Paying for Regular Season sins
On one hand the new and highly demanding EuroLeague format. On the other, a VTB League that is getting more competitive and qualitative with every passing year. While Unics Kazan started the season with a 10-1 record and earning favorite status for the second seed, they’d soon look like they were biting more than they could chew.
Fatigue and injuries of key players (Keith Langford, Quino Colom, Artsiom Parakhouski) caught up with them and the beginning of 2017 was pretty much a nightmare: A 2-7 negative record that set them on a path that ultimately threw them below the fourth place in the standings.
Goal Reached? No
The clash with Lokomotiv Kuban was perhaps the most anticipated battle of the first round of the playoffs. Unics stormed in the series with a 62 – 71 road win but everything went downhill from there. Coach Pashutin’s players failed to even win one game at home and return to Kazan thus suffering an early elimination.
Enisey – Competitive among monsters
Somewhere in the heart of Siberia and the city of Krasnoyark, coach Oleg Okulov built a very athletic, tough-to-beat team that became the most successful version of Enisey in the club’s VTB League ventures. Thanks to an almost impeccable 8-1 record that spanned from February to mid April and included victories against EuroLeague-caliber squads such as Unics Kazan, Enisey managed to advance to the playoffs for the first time in the history of the franchise.
Goal Reached? Yes
A first-time achievement in such a difficult league is always a success. Enisey reached its ceiling with the 6th seed considering that all teams that finished higher in the standings are bona fide league powerhouses.
VEF Riga – Homegrown Brew
The club invested on domestic talent and it paid off. With a veteran like Janis Blums providing leadership on ( 16.7 points per game, 3.1 assists, 2.5 rebounds) and off the court and other Latvian guys acting as lieutenants (Martins Meiers, Mareks Mejeris), VEF Riga completed the regular season at the seventh spot and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and second overall in the history of the competition.
Goal Reached? Yes
Riga knew that making the postseason would be a reason enough to celebrate. Even though Zenit was superior, roster and quality-wise, the Latvians were a tough nut to crack in the first two matches of the quarterfinals. With their energy spent, they were overwhelmed in Game 3 but that didn’t alter the fact that they went down with a fight.
Astana – The Overachiever
When coach Ilias Papatheodorou was called to take over the helm of Astana he decided to bring on board some guys he knew very well and trusted implicitly to do his bidding. With Rob Lowery (who he coached in Greek team Kifissia) and Ian Miller assigned to do damage from the perimeter, Ousman Krubally acquired to control air traffic, Dimitris Katsivelis and Leonidas Kaselakis as valuable complementary pieces, the Kazakh team won 8th seed and a ticket to the playoffs.
Goal Reached? Yes
2016/2017 marked a major improvement in comparison with what happened last year where Astana had finished… 15th. While the club had participated in the playoffs before (in 2013, with a different format and 16 teams in the playoffs) it never managed to play in the quarterfinals. While no surprises took place there and Astana was swept by CSKA, the target set prior to the season was absolutely reached.