The VTB United League (Russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league can also be named the Russian national champions.[citation needed] The league is sponsored by Russian state-owned VTB Bank. In 2009 CSKA Moscow won VTB United League Promo-Cup, but this competition does not count as official VTB title. CSKA has dominated the league, having won majority of titles its existence. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, the VTB United Youth League.
 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2009–10 |
| Country | Russia |
| Other club(s) from | Kazakhstan |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe FIBA Asia |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Russian Cup |
| Supercup | VTB League Supercup |
| International cup(s) | EuroLeague (suspended) EuroCup (suspended) Champions League (suspended) Europe Cup (suspended) West Asia Super League |
| Current champions | CSKA Moscow (11th title) |
| Most championships | CSKA Moscow (11 titles) |
| Website | vtb-league |
 2023–24 | |
History
editThe first step in the creation of the league was a competition named the VTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December 2009.[1] The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2009, and was won by CSKA Moscow, who defeated Khimki 70–66. Kyiv ended third.[2]
Unification with the Russian PBL
editIn May 2012, all the PBL clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League.[3][4][5]
In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games.[6] The first tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season.[citation needed]
The VTB United League was recognized by FIBA Europe in September 2013.[7][8] The league was then officially recognized by FIBA World in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones.[citation needed]
The honorary head of the league is Sergei Ivanov and its official sponsor is Pavel Vrublevsky of ChronoPay.[9][10][11]
Formats
editIn its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus, Finland, and Poland were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured 18 teams, with new teams being added from the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.[12] In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams from Lithuania and Ukraine dropped out of the league.
During the 2021–22 season, ten teams were left to compete after the Polish and Estonian clubs withdrew from the league in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]
Arena rules
editIn order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.[14]
Team appearances
edit| Team | 2008 (8) |
09–10 (8) |
10–11 (12) |
11–12 (18) |
12–13 (20) |
13–14 (20) |
14–15 (16) |
15–16 (16) |
16–17 (13) |
17–18 (13) |
18–19 (14) |
19–20 (13) |
20–21 (13) |
21–22 (12) |
22–23 (12) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tsmoki-Minsk |
GS | GS | GS | GS | 14th | 12th | 12th | 9th | 14th | (13th) | 13th | 9th | 12th | ||
 Nymburk |
GS | GS | GS | 15th | QF | ||||||||||
 Kalev/Cramo |
GS | GS | GS | GS | 9th | 14th | 11th | 12th | QF | (8th) | 10th | Ret | |||
 Bisons Loimaa |
13th | 13th | |||||||||||||
| Espoon Honka |
GS | ||||||||||||||
| Torpan Pojat |
QR | ||||||||||||||
 VITA Tbilisi |
16th | ||||||||||||||
 Astana |
1/8 | 1/8 | QF | 15th | QF | 10th | QF | (9th) | 12th | 10th | 11th | ||||
 ASK Rīga |
7th | ||||||||||||||
| VEF Rīga |
GS | GS | QF | GS | GS | 11th | QF | QF | 10th | ||||||
 Lietuvos rytas |
GS | 3rd | GS | SF | |||||||||||
| Neptūnas |
GS | GS | |||||||||||||
| Šiauliai |
QR | ||||||||||||||
| Žalgiris |
5th | 3rd | 1/8 | 1/8 | 3rd | ||||||||||
 Anwil |
QR | ||||||||||||||
| Prokom |
8th | GS | GS | ||||||||||||
| Turów |
GS | GS | |||||||||||||
| Zielona Góra |
12th | (7th) | QF | Ret | |||||||||||
 Avtodor |
QF | QF | 10th | QF | 11th | (12th) | 9th | QF | QF | ||||||
| CSKA |
1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | (2nd) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Dynamo |
4th | ||||||||||||||
| Enisey |
GS | GS | 1/8 | 11th | 10th | QF | 13th | 9th | (11th) | 11th | QF | 9th | |||
| Khimki |
2nd | 4th | 1st | QF | 4th | QF | 2nd | SF | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | (1st) | QF | ||
| Krasny Oktyabr |
1/8 | 12th | 9th | ||||||||||||
| Krasnye Krylia |
GS | QF | QF | 16th | |||||||||||
| Lokomotiv Kuban |
4th | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | SF | QF | QF | (3rd) | SF | 4th | 2nd | |||
| Nizhny Novgorod |
1/8 | QF | 2nd | SF | QF | 9th | QF | QF | (10th) | QF | QF | QF | |||
| Parma |
13th | 11th | 13th | (5th) | QF | QF | QF | ||||||||
| Spartak |
QF | 1/8 | 1/8 | ||||||||||||
| Triumph |
1/8 | QF | |||||||||||||
| UNICS |
2nd | 3rd | 2nd | QF | SF | QF | 2nd | QF | 4th | SF | (4th) | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | |
| Zenit |
QF | SF | SF | 3rd | SF | (6th) | SF | 1st | 2nd | ||||||
 Azovmash |
6th | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | |||||||||
| Budivelnyk |
GS | ||||||||||||||
| Dnipro |
GS | QR | |||||||||||||
| Donetsk |
GS | 1/8 | GS | ||||||||||||
| Kyiv |
3rd |
Results
edit| VTB United League Promo-Cup |
2008 tournament does not count as official VTB title.
Titles by club
edit| Club | Champions | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow | 11 | 2 | 2010, 2012-19, 2021, 2024 |
| Khimki | 1 | 4 | 2011 |
| UNICS | 1 | 5 | 2023 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 1 | 0 | 2022 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0 | 2 | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 0 | 1 |
Abroad competitions
editMajor awards
editAwards by nationality
editStatistical awards
editRecords
editSponsorship
editAndrey Kostin's VTB Bank has been a long-term league sponsor. However, it recorded losses of connected to other sponsorships (FC Dynamo Moscow and HC Dynamo Moscow) and contributions to charities. This led to the Bank of Moscow joining as main sponsor.[15]
Predecessor leagues
edit- USSR Premier League: (1923–1992)
- Russian Super League 1 (1st-tier): (1992–2010)
- Russian Professional League: (2010–2013)
See also
edit- Russian Professional Championship: (1991–present)
- Russian Professional League: (2010–2013)
- Russian Super League 1: (1992–present)
- Russian Cup: (1999–present)
- USSR Cup: (1949–1987)
- Russian basketball league system
- Basketball in Russia
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League
- Belarusian Premier League
- Kazakhstan Championship
References
edit- ^ "About League". vtb-league.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
- ^ "PROMO-CUP: CSKA WIN". Sport Express. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
- ^ 20 clubs will play in VTB United League championship in seasone-2012/13 Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, vtb-league.com, May 20, 2012
- ^ "PBL looks to a better future". ULEB. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Triumph applied an application to participate in the new season of VTB United League Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine, May 20, 2012, vtb-league.com
- ^ BEKO PBL Press service. "BEKO PBL Board suggests scheme of 2012/2013 season". pbleague.ru. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ VTB League Officially Recognised.
- ^ "FIBA Europe officially recognizes VTB United League". Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
- ^ Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России Беглый Украинский ехс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer found refuge: What the runaway Ukrainian ex-duputy Shepelev seeks in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России беглый Украинский экс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer has taken refuge: What the fugitive Ukrainian ex-deputy Shepelev is looking for in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Врублевский: ЕЛ ВТБ — это возрождение баскетбола в России" [Vrublevsky: EL VTB is the revival of basketball in Russia]. championat.com (in Russian). 29 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "New clubs in the VTB United League". VTB United League. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "Zielona Gora joins Kalev/Cramo in departing the VTB United League". eurohoops.net. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Krasnye Krylia not to compete in VTB United League next season". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- ^ Воронова, Татьяна (Voronova, Tatiana); Еремина, Анна (Eremina, Anna); Казакулова, Галина (Kazakulova, Galina) (16 April 2015). "Убытки – не помеха для благотворительности ВТБ: В I квартале 2015 года госбанк получил 5 млрд рублей убытка и при этом 15,5 млрд рублей потратил на благотворительность" [Losses are not a hindrance to VTB's charity: In the first quarter of 2015, the state bank received 5 billion rubles in losses and at the same time spent 15.5 billion rubles on charity]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)