On May 13, the Russian Super League season ended. Dinamo Vladivostok defeated Khimki near Moscow in four games and became champions of the tournament for the first time in their history. In fact, this is Vladivostok’s fourth triumph in the Super League, but the Moscow Region has never won a gold medal. “Championship” summarizes the final series and analyzes the teams’ future prospects.
For the Primorsky Club, this season was only the third in its history. In the debut championship, the Vladivostok team finished in 13th place, last season they reached the playoffs, but lost to the same Khimki in the first round. This championship brought revenge and a long-awaited victory.
BC Dynamo Vladivostok
Photo: RFB
Dynamo’s main driver on the pitch, of course, was defender Daniil Aksyonov, who joined the team during the season from MBA. He was the leader in scoring not only in the Primorye team, but in the entire league. Later he became the MVP of the playoffs: he added 17.6 points, in addition to 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 11 postseason games.
But still, the star and leader of the club is the president and part-time head coach, Eduard Sandler. He once managed Primorye Spartak, Sakhalin, which led them to victory in the Super League in the 2015/2016 season, as well as the Vostok-65 Club. Many may not know it, but Sandler was Andrei Kirilenko’s only competitor in the 2020 presidential election of the Russian Federation. Eduard Mikhailovich’s humor is also good. After winning the final, he ironically commented on this achievement on his Telegram channel.
Edward Sandler
President and coach of Dynamo Vladivostok
“Winning the Russian Championship without a single bribe to the judges is phenomenal.”
The final series began in the Moscow region. The hosts took the first game, but in the second Dynamo defeated the Khimki team, breaking their streak of 20 consecutive victories at home. The Primorye team played the next two matches on its own field and lifted the championship cup in front of its home fans. Previously, Spartak-Primorye won gold medals three times: in the 2004/2005, 2010/2011 and 2017/2018 seasons. Now Vladivostok has four victories in the Super League, the same number as Yekaterinburg, where Ural and Uralmash each won two titles.
Dynamo and Khimki players
Photo: BC Dynamo Vladivostok
Whats Next? VTB League? Not everything is so simple.
There is one of the main misconceptions of many fans that needs to be dispelled: the VTB United League is not under the management of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF). This is an independent international tournament with its own leadership. But the Super League exists under the authority of the RFB and is the strongest men’s tournament within the federation.
The Russian Cup is also supervised by the RBF: clubs from the United Russian League participate at their own request. What is the difference between the Super League and the VTB League? Almost everything: the level of the teams and salaries, the attendance. In addition, Super League clubs have the right to sign only two foreign players, but not all of them use this option. And most importantly: there is no “elevator” between leagues. That is, if you are the winner of the Super League, this does not mean that you will be promoted to the United League, respectively, and vice versa: the worst teams in the VTB League do not go to the Super League.
During the offseason, any team can apply to join the United League, and tournament management will review it and make a decision. In the last two seasons, four teams have moved from the Super League to the VTB league: MBA, Samara, Runa and Uralmash. Will Dynamo or Khimki make it? The question is rhetorical.
In February, the general director of the United League, Ilona Korstin, publicly stated that at the moment not a single Super League team meets the requirements of the VTB League regulations. In April, the president of the international tournament, Sergei Kushchenko, responding to a question about Khimki’s possible entry into the United League, said that this was excluded. According to him, the club had already “caused too much damage to the reputation of the league.” There were no such categorical positions regarding Dynamo, but at the moment there are also no signs that the Primorye team will join the United League.
Even more opinions of the author can be found on his Telegram channel: “Black on Orange”.
