"Duško's departure is a great loss for everyone!" NBA Europe and EuroLeague: Vatutin says Russians are ready, but...
)
The elite of Russian basketball has gathered in St. Petersburg this weekend for the WINLINE Cup Final Four.
Naturally, Moscow's CSKA is among the participants. They defeated Zenit in the semi-finals and will now face Unics, who overcame Parma, in the championship game.
Andrey Vatutin, president of CSKA and a figure known for his unwavering support of the team regardless of the match's importance or opponent's caliber, is also in St. Petersburg. Ahead of the final, Vatutin spoke to Serbian media, including Sportal, discussing the potential return of Russian clubs to the EuroLeague.
It's a political question. We are ready, ready to return immediately, but it's not in our hands.Andrey Vatutin
The potential arrival of the NBA in Europe is seen by some as a lifeline for basketball on the Old Continent. Vatutin offered his perspective on the entire project.
This is certainly an interesting moment for European basketball. It's a huge opportunity, especially for the EuroLeague, because this is a strong tournament, a big business, but it deserves to be much bigger from a commercial standpoint. This is a very interesting moment for everyone. Let's see how things play out between the EuroLeague and the NBA. One must be smart and act with a lot of patience. We are still EuroLeague shareholders and participate in the entire process.You know better than I do about the business side of European basketball. Who makes money? No club, and that's problem number one for the EuroLeague. This is more or less charity in terms of investment, unfortunately. I hope the EuroLeague and NBA will make a good agreement, and perhaps the situation will improve because basketball deserves much more money.Andrey Vatutin
The Russian executive also spoke about cooperation with Serbia and the significance of holding the Supercup in Belgrade.
It was very important for us to play the Supercup in Belgrade before the start of the season; it was very interesting for us. Great atmosphere, great people, a great tournament. I know that the VTB League has excellent TV ratings in Serbia, which is extremely good for us. We hope to maintain the same level of quality, and I hope you will come to Russia to watch matches and see the quality for yourselves.Andrey Vatutin
Naturally, the CSKA president also spoke about Duško Vujošević, who once coached the Army Men.
A great loss for everyone. Unfortunately, Duško was with CSKA for a very short time, but that means nothing. He is a very good coach and an incredible person with a huge heart. I only have fond memories of him.Andrey Vatutin
Finally, he discussed Luka Mitrović, noting that he believes this is the twentieth consecutive season that at least one Serb has been part of the Moscow giants.
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but in my 20 years at the club, at least one Serb has played for CSKA every year.Andrey Vatutin
His CSKA team will vie for the trophy against Unics in Sunday's final, scheduled for 1 PM.
VIDEO Nwora's monstrous dunk, followed by a three-pointer!
&format=webp)
&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)
,fit(112:112)&format=webp)