RUS - All not quiet on the Russian front after shake-ups at UMMC, CSKA

MOSCOW (EuroLeague Women) - Russia women's coach Igor Grudin (pictured) is back in charge of CSKA Moscow, while the club's former boss Gundars Vetra has left and taken the reins of UMMC Ekaterinburg.

In an incredible and unexpected shake-up in Russian women's basketball, two of the most famous clubs on the continent have shaken things up with Ekaterinburg's ex-coach Laurent Buffard now out of a job.

The changes at CSKA have continued a tumultuous season for the team that parted with long-time center and Russia international Maria Stepanova in the middle of the campaign and then nearly went out of business before new owners were found.

Stepanova left the team and joined Ekaterinburg, so she will now be reunited with her former coach Vetra in a bizarre turn of events.

"I didn`t find a common language with the new owners of the CSKA women`s club, despite the fact that I still have excellent ties with "big" CSKA and Sergei Kusenko," Vetra told 'eSports.lv' Tuesday.

"I got an offer from Ekaterinburg before Christmas.

"There were talks about Buffard`s possible departure even before December 14, when CSKA crushed UMMC in Ekaterinburg 73-50.

"The working conditions at UMMC are at a higher level, so I was intrigued and accepted the offer."

Vetra, a Latvian, is familiar with the Ural city.

In the 1986-87 campaign, he began his professional playing career with SKA Sverdlovsk.

He has revealed, meanwhile, that Ekaterinburg will not be adding another USA international to their star-studded ranks - at least not the one a lot of people had been hoping for.

Candace Parker, a USA Olympic gold medal winner last summer at the Beijing Games, was linked with the club.

"Candace will not come to Ekaterinburg as she waits for her first baby," Vetra said.

Maris Noviks
FIBA