Russian League shows its teeth

NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen’s Women’s Basketball Worldwide) - There’s always much debate within the women’s basketball family as to which is the best domestic league. The answer for many is obviously the WNBA, and particularly since EuroLeague Women is taken out of the equation with it not falling neatly into the category of being a domestic league.

The Russian league is one of the next strongest, and it’s been interesting of late to note how the traditional powerhouse duo of Sparta&K M.R. Vidnoje and UMMC Ekaterinburg could potentially find their dominance more difficult to sustain with a number of other teams trying to plug the gulf in class.

Yes, the chasing pack has lifted its collective game considerably, and is now a more potent threat which is making the Russian League incredibly intense and competitive. Just recently, Sparta&K MR. Vidnoje lost successive league games and because they are such an illustrious club, this was (whether they liked it or not) particularly newsworthy. It also highlighted the increasing danger posed by other Russian clubs.

These include Nadezhda who are potential EuroLeague Women Final Eight candidates and Dynamo Kursk who has a start-studded roster and remain favourites to retain the EuroCup Women title they won last season. In fact they are still unbeaten this season.

Dynamo Moscow meanwhile has a string of Russian national team players such as Ilona Korstin, Svetlana Abrosimova, Tatiana Vidmer and Nadezhda Grishaeva to call upon.

Then, even just below this primary chasing pack are the likes of Dynamo-GUVD, a mid to lower ranking club that has relied on their Russian core of Natalia Myasoedova and rising stars such as Tatiana Petrushina and Anastasiya Shilova. This season however, they have boosted their talent levels further by welcoming imports Yvonne Turner and Sidney Spencer.

The all-round strength of the Russian League this season is something that even new UMMC Ekaterinburg head coach Olaf Lange has noticed. Although as you might expect, there’s only one team Ekat looks out for on the season schedule.

“Yes, I wholeheartedly agree,” he said.

“The Russian League is one of the best domestic leagues, and I am excited to be able to experience it first hand.

“Rivalries really make our sport special as they bring out the best in everyone and this one is no different!

“I am certainly looking forward to a lot of battles with Sparta&K!”

Sparta&K is perhaps the most interesting case of all. With a still large but undeniably reduced budget from a few years ago, it is evolving its approach with impressive pace and results.

For in addition to signing stellar talent such as Candice Dupree, Seimone Augustus and Becky Hammon to name but a few, it has also poured resources into the development of younger players, both Russian as well as the signing the very best from around Europe – including Nika Baric and Emma Meesseman, both FIBA Europe Young Player Of The Year winners.

They have been loaning out some of those players with terrific success - national team centre Natalia Vieru being a prime example. She has been in fine form since she returned from her spell last season at Good Angels Kosice. It’s a smart and shrewd strategy by Sparta&K as they try to retain their place at the head of the top table but also contribute to developing the national team with their strategy.

General Manager Steve Costalas explained: “During the first years of Sparta&K Vidnoje, Shabtai von Kalmanovich built a unique farm system just as he had done in Kaunas and till today we have already seen some of the products of this farm system.

“Forty percent of our annual budget is dedicated to our youth teams and our farm system. I really do not know of many (if any) other club that does the same.

“Anna Arkhipova von Kalmanovic is also working based on this philosophy and now we are proud to say that just this summer gone, 11 Sparta&K players played in a total of four Russian women teams.

“Natalia (Vieru) has been with us since she was 16 years old and after loaning her for a year to Kosice, we are expecting her to do what she knows so well.

“This season we decided to loan Ksenia Tikhonenko to another Euroleague team (Municipal Targoviste) which is a class organization with a very good coach (George Dikeoulakos) and we are waiting for her to return more experienced and mature.”

“At the same time joining the first team this season will be Galina Kiseleva and Darya Namok who both this past summer were instrumental in Russia reaching the Final at the U20 European Championship Women.

“We hope they will improve by practicing everyday with some of the best players in the world as well as by fighting for some quality playing time.

The family atmosphere at Sparta&K and the seemingly perfect fusion of youth and experience is set for a stern challenge this season, and it will be fascinating to see if both they, and their fellow heavyweights Ekat, can continue to slug it out.

Or, whether a new challenger can emerge and land a telling sucker-punch in the race for silverware in what is a deliciously intense and competitive Russian League.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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