Astana is demonstrating its class. The top team in Kazakhstan had its budget reduced significantly in the offseason and almost all the foreign players left. Not surprisingly, experts wrote off Astana’s chances this season, but the team has surprised, starting the new season in the VTB United League on a roll.
– Yes, in comparison to last season, at the beginning of this VTB United League campaign, we are playing much better, – says 1988 Seoul Olympic champion, PBK Astana general manager Valery Tikhonenko. Why is that? First of all, we were able to really bring the foreign and Kazakh players together from the very start. Second, we probably got a little lucky playing tough teams in our first three games. We beat Avtodor Saratov at home (83-78). To be honest, the Russian club didn’t have several key players for the game in Astana. But that doesn’t matter now.
Then we had two competitive games with UNICS Kazan (84-68) and CSKA Moscow (92-76). We lost both games, but they gave our guys confidence. We’ve played nine games in the VTB United League and won five of them. Our team is in 6th place in the standings. I think that’s an outstanding result for the Astana president’s sports club.
– Is it fair to say the players have been dialed in since the start of the season?
– Of course, we are trying to encourage a winning attitude. Every new win gives the guys an emotional high that helps them compete with more experienced opponents. I really hope we won’t slip and are able to play consistently over the course of the entire season.
– What goal did you set for the team at the start of the season?
– We really did have a serious budget cut. For that reason, almost all the foreign players left the team in the offseason. But we managed to preserve our Kazakh core. We added several talented foreign players. Despite early struggles, we’ve been able to put together a very competitive team. The guys have one goal: finishing no worse than 8th at the end of the regular season and advancing to the playoffs. If you recall, last season we didn’t reach our goal. Astana finished in 15th place in the 2015-16 season.
This year, there are 13 teams in the VTB United League from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Estonia and Latvia. Advancing to the second round isn’t that easy. I hope that our team can reach its goal this time.
– Does PBC Astana plan to bring in any reinforcements during the season?
– We simply don’t have the budget for it. Our goal right now is to keep the players we have. As far as adding Kazakh players, in my opinion, Astana has the best of the best right now.
– Astana recently celebrated its five-year anniversary. Do you think that basketball has seen a rise in popularity in the country and in the capital?
– Of course, there is progress. First of all, PBC Astana is essentially doing the job of a “locomotive,” carrying basketball in our republic forward. I have to admit, some people like it, others don’t. But it’s a fact and you can’t deny it. Thanks to Astana’s popularity, basketball is getting attention from other regions. Our club is the target for all the teams in the national league and Kazakhstan’s higher division. My opinion is that as long as Kazakhstan has PBC Astana, basketball is alive in the country.
As for developing the sport, we opened a children’s basketball academy in the capital this year. We’ve almost completed our selection process. But the guys keep coming. We decided that we wouldn’t refuse any talented boys and continue to accept them. PBC Astana has signed an agreement of cooperation with Nazarbayev University and the academy has begun functioning on the institution’s premises.
As of today, we are trying to create three youth divisions at various ages: 8-10, 10-12 and 12-14. Parents sometimes bring us seven-year-old kids. Even though they aren’t old enough, we don’t refuse them. Every child is important to us.
To work with our guys, we invited an experienced Serbian coach, who’s spent many long years in European youth basketball. There were several foreign coaches competing for the job. Our main requirement was knowing Russian so that there wouldn’t be any barriers in the teaching process. We gave him two young Kazakh coaches, so they can be exposed to modern European experience.
– There are only three clubs in the Kazakhstan National Basketball League: Astana, Barsy Atyrau and Kaspy. You are the cream of the crop, having won all eight games and practically guaranteed a 1st-place finish. Do you think this type of league should be seen as legitimate?
– I recently spoke with a very influential person in basketball. He said, and I completely agree with him, that we need at least five teams to compete in our national league. I think that there’s no reason Kazakhstan couldn’t have five teams. Almaty, Kostanai, Kapshagai are all cities with interesting teams. They need to play at the highest level of republican basketball, and not pursue more local goals. We have one goal: working together to develop basketball in the country.
Source: PBC Astana website
