The Kuban Cup ended on September 16. Lokomotiv Kuban, Samara, Runa and PARMA participated in the tournament.
In the semifinals, Lokomotiv Kuban defeated Runa (86:69), while Samara was stronger than PARMA (78:72).
In the final Loko left no chance to Samara (94:68), Runa defeated PARMA in the 3rd place game (86:81).
Lokomotiv Kuban got the first trophy of the season. The Krasnodar team forward Okaro White was named MVP of the tournament.
Lokomotiv Kuban head coach Aleksander Sekulic is satisfied with the team’s shape.
«First of all, thank you to everyone who organised this tournament. It was very useful for us to show in front of our fans how we had time to prepare for this moment. I am glad that we played Kuban Cup games with such a positive result. The guys gave a great effort and they deserved to be rewarded with the trophy. It was important for me to see such tightness in defence and concentration in attack. While I was with the Slovenian team at the World Cup, my assistants did a great job. Roman Semerninov, Jurica Zuza, Alejandro Garcia, our new coach Jernej Valentincic, our whole staff – I trust them completely and, as you can see, they do not let me down.
The team was provided with ideal conditions for preparation, so we did everything we planned. This approach helps our work a lot, and I am proud to be part of Loko.
We saved the team? That is very important. Thanks to our management for keeping the players, it was not easy. It is hard to keep the leaders after a successful season. But even during the last playoffs we felt that we had the strength to go all the way to the end. And after losing in the finals, there was a feeling that it was not over. When a player is in such mood, it is easier to negotiate a contract extension with him», Sekulic said.
