After fans and media voting, the VTB United League announced the players, who recieved wild cards for the All-Star Game, which will be on February 20 at VTB Arena in Moscow.
CSKA forward Nikita Kurbanov and Nizhny Novgorod center Sergey Toropov were invited to join the Russian Stars.
Isaiah Canaan (UNICS) and Daniel Hackett (CSKA) have been selected to the World Stars.
You can buy a ticket on the website https://tickets.vtb-league.com/.
Ilona Korstin, the General Manager of the League :
– There are a lot of players in the VTB League who are worthy playing in the the All-Star Game, so it was very difficult to make wild card decisions this year.
Nikita Kurbanov is one of the best Russian players and a League record holder. CSKA forward was the first to play 300 games in our League — this is a significant achievement, and we are very much looking forward to Nikita at the All-Star Game.
Sergey Toropov made a bright debut for the Russian National Team this season, scoring 17 points in his first game, and is also the 2nd most effective player in Nizhny Novgorod. It will be interesting to see how the player, who continues to progress at the age of 32, will prove at the All-Star Game.
There are many bright players among the contenders to get into the World Stars, but even among them Isaiah Canaan stands out. This season, the guard has reached a new level in the VTB League and in the Euroleague, distinguished primarily by his confidence. The fans will appreciate his talent.
Daniel Hackett, who is spending his 4th season in the League, became one of the leaders of CSKA in the last playoffs, became the MVP of the Playoffs and helped the team win the championship. This year, the Italian guard also has the opportunity to show his leadership skills and charisma already at the All-Star Game.
Final teams’ rosters:
Russian Stars: Ivan Strebkov (Nizhny Novgorod), Dmitry Kulagin (Zenit), Alexey Shved (CSKA), Evgeniy Kolesnikov (Avtodor), Evgeny Voronov (PARMA), Anton Astapkovich (Nizhny Novgorod), Sergey Karasev (Zenit), Andrey Vorontsevich (UNICS), Joel Bolomboy (CSKA), Stanislav Ilnitskiy (Lokomotiv Kuban), Nikita Kurbanov (CSKA), Sergey Toropov (Nizhny Novgorod)
World Stars: Errick McCollum (Lokomotiv Kuban), Billy Baron (Zenit), Kenny Chery (Avtodor), Iffe Lundberg (CSKA), Anthony Hickey (Astana), Mario Hezonja (UNICS), Jordan Mickey (Zenit), Tornike Shengelia (CSKA), Jonathan Motley (Lokomotiv Kuban), John Brown III (UNICS), Daniel Hackett (CSKA), Isaiah Canaan (UNICS)
