2018–19 VTB United League

The 2018–19 VTB United League was the 10th complete season of the VTB United League. It was also the sixth season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. It started in October 2018 with the first round of the regular season and end in June 2019 with the last game of the finals.

VTB United League
Competition details
Season 2018–19
Teams 14
Dates 5 October 2018 – 28 April 2019 (Regular season)
3 May – 10 June 2019 (Playoffs)
Final positions
Champions CSKA Moscow (10th title)
Runners-up Khimki
Third place UNICS
Fourth place Zenit
Awards
MVP Alexey Shved
Playoffs MVP Nikita Kurbanov

CSKA Moscow is the defending champion.

Format changes

From this season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. All series are played in a best-of-five format with a 2–2–1 structure.[1]

Teams

A total of 14 teams from six countries contest the league, including nine sides from Russia, one from Belarus, one from Estonia, one from Kazakhstan, one from Latvia and one from Poland.

Zielona Góra made their debut in the competition.[2] Polish teams returned to the competition four years after.

Venues and locations
Locations of teams in the 2018–19 VTB United League
Team Home city Arena Capacity
AstanaAstanaArena Velotrack9,270[3]
Avtodor SaratovSaratovDS Kristall5,500[4]
CSKA MoscowMoscowUSC CSKA5,000[5]
EniseyKrasnoyarskArena.Sever4,000[6]
Kalev/CramoTallinnSaku Suurhall5,500[7]
KhimkiKhimkiBCMO4,000[8]
Lokomotiv KubanKrasnodarBasket-Hall7,500[9]
Nizhny NovgorodNizhny NovgorodTrade Union Sport Palace5,500[10]
ParmaPermUDS Molot7,000
Tsmoki MinskMinskMinsk-Arena15,000[11]
UNICSKazanBasket-Hall7,000[12]
VEF RīgaRigaArēna Rīga12,000[13]
Zenit Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSK Yubileyniy6,381[14]
Zielona GóraZielona GóraCRS Hall Zielona Góra6,080

Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Kit manufacturer Main front sponsor
Astana Emil Rajković Túta -
Avtodor Saratov Evgeniy Pashutin DiGS-Line -
CSKA Moscow Dimitrios Itoudis Nike Aeroflot
Enisey Oleg Okulov Nike -
Kalev/Cramo Donaldas Kairys Nike Cramo
Khimki Georgios Bartzokas Adidas Gazprom Investholding
Lokomotiv Kuban Saša Obradović Under Armour RZD
Nizhny Novgorod Zoran Lukić Nike T Plus
Parma Nikolajs Mazurs Peak T Plus
Tsmoki Minsk Aliaksandr Krutsikau Adidas Green
UNICS Dimitrios Priftis Peak -
VEF Rīga Jānis Gailītis Adidas VEF
Zenit Saint Petersburg Vasily Karasev Nike Nipigas
Zielona Góra Igor Jovović Spalding Stelmet

Regular season

In the regular season, teams play against each other twice (home-and-away) in a round-robin format.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT Qualification
1 CSKA Moscow 26 22 4 2404 1969 +435 .846 Advance to playoffs
2 UNICS 26 21 5 2190 1945 +245 .808
3 Khimki 26 20 6 2230 1973 +257 .769
4 Lokomotiv Kuban 26 17 9 2171 2004 +167 .654
5 Zenit Saint Petersburg 26 15 11 2300 2180 +120 .577
6 Astana 26 15 11 2239 2169 +70 .577
7 Kalev/Cramo 26 14 12 2342 2275 +67 .538
8 Nizhny Novgorod 26 14 12 2158 2173 −15 .538
9 Enisey 26 11 15 2154 2276 −122 .423
10 VEF Rīga 26 10 16 1962 2134 −172 .385
11 Avtodor Saratov 26 9 17 2379 2478 −99 .346
12 Zielona Góra 26 5 21 2020 2330 −310 .192
13 Parma 26 5 21 2025 2298 −273 .192
14 Tsmoki Minsk 26 4 22 1959 2329 −370 .154
Source: VTB United League

Results
Home \ Away AST AVT CSK ENI KAL KHI LOK NIZ PAR TSM UNI VEF ZEN ZGA
Astana — 100–83 61–86 93–85 105–78 67–76 83–93 83–89 79–71 101–71 79–83 90–77 93–91 84–70
Avtodor Saratov 64–88 — 110–116 106–91 112–109 92–100 95–102 85–91 93–76 95–99 95–111 83–85 95–94 112–106
CSKA Moscow 91–72 110–76 — 101–71 102–75 75–65 70–57 84–78 108–84 119–88 73–83 92–66 83–73 102–78
Enisey 93–84 88–84 66–91 — 80–88 67–99 86–93 92–88 83–78 80–68 78–99 75–67 85–87 109–81
Kalev/Cramo 102–74 102–113 80–85 109–91 — 85–96 81–76 94–84 93–82 108–83 95–107 75–85 96–80 80–77
Khimki 93–80 85–77 73–72 86–94 80–73 — 82–84 80–93 97–63 70–50 78–65 75–51 90–67 100–80
Lokomotiv Kuban 71–90 95–91 76–93 79–67 80–85 83–87 — 78–71 93–75 80–69 77–84 92–63 96–64 73–41
Nizhny Novgorod 85–78 75–98 89–95 79–64 68–82 93–97 75–88 — 100–98 77–70 91–85 93–83 85–83 101–61
Parma 80–85 93–105 69–79 92–88 75–105 70–80 87–95 80–85 — 92–83 68–66 73–78 78–107 72–92
Tsmoki Minsk 86–93 86–93 61–101 73–95 82–95 92–108 66–97 78–87 80–68 — 57–99 91–84 68–79 71–88
UNICS 95–98 76–63 71–68 95–92 76–74 73–58 79–75 89–64 76–82 88–69 — 89–74 74–72 86–66
VEF Rīga 71–93 89–78 80–107 68–70 82–74 67–96 75–71 65–67 76–80 70–66 52–82 — 77–86 83–57
Zenit Saint Petersburg 103–95 103–81 93–86 116–81 100–87 86–82 78–94 103–78 84–76 84–72 74–77 101–102 — 83–71
Zielona Góra 82–91 108–100 74–115 72–83 100–117 74–97 67–73 80–72 88–63 78–80 73–82 78–92 78–109 —
Source: VTB United League
Colours: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

All series are played in a best-of-five series, with a 2–2–1 format.

Bracket
 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
 
          
 
 
 
 
 CSKA Moscow3
 
 
 
 Nizhny Novgorod0
 
 CSKA Moscow3
 
 
 
 Zenit Saint Petersburg0
 
 Lokomotiv Kuban1
 
 
 
 Zenit Saint Petersburg3
 
 CSKA Moscow3
 
 
 
 Khimki0
 
 UNICS3
 
 
 
 Kalev/Cramo0
 
 UNICS1
 
 
 
 Khimki3
 
 Khimki3
 
 
 Astana0
 

Quarterfinals
Team 1 Series Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg4th leg5th leg
CSKA Moscow 3–0 Nizhny Novgorod 87–50 86–66 80–7200
UNICS 3–0 Kalev/Cramo 92–82 108–84 96–8400
Khimki 3–0 Astana 82–59 94–64 88–8100
Lokomotiv Kuban 1–3 Zenit Saint Petersburg 69–78 70–69 78–9485–870

Semifinals
Team 1 Series Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg4th leg5th leg
CSKA Moscow 3–0 Zenit Saint Petersburg 98–82 83–81 69–6800
UNICS 1–3 Khimki 96–91 98–103 64–9191–920

Finals
Team 1 Series Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg 3rd leg4th leg5th leg
CSKA Moscow 3–0 Khimki 106–85 103–92 80–6200

Final table
Pos Team Pld W L Qualification
CSKA Moscow 35 31 4 2019–20 EuroLeague
Khimki 36 26 10
UNICS 33 25 8 2019–20 EuroCup
4 Zenit Saint Petersburg 33 18 15 2019–20 EuroLeague wildcard
5 Lokomotiv Kuban 30 18 12 2019–20 EuroCup
6 Astana 29 15 14
7 Kalev/Cramo 29 14 15
8 Nizhny Novgorod 29 14 15 2019–20 Champions League
9 Enisey 26 11 15 2019–20 FIBA Europe Cup
10 VEF Rīga 26 10 16
11 Avtodor Saratov 26 9 17
12 Zielona Góra 26 5 21
13 Parma 26 5 21
14 Tsmoki Minsk 26 4 22
Source: VTB United League

Awards

Season Awards
Scoring Champion[15]
Young Player of the Year[16]
  • Nikita Mikhailovsky – Avtodor Saratov
Coach of the Year[17]
Sixth Man of the Year[18]
Performance of the Season[19]
Defensive Player of the Year[20]
Regular Season MVP[21]
Playoffs MVP[22]

MVP of the Month
Month Player Team Ref.
2018
October Alexey Shved Khimki[23]
November Nando de Colo CSKA Moscow[24]
December Anthony Clemmons Astana[25]
2019
January Jalen Reynolds Zenit Saint Petersburg[26]
February Pierriá Henry UNICS[27]
March Alexey Shved (2) Khimki[28]
April Arnett Moultrie Kalev/Cramo[29]

VTB League teams in European competitions
TeamCompetitionProgress
CSKA MoscowEuroLeagueChampions
KhimkiRegular season
Lokomotiv KubanEuroCupQuarterfinals
UNICSSemifinals
BC Zenit Saint PetersburgTop 16
Nizhny NovgorodChampions LeagueQuarterfinals
Avtodor SaratovFirst qualifying round
FIBA Europe CupRound of 16
Tsmoki-MinskChampions LeagueFirst qualifying round
FIBA Europe CupRegular season

References
  1. "2018 League Board: New Club, Championship Series Returns". VTB League. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. "Zielona Gora Joins VTB United League In 2018-19". VTB League. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Arena Velotrack Capacity: 9270 spectators
  4. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. DS Kristall Capacity: 5500
  5. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. USC CSKA named after Alexander Gomelskiy Capacity: 5000 spectators
  6. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Arena.Sever Capacity: 4000 spectators
  7. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Saku Suurhall» Capacity: 5500 spectators
  8. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Sportscomplex «BCMO» Capacity: 4000 spectators
  9. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Basket-hall» Capacity: 7500 spectators
  10. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Nizhniy Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace» Capacity: 5500 spectators
  11. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Minsk-Arena» Capacity: 15,000 spectators
  12. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. Basket-Hall Capacity: 7000 spectators
  13. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. «Arena Riga» Capacity: 12000 spectators
  14. "VTB United League". www.vtb-league.com. Retrieved 30 November 2017. SK Yubileyniy Capacity: 6381 spectators
  15. "Alexey Shved Wins 2018-19 Scoring Title". VTB United League. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  16. "Nikita Mikhailovsky Wins Young Player Of The Year". VTB United League. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  17. "Emil Rajkovic Named 2018-19 Coach Of The Year". VTB United League. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  18. "Dorell Wright Named 2018-19 Sixth Man Of The Year". VTB United League. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  19. "Nando De Colo Honored For 2018-19 Performance Of The Season". VTB United League. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  20. "Maurice Ndour Wins Defensive Player Of The Year". VTB United League. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  21. "Alexey Shved Wins Regular Season MVP". VTB United League. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  22. "Nikita Kurbanov Wins Playoffs MVP". VTB United League. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  23. "Alexey Shved Wins October MVP". VTB United League. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  24. "Nando De Colo Wins November MVP". VTB United League. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  25. "Anthony Clemmons Wins December MVP". VTB United League. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  26. "Jalen Reynolds Wins January MVP". VTB United League. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  27. "Pierria Henry Wins February MVP". VTB United League. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  28. "Alexey Shved Wins March MVP". VTB United League. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  29. "Arnett Moultrie Wins April MVP". VTB United League. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
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