| VTB United League | |
|---|---|
TheVTB Ice Palace inMoscow hosted the Final Four | |
| Season | 2017–18 |
| Games played | 156 |
| Teams | 13 |
| Regular season | |
| EuroLeague | Khimki |
| EuroCup | UNICS Zenit Saint Petersburg Lokomotiv Kuban |
| SeasonMVP | Nando de Colo |
| Finals | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Final Four MVP | Sergio Rodríguez |
| Records | |
| Biggest home win | Lokomotiv Kuban 106–57Enisey (5 May 2018) |
| Biggest away win | VEF 64–104Khimki (9 October 2017) |
| Highest scoring | CSKA 108–100Kalev/Cramo (4 December 2017) Avtodor 98–110CSKA (4 March 2018) |
| Winning streak | 12 games CSKA |
| Losing streak | 7 games Enisey |
| Highest attendance | 7,389 Lokomotiv Kuban 93–78Khimki (21 January 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 350 VEF 82–70Tsmoki (28 January 2018) |
2018–19 → | |
The2017–18VTB United League was the 9th complete season of theVTB United League. It is also the fifth season that the league functions as theRussian domestic first tier level. It started on 5 October 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 10 June 2018 with the championship game of the Final Four.CSKA Moscow were the defending champions.
CSKA Moscow successfully defended its title as it won the final overKhimki.
From this season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. These are played in a best-of-five format with a 1–2–2 structure. The four teams that win their playoff series qualify for theFinal Four tournament, which decides the new champion.[1]
A total of 13 teams from five countries contest the league, including nine sides from Russia, one from Belarus, one from Estonia, one from Kazakhstan and one from Latvia.
| Team | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astana | Tuta | ||
| Avtodor Saratov | Digs | ||
| CSKA Moscow | Nike | Rostelecom | |
| Enisey | Nike | ||
| Kalev/Cramo | Nike | Cramo | |
| Khimki | Adidas | Khimki Group | |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | Under Armour | Russian Railways | |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Nike | T+ Group | |
| Parma | Peak | T+ Group | |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Adidas | ||
| UNICS | Peak | ||
| VEF Rīga | Adidas | ||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | Nike | Nipigas |
In the regular season, teams play against each other twice (home-and-away) in a doubleround-robin format. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. The regular season started on 5 October 2017.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2268 | 1894 | +374 | .917 | Advance toplayoffs | |
| 2 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 2074 | 1829 | +245 | .917 | ||
| 3 | 24 | 17 | 7 | 2036 | 1755 | +281 | .708 | ||
| 4 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 2053 | 2052 | +1 | .667 | ||
| 5 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 2107 | 2104 | +3 | .583 | ||
| 6 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 2038 | 1942 | +96 | .542 | ||
| 7 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 2046 | 2094 | −48 | .417 | ||
| 8 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1864 | 1980 | −116 | .333 | ||
| 9 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1792 | 1982 | −190 | .333 | ||
| 10 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1836 | 1932 | −96 | .292 | ||
| 11 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 1951 | 2086 | −135 | .292 | ||
| 12 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 2030 | 2196 | −166 | .250 | ||
| 13 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 1892 | 2141 | −249 | .250 |
| Home \ Away | AST | SAR | CSK | ENI | KAL | KHI | LOK | NIZ | PAR | TSM | UNI | VEF | ZEN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astana | — | 75–92 | 72–92 | 92–75 | 102–92 | 84–79 | 50–83 | 73–85 | 78–84 | 77–59 | 73–78 | 67–53 | 87–64 |
| Avtodor Saratov | 92–86 | — | 98–110 | 102–83 | 82–77 | 104–92 | 77–110 | 84–75 | 82–87 | 104–82 | 78–80 | 89–84 | 92–107 |
| CSKA Moscow | 79–63 | 93–66 | — | 108–73 | 108–100 | 90–71 | 79–90 | 97–80 | 101–94 | 90–54 | 80–63 | 94–69 | 100–84 |
| Enisey | 90–76 | 83–88 | 72–87 | — | 88–91 | 84–89 | 49–75 | 98–90 | 96–77 | 91–80 | 89–93 | 68–75 | 84–104 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 83–73 | 95–89 | 95–105 | 97–88 | — | 92–84 | 62–88 | 97–103 | 74–76 | 80–85 | 67–75 | 98–94 | 89–95 |
| Khimki | 72–71 | 88–75 | 81–96 | 92–62 | 96–85 | — | 83–90 | 90–87 | 90–87 | 83–55 | 80–83 | 73–77 | 66–76 |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 79–78 | 90–93 | 75–78 | 106–57 | 95–62 | 93–78 | — | 94–64 | 94–64 | 67–56 | 67–77 | 83–70 | 87–84 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 79–78 | 84–82 | 90–104 | 79–85 | 103–85 | 79–82 | 92–86 | — | 73–88 | 82–91 | 89–91 | 80–64 | 100–90 |
| Parma | 84–90 | 94–96 | 76–111 | 96–73 | 104–84 | 69–106 | 73–86 | 80–82 | — | 81–88 | 81–88 | 87–69 | 94–99 |
| Tsmoki Minsk | 75–66 | 82–85 | 83–93 | 74–88 | 87–84 | 79–82 | 88–84 | 70–78 | 66–65 | — | 65–91 | 84–77 | 81–82 |
| UNICS | 90–75 | 89–82 | 75–88 | 91–76 | 104–78 | 80–79 | 93–65 | 99–93 | 84–70 | 87–62 | — | 89–81 | 94–60 |
| VEF Rīga | 89–77 | 79–82 | 83–102 | 94–67 | 87–83 | 64–104 | 69–71 | 94–90 | 78–67 | 82–70 | 69–81 | — | 80–90 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 84–73 | 79–93 | 87–83 | 85–73 | 85–80 | 80–98 | 79–78 | 92–89 | 98–73 | 83–76 | 82–99 | 84–83 | — |
In theplayoffs, a best-of-five games format is used. The team that wins the series will be the first team to win three games. The first game will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams, the second and third game will be played on the playing court of the next four highest-place teams and the fourth and fifth game, if necessary, will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams. The playoffs started on 23 May 2018.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSKA Moscow | 3–0 | 112–83 | 100–80 | 99–73 | |||
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | 3–0 | 91–80 | 79–73 | 90–78 | |||
| UNICS | 3–1 | 84–66 | 74–77 | 95–94 | 101–86 | ||
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 0–3 | 66–79 | 72–77 | 73–86 |
The four winners of the quarterfinals qualified for the inaugural Final Four. The Final Four will be held from 8 until 10 June. In April 2018, it was announced that theVTB Ice Palace inMoscow, Russia will host the tournament.[14]
The four winners of the play-offs during the 2017–18 season qualified for the Final Four. The tournament will be hosted between 8 June and 10 June 2018.[15]
The last final four was held in 2012, as the league was decided through playoff series in the previous years.Khimki, the runners-up of the Final Four, qualified for the2018–19 EuroLeague (asCSKA Moscow was already qualified).
| Semifinals | Final | |||||
| 8 June | ||||||
| 84 | ||||||
| 10 June | ||||||
| 67 | ||||||
| 95 | ||||||
| 8 June | ||||||
| 84 | ||||||
| 71 | ||||||
| 76 | ||||||
| Third place game | ||||||
| 10 June | ||||||
| 79 | ||||||
| 93 | ||||||
| 8 June 2018 | CSKA Moscow | 84–67 | Moscow | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:14–10,30–20,19–11, 21–26 | ||||
| Pts:Rodríguez 21 Rebs:Clyburn 5 Asts:Rodríguez 5 Eff:Rodríguez 29 | Boxscore | Pts:Harper 16 Rebs:Harper 7 Asts:Harper 4 Eff:Harper 18 | Arena:VTB Ice Palace Attendance: 5,700 Referees: Sreten Radović (CRO), Jakub Zamojski (POL), Alexey Davydov (RUS) | ||
| 8 June 2018 | UNICS | 71–76 | Moscow | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 14–15,15–14, 24–24 | ||||
| Pts:Smith 23 Rebs:Lasme 12 Asts:Smith 4 Eff:Lasme,Smith 22 | Boxscore | Pts:Shved 36 Rebs:Thomas 8 Asts:Shved 5 Eff:Shved 24 | Arena:VTB Ice Palace Attendance: 5,350 Referees: Fernando Rocha (POR),Oļegs Latiševs (LAT), Petri Mäntylä (FIN) | ||
| 10 June 2018 | UNICS | 79–93 | Moscow | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter: 15–26, 26–26, 20–18, 18–23 | ||||
| Pts:Smith 16 Rebs:Ponkrashov 9 Asts:Ponkrashov 4 Eff:three players 18 | Boxscore | Pts:Kuric 29 Rebs:Whittington 7 Asts:Karasev 3 Eff:Kuric 28 | Arena:VTB Ice Palace Attendance: 6,230 Referees: Jakub Zamojski (POL), Robert Vyklický (CZE), Semen Ovinov (RUS) | ||
| 10 June 2018 | CSKA Moscow | 95–84 | Moscow | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 (UTC+3) | Scoring by quarter:27–18,27–23, 25–28,16–15 | ||||
| Pts:Higgins 20 Rebs:Hines 8 Asts:Rodríguez 8 Eff:Hines 22 | Boxscore | Pts:Shved 21 Rebs:Thomas 7 Asts:Shved 9 Eff:Thomas 19 | Arena:VTB Ice Palace Referees: Sreten Radović (CRO), Fernando Rocha (POR),Oļegs Latiševs (LAT) | ||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | 27 | 2 | Qualification toEuroLeague | |
| 2 | 29 | 17 | 12 | ||
| 3 | 29 | 20 | 9 | Qualification toEuroCup | |
| 4 | 30 | 25 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 27 | 17 | 10 | Qualification toEuroCup | |
| 6 | 24 | 14 | 10 | Qualification toChampions League | |
| 7 | 28 | 11 | 17 | ||
| 8 | 27 | 8 | 19 | ||
| 9 | 24 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 10 | 24 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 11 | 24 | 7 | 17 | ||
| 12 | 24 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 13 | 24 | 6 | 18 |
Attendance include playoff games:
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57,499 | 6,254 | 3,517 | 4,792 | −6.3%† | |
| 2 | 58,688 | 7,389 | 2,856 | 4,514 | +3.7%† | |
| 3 | 54,195 | 6,223 | 1,786 | 3,871 | +167.1%† | |
| 4 | 45,304 | 5,670 | 1,780 | 3,485 | −3.0%† | |
| 5 | 38,016 | 5,048 | 1,470 | 2,715 | +2.5%† | |
| 6 | 28,896 | 4,500 | 600 | 2,064 | −5.5%† | |
| 7 | 27,721 | 3,500 | 1,014 | 1,980 | −10.8%† | |
| 8 | 24,905 | 2,598 | 1,078 | 1,779 | +133.8%† | |
| 9 | 14,994 | 1,952 | 734 | 1,250 | +79.3%† | |
| 10 | 13,570 | 1,363 | 851 | 1,131 | +2.3%† | |
| 11 | 13,350 | 2,800 | 600 | 1,113 | −1.7%† | |
| 12 | 10,810 | 3,000 | 400 | 901 | −44.8%† | |
| 13 | 8,100 | 1,500 | 350 | 623 | −22.9%† | |
| League total | 396,048 | 7,389 | 350 | 2,343 | +7.1%† |
Updated to match(es) played on 31 May 2018. Source:VTB United League
| Month | Player | Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | |||
| October | [18] | ||
| November | [19] | ||
| December | [20] | ||
| 2018 | |||
| January | [21] | ||
| February | [22] | ||
| March | [23] | ||
| April | [24] | ||
| May | [25] | ||
| Team | Competition | Progress |
|---|---|---|
| Avtodor Saratov | Champions League | Third qualifying round |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Regular season | |
| CSKA Moscow | EuroLeague | Fourth place |
| Enisey | Champions League | Regular season |
| Kalev/Cramo | Champions League | Second qualifying round |
| Khimki | EuroLeague | Playoffs |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | EuroCup | Runner-up |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Champions League | Second qualifying round |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Quarterfinal | |
| Parma | FIBA Europe Cup | Second qualifying round |
| Tsmoki Minsk | Champions League | Third qualifying round |
| FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 | |
| UNICS | EuroCup | Quarterfinal |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg | EuroCup | Quarterfinal |
Arena Velotrack Capacity: 9270 spectators
DS Kristall Capacity: 5500
USC CSKA named after Alexander Gomelskiy Capacity: 5000 spectators
Arena.Sever Capacity: 4000 spectators
«Saku Suurhall» Capacity: 5500 spectators
Sportscomplex «BCMO» Capacity: 4000 spectators
«Basket-hall» Capacity: 7500 spectators
«Nizhniy Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace» Capacity: 5500 spectators
«Minsk-Arena» Capacity: 15,000 spectators
Basket-Hall Capacity: 7000 spectators
«Arena Riga» Capacity: 12000 spectators
SK Yubileyniy Capacity: 6381 spectators