| Dynamo Saint Petersburg | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Dissolved | 2006 | ||
| History | Dynamo Saint Petersburg (2004–2006) | ||
| Arena | Yubileyny Sports Palace | ||
| Capacity | 7,700 | ||
| Location | Saint Petersburg,Russia | ||
| Championships | 1FIBA Europe League | ||
BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg was a Russian professionalbasketball club based inSaint Petersburg, that existed for two seasons. The club was founded in 2004 and dissolved in 2006. In the 2004–05 season, the club won theFIBA Europe League.
Dynamo Saint Petersburg was created during the 2004 summer when Vladimir Rodionov, owner ofAvtodor Saratov, transferred Saratov's place in the first-tierRussian Super League to the club, along with some of its best players such asVladimir Veremeenko.[1][2]The club - which had the aim of entering the Super League top four and qualifying for European competitions such as theULEB Cup andEuroLeague - recruited coachDavid Blatt and players likeKelly McCarty,Ed Cota,Ognjen Aškrabić,Jón Stefansson andDavid Bluthenthal (who left after two months).[3][4]It finished the European third-tier2004–05 FIBA Europe League unbeaten to win the competition after downingBC Kyiv in the final with 24 points fromFinal Four MVP McCarty.[4]Domestically the club, at one point second in the league, finished fifth in the regular season before losing in the playoff quarterfinals toBC Khimki, a team they had beaten in the Europe League semifinal.[citation needed]
The 2005–06 season saw a roster overhaul as Blatt left for ItaliansBenetton Treviso,Fotis Katsikaris was brought in to replace him andCota andStefánsson were substituted byJerry McCullough,Damir Miljković and veteranDarryl Middleton.
Defending their title in theFIBA EuroCup (the renamed FIBA Europe League), Dynamo was on the brink of elimination at the second group stage after three defeats in four games.But the Russians rallied to first beatCEZ ČNymburk and thenFenerbahçe by the 3 points needed to squeeze through to the quarterfinals on overall points difference. In the quarterfinals, they easily sweptMaroussi thanks to McCarthy's good form to reach the Final Four again.[5]They could not repeat the previous year's achievement however as they lost their semifinal rematch to Khimki before falling to BC Kyiv in the third place game.
In the Russian Super League, Dynamo beat holdersCSKA Moscow 62–61 in January,[6] and rivals Khimki 81–69 in March,[7] on their way to the second place in the regular season but were again foiled by Khimki in the playoffs, at the semifinals stage.[citation needed]
The club started preparations for the 2006–07 season, nominatingYuri Selikhov as coach to replace the departingFotios Katsikaris,[8] and registering for theULEB Cup, but it unexpectedly withdrew from all competitions and folded on 6 October 2006.Despite announcing a budget of $6 million for 2005–06,[9] Dynamo and its president reportedly made the decision after the city authorities stopped funding the club to the tune of more than $5 million (wanting a merger withSpartak Saint Petersburg). With their other major sponsor (one of the largest banks in Russia) poised to follow, the club used the bankruptcy to get out of its onerous player contracts.[10]
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Russian Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 1 | Super League | 5th | Quarterfinals | 3Europe League | C |
| 2005–06 | 1 | Super League | 3rd | Quarterfinals | 4FIBA EuroCup | 4th |
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility atFIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
2006[a]
| 2005
| 2004
|
David Blatt1 season: '04–'05
Fotios Katsikaris1 season: '05–'06
Yuri Selikhovpreseason: '06
