BC UNICS

Leagues

VTB United League
EuroLeague

Founded

1991

History

BC UNICS
(1991–present)

Arena

Basket-Hall Kazan

Capacity

7,482

Location

Kazan, Russia

Team colors

Green, White

President

Yevgeny Bogachev

Team manager

Valery Kolesnikov

Head coach

Dimitrios Priftis

Championships

1 EuroCup
3 Russian Cups
1 North European League
1 EuroChallenge

Website

unics.ru

Uniforms

Home

Away

BC UNICS (Russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League and EuroLeague. Their home arena is Basket-Hall Kazan.

Though officially the club's men's professional club was founded in 1991, (when it first began to play in the lowest level of the national pro leagues), UNICS traces its origins back to KSU's college team Burevestnik, which participated in the USSR student championships from 1957, and won the all-Soviet college title twice – in 1965 and 1970. Because of this, the name 'UNICS' is quite an abbreviation – UNI(versity), C(ulture), S(port).

In 1997, UNICS was promoted to the Russian Basketball Super League A, which was, at the time, the top-tier level Russian league. A year later, Yevgeny Bogachev, the chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan, became the president of the club.

History

UNICS has gone a long way towards helping Russian basketball since the club was established in 1991. Between 1994 and 1997, UNICS secured a berth in Russia's first division, and then made a smashing debut, establishing itself among the top five teams in the country. UNICS had already played in European competitions in 1997, but the new millennium happened to be a turning point for the club. The team placed second to CSKA in the Russian Basketball Super League in 2001 and 2002, the year in which it also reached the Saporta Cup semifinals, losing against the Greek club Maroussi in the semifinals. UNICS' first title was the Russian Cup in March 2003, with an electrifying 81–82 overtime victory over CSKA. UNICS' fans did not have to wait long to see their team win a European title, too. Kazan hosted the FIBA Europe League final four, which was eventually named the FIBA EuroChallenge, in April 2004, and UNICS made sure of its opportunity. UNICS signed Saulius Štombergas, Eurelijus Žukauskas, and Chris Anstey, and then won its regular season group, and advanced to the final four, which was held on its own floor, and where the club was crowned the FIBA Europe League champions. The MVP of the tournament's final four, Martin Müürsepp, scored 22 points, in an 87–63 win over Maroussi, in the title game. By the 2005–06 season, UNICS went one level up, and made its ULEB Cup (later named EuroCup) debut, where they tied the best regular season record in the competition's history. However, things turned south quickly, as UNICS lost at home against Roma, for the only time all season, in the tournament's eighth finals’ second leg, and crashed out earlier than expected. UNICS got stronger for the next season, keeping the core group of the previous season's side, while adding Darjuš Lavrinovič to reunite with his twin brother Kšyštof Lavrinovič, in a twin-towers set full of talent. The team made it to the ULEB Cup semifinals, before losing to the eventual league champs Real Madrid. It also returned to the Russian League finals, losing against perennial champion CSKA.

In the 2007–08 season, UNICS made it to the ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup) Final Eight, but fell to Akasvayu Girona in the quarterfinals. UNICS finally broke through in the EuroCup in the 2010–11 season, by winning its regular season and Last 16 groups, before sweeping its quarterfinal series against Pepsi Caserta. Once in the finals, UNICS thrashed KK Cedevita 87–66, in the semifinals, behind 27 points from Terrell Lyday, and registered a no-doubt-about-it 92–77 win against Cajasol Sevilla, in the title game. Marko Popović had 18 points and a EuroCup Finals record of 11 assists, to lead UNICS to the title. In the Russian League, UNICS marched to a 21–6 record, to finish the regular season atop the standings with room to spare, but then went out in the playoff semifinals, after a grueling five-game duel against BC Khimki. The club then entered into new waters, eager to prove that it belonged among the European continent’s best, as it would compete in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague in the following season.

On the heels of one of the greatest seasons in club history, UNICS looked to continue its rise to greatness, as it made its EuroLeague debut in the 2011–12 season. The reigning EuroCup champion was a force to be reckoned with in the previous season, as it not only marched through the EuroCup, but also made noise in the Russian League, where it finished first at the end of the regular season, and reached the playoff semifinals. One of the secrets to the club’s success was that it had managed to keep a core of star players for several years. Players like Marko Popović, Maciej Lampe, Terrell Lyday, Vladimir Veremeenko, and Kelly McCarty helped write a golden chapter in UNICS' club history. Before that, UNICS had put Kazan, Russia, on the European basketball map, and became the perfect ambassador for the sports-crazy Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian federation.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Russian Cups

Champions (3): 2003, 2009, 2014

European competitions

EuroCup

Champions (1): 2011

EuroChallenge

Champions (1): 2004

North European League

Champions (1): 2003

Season by season

Season	Tier	Division	Pos.	Russian Cup	European competitions		Other competitions
1997–98	1	Superleague A	7th		3 Korać Cup	GS
1998–99	1	Superleague A	5th		2 Saporta Cup
1999–00	1	Superleague A	3rd		3 Korać Cup	EF
2000–01	1	Superleague A	2nd		2 Saporta Cup	SF
2001–02	1	Superleague A	2nd		2 Saporta Cup	QF
2002–03	1	Superleague A	3rd	Winner	3 FIBA Champions Cup	QF	NEBL	C
2003–04	1	Superleague A	2nd	Third place	3 FIBA Europe League	C
2004–05	1	Superleague A	3rd	Runner-up	3 FIBA Europe League	QF
2005–06	1	Superleague A	4th	Third place	2 ULEB Cup	EF
2006–07	1	Superleague A	2nd	Runner-up	2 ULEB Cup	QF
2007–08	1	Superleague A	6th	Semifinals	2 ULEB Cup	QF
2008–09	1	Superleague A	3rd	Winner	2 Eurocup	T16
2009–10	1	Superleague A	3rd	Runner-up	2 Eurocup	T16	United League	RU
2010–11	1	PBL	3rd		2 Eurocup	C	United League	3rd
2011–12	1	PBL	5th		1 Euroleague	QF	United League	RU
2012–13	1	PBL	6th		2 Eurocup	QF	United League	QF
2013–14	1	VTB United League	3rd	Champion	2 Eurocup	RU
2014–15	1	VTB United League	6th	Second Qualifying	1 Euroleague	RS
2014–15	1	VTB United League	6th	Second Qualifying	2 Eurocup	SF
2015–16	1	VTB United League	2nd	First Qualifying	2 Eurocup	EF
2016–17	1	VTB United League	5th	Round of 64	1 EuroLeague	RS

Roster

BC UNICS Kazan roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
3.5 !F	2	RUS !	Antipov, Pavel	7000204000000000000♠2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	7002105000000000000♠105 kg (231 lb)	7001250000000000000♠25 – (1991-09-19)19 September 1991
2.5 !G/F	7	RUS !	Ponkrashov, Anton	7000200000000000000♠2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	7001960000000000000♠96 kg (212 lb)	7001310000000000000♠31 – (1986-04-23)23 April 1986
5.0 !C	9	BLR !	Parakhouski, Artsiom	7000211000000000000♠2.11 m (6 ft 11 in)	7002122000000000000♠122 kg (269 lb)	7001290000000000000♠29 – (1987-10-06)6 October 1987
1.0 !PG	10	SPA !	Colom, Quino	7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb)	7001280000000000000♠28 – (1988-11-01)1 November 1988
5.0 !C	12	RUS !	Klimenko, Artem	7000214000000000000♠2.14 m (7 ft 0 in)	7002110000000000000♠110 kg (243 lb)	7001230000000000000♠23 – (1994-04-10)10 April 1994
4.5 !F/C	13	CRO !	Banić, Marko	7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	7002113000000000000♠113 kg (249 lb)	7001320000000000000♠32 – (1984-08-31)31 August 1984
1.5 !G	20	RUS !	Panin, Vadim	7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	7002100000000000000♠100 kg (220 lb)	7001330000000000000♠33 – (1984-02-10)10 February 1984
4.0 !PF	21	GRE !	Kaimakoglou, Kostas	7000206000000000000♠2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)	7002113000000000000♠113 kg (249 lb)	7001340000000000000♠34 – (1983-03-15)15 March 1983
1.5 !G	28	RUS !	Tukmakov, Azat	7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001810000000000000♠81 kg (179 lb)	7001210000000000000♠21 – (1996-02-23)23 February 1996
2.0 !SG	31	SRB !	Anđušić, Danilo	7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)	7001920000000000000♠92 kg (203 lb)	7001260000000000000♠26 – (1991-04-22)22 April 1991
1.5 !G	33	RUS !	Khabirov, Ruslan	7000192000000000000♠1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	7001890000000000000♠89 kg (196 lb)	7001260000000000000♠26 – (1991-03-05)5 March 1991
2.0 !SG		USA !	Lockett, Trent	7000196000000000000♠1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	7001950000000000000♠95 kg (209 lb)	7001260000000000000♠26 – (1990-12-10)10 December 1990
3.0 !SF		CAN !	Ejim, Melvin	7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	7002100000000000000♠100 kg (220 lb)	7001260000000000000♠26 – (1991-03-04)4 March 1991
4.5 !F/C		GAB !	Lasme, Stéphane	7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	7001980000000000000♠98 kg (216 lb)	7001340000000000000♠34 – (1982-12-17)17 December 1982
2.0 !SG		USA !	Smith, Jamar	7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)	7001840000000000000♠84 kg (185 lb)	7001300000000000000♠30 – (1987-04-07)7 April 1987
5.0 !C		LAT !	Meiers, Mārtiņš	7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	7002108000000000000♠108 kg (238 lb)	7001260000000000000♠26 – (1991-03-30)30 March 1991

Head coach

Dimitrios Priftis

Assistant coach(es)

Emanuele Molin

Strength & conditioning coach(es)

Marcus Lindner

Team manager

Valery Kolesnikov
Mikhail Kolesnikov

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Updated: 11 February 2017

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Stéphane Lasme	Artsiom Parakhouski	Artem Klimenko
PF	Kostas Kaimakoglou	Marko Banić
SF	Melvin Ejim	Danilo Anđušić	Vadim Panin
SG	Jamar Smith	Trent Lockett		Ruslan Khabirov
PG	Quino Colom	Anton Ponkrashov

Notable Russian players

bold – FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

Ruslan Avleev (1997–01, 04–06) – 301 games, 19.2 ppg;
Victor Kurilchuk (1997–00) – 201 games, 8.9 ppg;
Eduard Soobtsokov (1997–00) – 204 games, 7 ppg;
Petr Samoylenko (1998–07, 08–13) – 774 games, 5.8 ppg;
Andrey Sepelev (1998–99) – 53 games, 11 ppg;
Anton Yudin (1999–03, 04–06) – 243 games, 10.7 ppg;
Alexander Petrenko (1999–00) – 58 games, 13.2 ppg;
Andrey Kornev (1999–01) – 76 games, 6.1 ppg;
Aleksandr Gutorov (1999–00) – 35 games, 8.4 ppg;
Evgeniy Pashutin (2000–02) – 86 games, 8.5 ppg;
Igor Grachev (2000–02) – 74 games, 8.6 ppg;
Valentin Kubrakov (2000–02, 03–04) – 121 games, 8.5 ppg;
Igor Zamansky (2001–03, 08–13) – 246 games, 5.3 ppg;
Igor Kudelin (2002–03, 06–07) – 35 games, 8.1 ppg;

Sergei Chikalkin (2002–03, 05–09) – 187 games, 10.6 ppg;
Andrei Fetisov (2002–03) – 20 games, 6.2 ppg;
Alexandr Miloserdov (2003–05, 06–07) – 125 games, 9.3 ppg;
Viktor Keirou (2003–05, 07–08) – 83 games, 5.4 ppg;
Sergei Toporov (2004–06) – 93 games, 7.3 ppg;
Vadim Panin (2006–07) – 35 games, 6.1 ppg;
Dmitri Sokolov (2006–09) – 128 games, 6.8 ppg;
Nikolay Padius (2007–08, 10–11) – 59 games, 5.3 ppg;
Fedor Likholitov (2009–10) – 10 games, 2.5 ppg;
Zakhar Pashutin (2010–12) – 102 games, 4.3 ppg;
Aleksey Savrasenko (2011–12) – 56 games, 4.6 ppg;
Artyom Yakovenko (2011–12) – 22 games, 6.2 ppg;
Nikita Shabalkin (2012–13) – 28 games, 6.3 ppg;

Notable foreign players

bold – former NBA players; Olympics, FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

USA

Glen Whisby (2000–01) – 51 games, 10.4 ppg;
Anthony Bonner (2001–02) – 8 games, 14.9 ppg;
Michael McDonald (2001–02) – 45 games; 12.2 ppg;
Acie Earl (2001–02) – 30 games, 11.8 ppg;
Dickey Simpkins* (2002–03) – 38 games, 12.3 ppg;
Kebu Stewart (2002–03) – 18 games, 8.3 ppg;
Lamar Greer (2003–04) – 41 games; 12 ppg;
Joe Ira Clark (2004–05) – 41 games, 7.8 ppg;
Paul Shirley (2004–05) – 9 games, 4.9 ppg;
Shammond Williams (2004–05) – 57 games, 17.1 ppg;
Travis Best (2005–06) – 40 games, 11.5 ppg;
Samaki Walker* (2005–06) – 4 games, 7 ppg;
Sam Clancy, Jr. (2005–06) – 30 games, 4 ppg;
Jarod Stevenson (2006–07) – 32 games; 10.4 ppg;
Mateen Cleaves (2006–07) – 11 games, 5 ppg;
Jamal McCullough (2006–08) – 80 games, 6.8 ppg;
Tariq Kirksay (2007–09) – 95 games, 9.3 ppg;
Joseph Forte (2007–08) – 11 games, 8.4 ppg;
Marc Jackson (2008–09) – 19 games, 6.5 ppg;
Terrell Lyday (2008–13) – 243 games, 12.2 ppg;
Ricky Minard (2010–11) – 48 games, 7.4 pts;
Kelly McCarty (2010–13) – 114 games, 9.5 ppg;
Henry Domercant (2011–12) – 58 games, 13.4 ppg;
Lynn Greer (2011–12) – 55 games, 8 ppg;
Mike Wilkinson (2011–13) – 63 games, 7.1 ppg;
Mire Chatman (2012–13) – 45 games, 8.5 ppg;
Chuck Eidson (2012–13) – 48 games, 13.6 ppg;

Australia

Chris Anstey (2003–05) – 93 games, 13.1 ppg;
Nathan Jawai (2011–12) – 46 games, 8.7 ppg;

Europe

Slobodan Šljivančanin (1998–00) – 117 games, 10 ppg;
Leonid Yailo (2000–01) – 50 games, 13.5 ppg;
Branislav Vićentić (2001–02) – 29 games, 10.4 ppg;
Oliver Popović (2001–03) – 80 games, 14.6 ppg;
Damir Mršić (2002–03) – 31 games, 7.7 ppg;
Valery Dayneko (2002–03) – 35 games, 10 ppg;
Eurelijus Žukauskas (2002–04) – 78 games, 10 ppg;
Mykola Khryapa (2003–05) – 86 games, 6.1 ppg;
Martin Müürsepp (2001–02, 03–04, 05–06) – 86 games, 11.3 ppg;
Saulius Štombergas (2003–04, 05–07, 09–10) – 144 games, 11 ppg;
Stevan Nađfeji (2004–05) – 40 games, 7.4 ppg;
Kaspars Kambala (2004–05) – 54 games, 14.5 ppg;
Egor Mesheryakov (2005–07) – 93 games, 10.2 ppg;
Kšyštof Lavrinovič (2005–07) – 78 games, 12.7 ppg;
Darjuš Lavrinovič (2006–08) – 68 games, 12.9 ppg;
Duško Savanović (2006–08) – 71 games, 10.3 ppg;
Marko Tušek (2007–08) – 36 games, 10.1 ppg;
Krešimir Lončar (2008–10) – 114 games, 11.8 ppg;
Marko Popović (2008–11) – 142 games, 13.9 ppg;
Vladimir Veremeenko (2008–13) – 249 games, 8.8 ppg;
Maciej Lampe (2009–11) – 96 games, 15.9 ppg;
Hasan Rizvić (2010–11) – 64 games, 5.4 ppg;
Slavko Vraneš (2010–11) – 39 games, 2.6 ppg;
Boštjan Nachbar (2011–12) – 22 games, 3.6 ppg;
Ian Vougioukas (2012–13) – 47 games, 10.9 ppg;
Kostas Kaimakoglou (2012–present) – 37 games, 12.5 ppg;
Artūras Milaknis (2015–16)

Milan Gurović (2004) and Hüseyin Beşok (2005) shortly were under contract with UNICS Kazan, but never played a single game for the team.

(*) former NBA champions

Coaches

bold – Olympics, FIBA World and FIBA Europe champions and medalists

Aleksandr Zryadchikov – 1994–96;
Georgy Korolev – 1996–98;
Dragan Višnjevac – 1998;
Yevgeny Kovalenko – 1998–00;
Stanislav Eremin – 2000–06;
Antanas Sireika – 2006–08;
Aco Petrović – 2008–09;
Valdemaras Chomičius – 2009–10;
Evgeniy Pashutin – 2010–12;
Aco Petrović – 2012–2013
Stanislav Eremin – 2013;
Andrea Trinchieri – 2013–2014
Argiris Pedoulakis – 2014–2014 ^[1]^[2]
Evgeniy Pashutin – 2014–2017
Dimitrios Priftis – 2017–

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to UNICS Kazan.

UNICS – current roster
2 Antipov 5 Langford 6 Stoll 7 Ponkrashov 9 Parakhouski 10 Colom 13 Banić 18 Voronov 19 Karpukhin 20 Panin 21 Kaimakoglou 28 Tukmakov 31 Anđušić 33 Khabirov
Head coach: Priftis Assistant coaches: Molin

UNICS Kazan 2003–04 FIBA Europe League champions
Chris Anstey Saulius Štombergas Martin Müürsepp Eurelijus Žukauskas LaMarr Greer Petr Samoylenko Valentin Kubrakov Nikolai Khryapa Alexander Miloserdov Aleksei Zozulin Victor Keyru Alexei Lobanov Vladimir Shevel Taras Osipov
Head coach: Stanislav Eremin

UNICS Kazan 2010–11 Eurocup champions
4 Lyday 6 Popović 7 Zamanskiy 9 Samoylenko 11 Pashutin 12 Veremeenko 13 Amirkhanov 16 Rizvić 21 McCarty 22 Minard 30 Lampe 33 Vraneš
Head coach: Pashutin

VTB United League

Seasons

Playoffs

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

Al-Star Games

2017
2018

Clubs

Current	Astana Avtodor Saratov CSKA Moscow Enisey Kalev/Cramo Khimki Lokomotiv-Kuban Nizhny Novgorod Parma Tsmoki-Minsk UNICS Kazan VEF Rīga Zenit Saint Petersburg
Former	Anwil Włocławek ASK Riga Asseco Prokom Azovmash Mariupol Bisons Loimaa Budivelnyk Kyiv ČEZ Nymburk Dnipro Donetsk Dynamo Moscow Espoon Honka Krasny Oktyabr Krasnye Krylya Kyiv Lietuvos rytas Neptūnas Klaipėda Šiauliai Spartak Saint Petersburg Torpan Pojat Turów Zgorzelec VITA Tbilisi Žalgiris Kaunas

Awards

Statistics

Other

Russian clubs in international competitions

Category

Russian Professional Basketball League
Seasons	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 Merged into VTB United League
Clubs	CSKA Moscow Khimki Moscow Region Krasnye Krylia Samara Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar Nizhny Novgorod Spartak Primorye Spartak Saint Petersburg Triumph Lyubertsy UNICS Kazan Enisey Krasnoyarsk
Former Clubs	Dynamo Moscow
Awards	PBL Awards
Other	Russian clubs in international competitions

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