Sports Director of Zenit: “European basketball needs Russian teams”

The sports director of the St. Petersburg Zenit, Manano Papadopoulos said that European basketball needs Russian teams, will become more competitive after their return.

Russian teams have been removed from participation in international tournaments since 2022.

– The Unified VTB League is a rather competitive championship. Of course, there are teams that stand out: Zenit, UNICS, CSKA and Lokomotiv -Kuban. In recent years, Russian clubs had to pay twice as much for foreign players. But I can say that there are many talents in the Unified League. I pay tribute to the League leadership for the fact that it remains strong.

– Will Russian teams return to the Euroleague?

– Certainly. European basketball needs Russian teams. Not only in the Euroleague, but also in the European Cup and in the Champions League. When they were excluded, Zenit was in third place, CSKA – in the fifth, UNICS – the seventh. It was likely that all three would fall into the playoffs. Many players now speaking in Europe used to play in Russia. Russian teams will return stronger and make the Euroleague even more competitive, ”said Papadopulos to the Backdoor Podcast portal.

See the direct broadcasts of the Unified League matches on the TV channels of the Match, as well as Matchtv.ru and Sportbox.ru sites.