Basketball Club Donetsk ( uk, баскетбольний клуб Донецьк), commonly known as simply Donetsk, was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
club, based in
Donetsk
Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
. The team played in the
Ukrainian SuperLeague. The
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
of the team was a
tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
, and this also appeared on their team logo; and "The Tigers" was also the team nickname.
History
In Soviet times, there was one professional basketball team in Donetsk, called Shakhtyor (which translates as Miners in English). It had built a reputation as a highly competitive team. In the years following Ukrainian independence, the Miners finished second in the country on one occasion and third place another season, and played 24 games in the Euro cup championships.
In 2006, a new club - BC Donetsk was founded to continue the basketball traditions of the Donbass. The initiator and the founder of a new club was Valery Plekhanov, who also became its coach, and started playing in the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
First League, which is the third highest league in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. In their first season (2006–07), the team finished first, going undefeated at 34-0, and was promoted to the Ukrainian Higher League, which is the second highest league in the country. At that season (2007–08) the team finished 53-3, one of the leaders of the team Konstantin Galenkin was announced as the best center forward of the tournament. As a result of its successful season, BC "Donetsk" was promoted to the
Ukrainian Basketball Super League
The Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (USL) ( uk, Українська баскетбольна суперліга) is the first-tier level of professional basketball league in Ukraine. Established in 1992, the league is currently contested by 10 c ...
. In the same season the team finally found a sponsor: Sergei Dyadechko, who also became the president of the club. Even though just promoted, the team received a
wild card to play in the
EuroChallenge 2008–09. The person who helped BC Donetsk to get its wild card was
Sergei Bubka.
Before the start of the 2008–09 season a new coach was hired to lead a team, Olympic champion
Igors Miglinieks
Igors Miglinieks (born 4 May 1964) is a retired Soviet and Latvian professional basketball player and coach. He played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.
Professional club playing career
Miglinieks was a member of the World Basket ...
. Also to reinforce the team before new season, some members the national teams of Ukraine,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
were signed by BC Donetsk.
The team set a very ambitious goal: to become the champion of the Ukrainian Basketball Super League in its first year as a member and to be competitive in its debut in the EuroChallenge.
The nickname of team is the Tigers. Color scale of a game form is white, black and orange colors. The tiger — one of the largest predators of family cats, symbolizes grace, dexterity and huge power. The Donetsk Tiger is a symbol of activity, fight, commitment and success. White color symbolizes purity, virtue and pleasure, black color in many martial arts means the highest rank, and orange — color of a holiday and nobility.
The Donetsk basketball club is played its home games at Druzhba — one of the best arenas in Ukraine.
Since the 2008–09 season, the team plays in the Superleague of Ukraine. BC Donetsk took second place in the season 2008–09, winning the playoff semi-finals against
BC Kyiv
BC Kyiv ( uk, БК "Київ") was a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club's home court for Ukrainian domestic league matches was the Meridian Sports Complex, which has a seating capacity of 1,500. Large attendance games a ...
, before losing to
BC Azovmash in the finals.
During the 2009–10 season, BC Donetsk had suspended play before the season had ended. The president of Donetsk Tigers — Dyadechko S. V. left his post of the president of club for the personal reasons. The team cancelled the rest of its games and closed due to financial problems. Its players were dismissed and became free agents. At the beginning of 2010, a few months later, the management of team found financial support from the Party of Regions, the political party in power in Ukraine at the time, and a number of deputies assisted in financing BC Donetsk and youth sports clubs.
During the 2010–11, BC Donetsk remained in the SuperLeague. The Serbian expert
Saša Obradović
Saša Obradović (Anglicized: Sasha Obradovic; sr-Cyrl, Саша Обрадовић, ; born 29 January 1969) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A
Stand ...
became the head coach. Again reaching the finals, BC Donetsk lost to the Kyiv-based club
BC Budivelnyk
BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague due ...
in seven games, repeating as SuperLeague runners-up.
During the 2011–12 season, BC Donetsk participated in
Eurocup. It was unprecedented for Donetsk basketball, having reached the Top 8, Donetsk conceded to the Lithuanian
BC Lietuvos rytas
Rytas Vilnius is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club was founded in 1997 from another club, Statyba, and has become one of the most successful Lithuanian basketball clubs. Rytas have won two EuroCup Ba ...
. That season Donetsk team for the first time in its history won the Superleague championship.
Honours
*
Ukrainian SuperLeague
**Champions (1):
2011–12
*Ukrainian Second League
**Champions (1): 2007–08
*Ukrainian Third League
**Champions (1): 2006–07
Season by season
References
External links
Ukrainian Basketball Federation Team Profile
{{VTB United League
Defunct basketball teams in Ukraine
Sport in Donetsk
Basketball teams established in 2006
Basketball teams disestablished in 2014
2006 establishments in Ukraine
2014 disestablishments in Ukraine