Astana Basketball Club (), commonly referred to as BC Astana, is a Kazakh professional basketball club that is based in Astana, Kazakhstan. Founded in 2011, it has competed in the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the VTB United League, obtaining many domestic titles in the process.
History BC Astana was created in March 2011, with the aim of competing in the VTB United League. Valery Tikhonenko was chosen as the team's general director. There were doubts expressed by other clubs in the VTB United League, about whether or not the club would be a good addition to the competition, due to the lack of basketball tradition in Kazakhstan; but the side answered all the admission requirements, including their budget, stadium (a revamped Saryarka Velodrome) and the proximity of hotels, and an international airport. The side received the totality of its funding from the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund.
They would sign a number of Kazakhstani players from successful side Astana Tigers, also recruiting their head coach, Vitaly Strebkov, to serve as the team's assistant coach.
In their first season in the VTB United regional league, the team from Kazakhstan won 7 games out of 16 during 2011–12 regular season, including games against strong sides, such as Žalgiris and the defending title holders, Khimki, nearly reaching the playoffs. They had more success on the domestic front, winning the Kazakhstani national domestic league championship, and the Kazakhstani Cup.
The team became a part of the Astana Presidential Club multi-sports club, when it was formed in December 2012.
Arenas
BC Astana plays its home basketball games at the Saryarka Velodrome, which has a seating capacity of 10,000 people for basketball games.
Logos
Players
Current roster
Depth chart
Season by season Season Domestic competitions Kazakhstani Cup Regional competitions Continental competitionsTierLeaguePostseasonLeagueResultTierLeagueResult2011–121 KBC 1 Champion Winner (x2) DNP2012–131 KBC 1 Champion Winner DNP2013–141 KBC 1 Champion Winner DNP2014–151 KBC 1 Champion DNP FIBA EuroChallenge 2015–161 KBC 2 Runners-up DNP FIBA Europe Cup 2016–171 KBC 1 Champion Winner DNP2017–181 KBC 1 Champion Winner FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2018–191 KBC 1 Champion Winner DNP2019–201 KBC 1 Champion DNP DNP2020–211 KBC 1 Champion Winner FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2021–221 KBC 1 Champion DNP
Trophies and awards FIBA Asia Champions Cup: Bronze (1): 2017 West Asia Super League Bronze medal (1): 2022–23 Kazakhstan Basketball Championship: Winner (11): 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Kazakhstan Basketball Cup: Winner (11): 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Head coaches
Matteo Boniciolli: (2011–13) Aleksandar Trifunović: (2013–15) Ramūnas Butautas: (2015–16) Ilias Papatheodorou: (2016–17) Kostas Flevarakis: (2017–2018) Mikhail Karpenko: (2018) Emil Rajković: (2018–2021) Darko Ruso: (2021–2022) Dejan Parežanin: (2022) Oleg Kisilev: (2022–2024) Fotis Takianos: (2024–present)
Notable players To appear in this section a player must have either: - Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player. - Played at least one official international match for his senior national team.
Rašid Mahalbašić Leonidas Kaselakis Dimitrios Katsivelis Dmitriy Gavrilov Rustam Murzagaliyev Anton Ponomarev Anatoliy Kolesnikov Jānis Blūms Ojārs Siliņš Ivan Paunić Justin Carter Anthony Clemmons Jerry Johnson Adonis Thomas Isaiah Whitehead
References and notes
External links Official website Eurobasket.com Team Profile