The 2017–18 VTB United League was the ninth complete season of the VTB United League. It is also the fifth season that the league functions as the Russian domestic first tier level. It started on 5 October 2017 with the first round of the regular season and ended on 10 June 2018 with the championship game of the Final Four. CSKA Moscow were the defending champions.
CSKA Moscow successfully defended its title as it won the final over Khimki.
Format changes From this season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. These are played in a best-of-five format with a 1–2–2 structure. The four teams that win their playoff series qualify for the Final Four tournament, which decides the new champion.
Teams A total of 13 teams from five countries contest the league, including nine sides from Russia, one from Belarus, one from Estonia, one from Kazakhstan and one from Latvia.
Venues and locations Team Home city Arena Capacity Astana Astana Arena Velotrack 9,270 Avtodor Saratov Saratov DS Kristall 5,500 CSKA Moscow Moscow USC CSKA 5,000 Enisey Krasnoyarsk Arena.Sever 4,000 Kalev/Cramo Tallinn Saku Suurhall 5,500 Khimki Khimki BCMO 4,000 Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar Basket-Hall 7,500 Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod Trade Union Sport Palace 5,500 Parma Perm UDS Molot 7,000 Tsmoki Minsk Minsk Minsk-Arena 15,000 UNICS Kazan Basket-Hall 7,000 VEF Rīga Riga Arēna Rīga 12,000 Zenit Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg SK Yubileyniy 6,381
Personnel and sponsorship Team Head coach Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Astana Kostas Flevarakis Tuta Avtodor Saratov Vladimir Anstiferov Digs CSKA Moscow Dimitrios Itoudis Nike Rostelecom Enisey Oleg Okulov Nike Kalev/Cramo Donaldas Kairys Nike Cramo Khimki Georgios Bartzokas Adidas Khimki Group Lokomotiv Kuban Saša Obradović Under Armour Russian Railways Nizhny Novgorod Zoran Lukić Nike T+ Group Parma Vyacheslav Shushakov Peak T+ Group Tsmoki Minsk Igor Griszczuk Adidas UNICS Dimitrios Priftis Peak VEF Rīga Jānis Gailītis Adidas Zenit Saint Petersburg Vasiliy Karasev Nike Nipigas
Regular season In the regular season, teams play against each other twice (home-and-away) in a double round-robin format. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. The regular season started on 5 October 2017.
Standings
Results
Playoffs In the playoffs, a best-of-five games format is used. The team that wins the series will be the first team to win three games. The first game will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams, the second and third game will be played on the playing court of the next four highest-place teams and the fourth and fifth game, if necessary, will be played on the playing court of the four highest-place teams. The playoffs started on 23 May 2018.
Final Four The four winners of the quarterfinals qualified for the inaugural Final Four. The Final Four will be held from 8 until 10 June. In April 2018, it was announced that the VTB Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia will host the tournament.
The four winners of the play-offs during the 2017–18 season qualified for the Final Four. The tournament will be hosted between 8 June and 10 June 2018.
The last final four was held in 2012, as the league was decided through playoff series in the previous years. Khimki, the runners-up of the Final Four, qualified for the 2018–19 EuroLeague (as CSKA Moscow was already qualified).
Semifinals
Third place game
Final
Final standings
Attendance Attendance include playoff games:
Awards Season Awards Scoring Champion Alexey Shved – Khimki Young Player of the Year Isaiah Briscoe – Kalev Top Performance of the Year Stevan Jelovac – Nizhny Novgorod Defensive Player of the Year Dmitry Kulagin – Nizhny Novgorod Sixth Man of the Year Jamar Smith – UNICS Coach of the Year Dimitrios Itoudis – CSKA Moscow Regular Season MVP Nando de Colo – CSKA Moscow Final Four MVP Sergio Rodríguez – CSKA Moscow MVP of the Month Month Player Team 2017 October Quino Colom UNICS November Nando de Colo CSKA Moscow December Mardy Collins Lokomotiv Kuban 2018 January Sergey Karasev Zenit Saint Petersburg February Justin Robinson Avtodor Saratov March Jamar Smith UNICS April Coty Clarke Avtodor Saratov May Stevan Jelovac Nizhny Novgorod
VTB United League clubs in European competitions Team Competition Progress Avtodor Saratov Champions League FIBA Europe Cup CSKA Moscow EuroLeague Enisey Champions League Kalev/Cramo Champions League Khimki EuroLeague Lokomotiv Kuban EuroCup Nizhny Novgorod Champions League FIBA Europe Cup Parma FIBA Europe Cup Tsmoki Minsk Champions League FIBA Europe Cup UNICS EuroCup Zenit Saint Petersburg EuroCup
References
External links Official website