PBC MBA Moscow

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VTB United League
Founded2009 (2009)
First season2009–10
CountryRussia
ConfederationFIBA Europe
FIBA Asia
Number of teams11
Level on pyramid1
Domestic cupRussian Cup
SupercupVTB League Supercup
International cupWest Asia Super League
Current championsCSKA Moscow (13th title)
(2025–26)
Most championshipsCSKA Moscow (13 titles)
Websitevtb-league.com
2026-27

The VTB United League (Russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. As of the 2025–26 season, it consists exclusively of Russian clubs. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian professional club basketball. Therefore, the highest placed Russian team in the league can also be named the Russian national champions. The league is sponsored by Russian state-owned VTB Bank. In 2009 CSKA Moscow won VTB United League Promo-Cup, but this competition does not count as official VTB title. CSKA has dominated the league, having won majority of titles its existence. The VTB United League also holds a youth competition, the VTB United Youth League.

History

The first step in the creation of the league was a competition named the VTB United League Promo-Cup held in Moscow in December 2009.[1] The final of the Promo-Cup was played on December 22, 2009, and was won by CSKA Moscow, who defeated Khimki 70–66. Kyiv ended third.[2]

Unification with the Russian PBL

In May 2012, all the Russian Professional Basketball League clubs gathered to decide which format would be used for the next season, and some club's directors raised the possibility of uniting with the VTB United League, to produce greater competition between the Russian basketball clubs. They suggested that the new league be named the Eastern European Professional Basketball League.[3][4][5]

In July 2012, the Council of VTB United League decided that the PBL league would continue for one more year, with some games of the VTB United League that took place between two Russian clubs being counted as PBL games.[6] The first tier Russian clubs then replaced the PBL with the VTB United League as their new national domestic league, starting with the 2013-14 season.

The VTB United League was recognized by FIBA Europe in September 2013.[7][8] The league was then officially recognized by FIBA World in October 2014. The league needed to be recognized by both bodies, because it contains clubs that come from countries that are part of both the European and Asian FIBA zones.

The honorary head of the league is Sergei Ivanov and its official sponsor is Pavel Vrublevsky of ChronoPay.[9][10][11]

Formats

In its inaugural 2009–10 season, the VTB United League featured clubs from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. For the 2010–11 season, teams from Belarus, Finland, and Poland were added to the league. The 2011–12 season featured 18 teams, with new teams being added from the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan.[12] In the 2012–13 season, the number of teams increased to 20. The number of teams decreased to 16 for the 2014–15 season, and the teams from Lithuania and Ukraine dropped out of the league.

During the 2021–22 season, ten teams were left to compete after the Polish and Estonian clubs withdrew from the league in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[13]

As of the 2025–26 season, the VTB United League consisted of 11 teams:

Team Home city
Russian Basketball Federation BC Avtodor Saratov
Russian Basketball Federation PBC CSKA Moscow Moscow
Russian Basketball Federation BC Enisey Krasnoyarsk
Russian Basketball Federation PBC Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
Russian Basketball Federation BC Parma Perm
Russian Basketball Federation MBA Moscow Moscow
Russian Basketball Federation BC Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod
Russian Basketball Federation BC Samara Samara
Russian Basketball Federation BC UNICS Kazan
Russian Basketball Federation BC Uralmash Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg
Russian Basketball Federation BC Zenit Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg

Arena rules

In order for clubs to play in the VTB United League, they must have a home arena that has a seating capacity of at least 3,000 seats.[14]

Team appearances

Participants 2008 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 22–23 23–24 24–25 25–26
8 8 12 18 20 20 16 16 13 13 14 13 13 12 12 14 12 11
Belarus Tsmoki-MinskGSGSGSGS14th12th12th9th14th(13th)13th9th12th14th
Czech Republic NymburkGSGSGS15thQF
Estonia Kalev/CramoGSGSGSGS9th14th11th12thQF(8th)10thRet
Finland Bisons Loimaa13th13th
Finland Espoon HonkaGS
Finland Torpan PojatQR
Georgia (country) VITA Tbilisi16th
Kazakhstan Astana1/81/8QF15thQF10thQF(9th)12th10th11th13th12th
Latvia ASK Rīga7th
Latvia VEF RīgaGSGSQFGSGS11thQFQF10th
Lithuania Lietuvos rytasGS3rdGSSF
Lithuania NeptūnasGSGS
Lithuania ŠiauliaiQR
Lithuania Žalgiris5th3rd1/81/83rd
Poland AnwilQR
Poland Prokom8thGSGS
Poland TurówGSGS
Poland Zielona Góra12th(7th)QFRet
Russia AvtodorQFQF10thQF11th(12th)9thQFQF9thQF10th
Russia CSKA1st1st2nd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st(2nd)1st2nd3rd1st1st1st
Russia Dynamo4th
Russia EniseyGSGS1/811th10thQF13th9th(11th)11thQF9thQF10thQF
Russia Khimki2nd4th1stQF4thQF2ndSF2nd2nd2nd(1st)QF
Russia Krasny Oktyabr1/812th9th
Russia Krasnye KryliaGSQFQF16th
Russia Lokomotiv Kuban4th2ndQFSFQFSFQFQF(3rd)SF4th2nd4th4th3rd
Russia MBA MoscowQF10th9thQF
Russia Nizhny Novgorod1/8QF2ndSFQF9thQFQF(10th)QFQFQF12thQF9th
Russia Parma13th11th13th(5th)QFQFQFQFQFQF
Russia Samara10thQF11th11th
Russia SpartakQF1/81/8
Russia Triumph1/8QF
Russia UNICS2nd3rd2ndQFSFQF2ndQF4thSF(4th)2nd3rd1st2nd3rd2nd
Russia UralmashQFQFQF
Russia ZenitQFSFSF3rdSF(6th)SF1st4th3rd2nd4th
Ukraine Azovmash6thGS4thGSGSGS
Ukraine BudivelnykGS
Ukraine DniproGSQR
Ukraine DonetskGS1/8GS
Ukraine Kyiv3rd

Results

Key to colors
     VTB United League Promo-Cup
Season Finals & Final four hosts Finals Third Place Playoff
Gold Score Silver Bronze Score Fourth place
2008
Details		 Russia
(USK CSKA, Moscow) †
CSKA Moscow		 70–66
Khimki
Kyiv		 86–73
Dynamo Moscow
2009–10
Details		 Lithuania
(Sports Hall, Kaunas)
CSKA Moscow		 66–55
UNICS
Žalgiris		 78–72
Khimki
2010–11
Details		 Russia
(Basket Hall, Kazan)
Khimki		 66–64
CSKA Moscow
UNICS		 95–75
Azovmash
2011–12
Details		 Lithuania
(Siemens Arena, Vilnius)
CSKA Moscow		 74–62
UNICS
Lietuvos rytas		 91–83
Lokomotiv Kuban
2012–13
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–1
Series
Lokomotiv Kuban
Žalgiris		 Did not play
Khimki
2013–14
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–0
Series
Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS		 Did not play
Lietuvos rytas
2014–15
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–0
Series
Khimki
Lokomotiv Kuban		 Did not play
Nizhny Novgorod
2015–16
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–1
Series
UNICS
Zenit Saint Petersburg		 Did not play
Khimki
2016–17
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–0
Series
Khimki
Zenit Saint Petersburg		 Did not play
Lokomotiv Kuban
2017–18
Details		 Russia
(VTB Ice Palace, Moscow)
CSKA Moscow		 95–84
Khimki
Zenit Saint Petersburg		 93–79
UNICS
2018–19
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–0
Series
Khimki
UNICS		 Did not play
Zenit Saint Petersburg
2019–20
Details		 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic - no champion announced.
2020–21
Details		 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 3–0
Series
UNICS
Lokomotiv Kuban		 Did not play
Zenit Saint Petersburg
2021–22
Details		 In home and away venues
Zenit Saint Petersburg		 4–3
Series
CSKA Moscow
UNICS		 3–1
Series
Lokomotiv Kuban
2022–23
Details		 In home and away venues
UNICS		 4–1
Series
Lokomotiv Kuban
CSKA Moscow		 4–1
Series
Zenit Saint Petersburg
2023–24 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 4–1
Series
UNICS
Zenit Saint Petersburg		 3–1
Series
Lokomotiv Kuban
2024–25 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 4–2
Series
Zenit Saint Petersburg
UNICS		 3–1
Series
Lokomotiv Kuban
2025–26 In home and away venues
CSKA Moscow		 4–0
Series
UNICS
Lokomotiv Kuban		 3–2
Series
Zenit Saint Petersburg
^† The whole 2008 tournament was staged in Moscow, including the Final Four.

2008 tournament does not count as official VTB title.

Titles by club

Club Champions Runners-up Winning years
CSKA Moscow1322010, 2012-19, 2021, 2024-26
Khimki142011
UNICS162023
Zenit Saint Petersburg112022
Lokomotiv Kuban02
Nizhny Novgorod01

Abroad competitions

Major awards

Awards by nationality

Statistical awards

Records

Sponsorship

Andrey Kostin's VTB Bank has been a long-term league sponsor. However, it recorded losses of connected to other sponsorships (FC Dynamo Moscow and HC Dynamo Moscow) and contributions to charities. This led to the Bank of Moscow joining as main sponsor.[15]

Predecessor leagues

See also

References

  1. "About League". vtb-league.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  2. "PROMO-CUP: CSKA WIN". Sport Express. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  3. 20 clubs will play in VTB United League championship in seasone-2012/13 Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, vtb-league.com, May 20, 2012
  4. "PBL looks to a better future". ULEB. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  5. Triumph applied an application to participate in the new season of VTB United League Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine, May 20, 2012, vtb-league.com
  6. BEKO PBL Press service. "BEKO PBL Board suggests scheme of 2012/2013 season". pbleague.ru. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  7. VTB League Officially Recognised.
  8. "FIBA Europe officially recognizes VTB United League". Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  9. Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России Беглый Украинский ехс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer found refuge: What the runaway Ukrainian ex-duputy Shepelev seeks in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Михайлов, Сергей (Mikhailov, Sergey) (9 June 2015). "Схемщик нашел прибежище: Что ищет в России беглый Украинский экс-депутат Шепелев" [The schemer has taken refuge: What the fugitive Ukrainian ex-deputy Shepelev is looking for in Russia]. «Соверше́нно секре́тно» ("Top secret") (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "Врублевский: ЕЛ ВТБ — это возрождение баскетбола в России" [Vrublevsky: EL VTB is the revival of basketball in Russia]. championat.com (in Russian). 29 April 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  12. "New clubs in the VTB United League". VTB United League. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  13. "Zielona Gora joins Kalev/Cramo in departing the VTB United League". eurohoops.net. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  14. "Krasnye Krylia not to compete in VTB United League next season". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  15. Воронова, Татьяна (Voronova, Tatiana); Еремина, Анна (Eremina, Anna); Казакулова, Галина (Kazakulova, Galina) (16 April 2015). "Убытки – не помеха для благотворительности ВТБ: В I квартале 2015 года госбанк получил 5 млрд рублей убытка и при этом 15,5 млрд рублей потратил на благотворительность" [Losses are not a hindrance to VTB's charity: In the first quarter of 2015, the state bank received 5 billion rubles in losses and at the same time spent 15.5 billion rubles on charity]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 25 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)