"I want CSKA to play in the Euroleague again, but it doesn't depend on us"

This summer, the Russian men's and women's U-21 youth 3x3 basketball teams will perform on the international stage under the national flag and with the national anthem for the first time in a long time. The teams will participate in the FIBA Youth League of Nations, which will be held in Malaysia and China. This tournament will be a selection for the Youth World Cup.: Russian national teams will be able to play on it if they successfully qualify. RFB President Andrey Kirilenko spoke about the importance of returning to the international arena, as well as about the possible departure of Vsevolod Ishchenko to the NBA in an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express.

"It is surprising that some players are not ready to come to the national team"

— How important is it for national teams to play international matches now?

— Super important! I understand that it is difficult to conduct them without an official status. When there are official tournaments — world Championships, European Championships — you play with full dedication, there is a motivational part that cannot be replaced by anything — neither friendly nor exhibition matches. We try to compensate for this as much as possible.

This year, in my opinion, we had one of the strongest sparring sessions [during the ban] — games with European vice-champions Turkey and the Hungarian team. This is an invaluable experience for the young guys. Of course, the situation is a bit artificial. You need to log back in and play on an ongoing basis. But these moments are not in our hands today. You shouldn't touch on this topic once again — it causes bitter feelings: you realize that the situation is unfair, but you can't do anything. It is what it is. There is a possibility of friendly matches — we are playing. No, we are doing everything possible to gather the guys and give them the basketball experience.

— RFB Secretary General Vladimir Dyachok once hinted at length that he was not quite ready to accept the reasons for the refusal of some national team players from friendly games.

— This is a very important issue for me, because the opportunity to play for the national team is a matter of the inner component of each person. It is impossible to imagine the Slovenian national team without Luka Doncic, the Greek national team without Giannis Adetokounbo, and Germany without Dennis Schroeder.… These players take the initiative and pull their partners with their attitude. This is a good example for everyone. Everything is possible, and I personally had situations where injuries or some life circumstances prevented me from playing in the national team in the summer. For example, Doncic has such a situation this year.

And here, probably, I would not somehow row all the players under one comb. But of course, when there are basketball players who, let's say, do not have a solid place in their club, and this is a great opportunity for them to show themselves in the national team. Of course, there are questions for such players. Damn, don't you want to prove yourself? It's good for your own career. For me, such situations are a bit of a red flag, something is wrong here.

— If we talk about the trend of admission and non—admission, what is the situation here? For example, the national water polo teams have already played in official tournaments under the Russian flag.

— In my opinion, this is not a general trend, but a point of success. And it's very frustrating. One smart person told me, and I absolutely agree with him: even in the 80s, during the Iron Curtain, when the Soviet Union boycotted the Olympic Games in the United States and Americans in the Soviet Union, they still found opportunities to play. Our students often traveled to the States, and other teams came to visit us. Now sport has become so politicized that it doesn't even make sense to discuss it.

— What other teams can we play against in the near future?

— We are already preparing matches for next season. Who knows, maybe by the end of this year one of our teams will play against a very unexpected opponent. The problem is that at a crucial moment, everything can change for reasons beyond our control. As, for example, it was the case with Slovenia this summer.

— What are your personal expectations from the League of Nations, where the U-21 national 3x3 basketball teams will officially play? Can we win both tournaments?

— I am glad that for the first time in the last four years, and for the first time for these teams of girls and boys, there is an opportunity to try their hand not in the domestic championship, but in international games. This is a unique opportunity to play an official tournament where victory is at stake, where you meet with peers from other countries not in a friendly format, but in a full—fledged competition. It's cool and very rare in the current environment. That's why we take a serious approach to training and forming teams.

This summer, in the last two weeks, two big tournaments have been held — in Sirius and in the Moscow region. The teams "Russia-South" and "Russia-North", assembled from candidates for the national team, performed there. The guys were randomly assigned to the teams, watching different variations. It is encouraging that Russia-South and Russia-North won both tournaments. It's nice to see that everyone is energized, guys and girls have great emotions and dedication. Energy is very important for young players when the guys come and really throw up. It is this charge that is much more important to me than the sports component, no matter how strange it may sound.

I would like to express my support to Maria Ushakova, Alexandra Shopot, Anastasia Shchekoldina and Alina Zmeevskaya, who for various medical reasons were unable to fully express themselves. Nastya Shchekoldina, who was seriously injured, was especially unlucky. I wish her to recover as soon as possible. In general, I advise those who did not get into the final application for the League of Nations not to lose heart and thank you for participating in the selection, you are also part of the national teams.

As for the second part of the question, how can we guess if we can win both tournaments? 50-50 — either we can, or we can't. That's the answer. Until we constantly play international sparring and official tournaments, we will not be able to understand our level and answer whether we will be favorites or not.

"The projects that we started three years ago cannot be completed now"

— Three Russians can play in the new NBA season: Egor Demin, Vlad Goldin and Vsevolod Ishchenko. A positive trend?

— I would like to start by saying that these three named players took their first steps in basketball 10 years ago, when I first joined the Russian Football Federation. They started with the Minibasket festival, national championships, DUBS, and reserve teams. After 10 years, these guys will make their NBA debut! For me, this is the coolest indicator that we are doing many steps correctly.

At the same time, I understand that we are not so immersed in their lives and progress. This is entirely their merit, as well as their parents and coaches. But when this happens in front of your eyes, in the structure of the competitions for which you are responsible, it is doubly pleasant.

Today I see a huge number of guys who have the potential to continue this trend. The same Egor Amosov, who had a strong season in the second team of Real Madrid, Ilya Frolov, Kirill Grigory, who became the best player at our championships this year. These guys have everything they need to play in the NBA. Whether they will perform there is a separate question. But their skills, level, and ceiling exactly match the level of the NBA. That's exactly what I'm saying!

— In general, many of our talents have passed through participating in the "Mini-Busket".

- of course. The same Amosov, Ilya Ermakov, Lisa Astakhova and a dozen more professional basketball players and basketball players who have already proved themselves at a professional level. I used to go on a couple of shifts myself, and there's even a photo somewhere.

We must not forget that we are trying to do more than just make a summer camp for children and a vacation for parents. This year, Timofey Mozgov and Maciej Lampe came to us, who presented his project and shared his experience of holding children's camps in other countries. As far as I understand, Vladimir Dyachok is negotiating the participation of teams from Turkey and Hungary next season. It is also very important for us to take the best from how children are taught in other countries.

The RFB Academy is opening up more and more opportunities for coaches of the Minibasket teams. This includes a special online course and face-to-face classes. This year we will resume the grant program to the regions. The Russian Football Federation will allocate balls and help in holding regional school leagues.

— You have repeatedly said that the Russian Federation has lost most of the money that came from bookmaker sponsors. How significant is this loss for the Russian Federation?

— Yes, we live in these conditions, and we are not the only ones. The Federation has submitted a number of applications to the Russian Sports Foundation, and many of them have already received support. The financing will allow us to purchase the necessary equipment, inventory, and launch social projects of the Russian Federation. We also plan to strengthen the educational block and resume regional support programs, albeit not in full, with RSF funds in 2026.

— How can we evaluate the work of the Russian Federation for the first half of 2026?

— Now it's generally a thankless task to evaluate something. In the conditions in which we find ourselves, with the absence of sports in an international context, with a change in the distribution of funds, this is a very thankless story. The projects that we started three years ago cannot be completed now, as the entire structure has changed. How to evaluate sports teams if there is no entry into international history? You can't really compare the level. Therefore, I would refrain from making assessments.

If we talk about projects, I would like to mention the finals of the Russian Senior Championships separately. The boys and girls play in a good atmosphere — with the audience, professional judges, and media attention. This is the second year we have been holding this initiative, and results are already emerging. The MVP of this season's tournament is Kirill Grigory, who made his national team debut a week ago in a game against the Turks. I think this is a textbook example: a guy who played at the junior level scores 20 points against the Turks— the vice-champions of Europe last year. For him, his parents, friends, and a sports school coach, this is the coolest example and an outburst of emotions: someone who seemed to be playing for the boys yesterday is now playing for the national team. It is clear that these are friendly games, but this is a strong impulse — it gives the player the inner strength to grow further.

We have made a huge number of trips to the regions, held good and productive meetings with the governors and heads of subjects. There are new initiatives related to infrastructure. These are both street basketball centers and large halls. The projects are different because the tasks and budgets in the regions cannot be the same. Vologda, Tver, Sobinka, Ulan-Ude, Lipetsk… We support the vast majority of initiatives. The main focus is on the national team center. The construction is coming to an end, and we are at the stage where the interior decoration is about to begin.

"Zenit was even more interesting in terms of composition, but CSKA was more well—played and stable."

— Share your impressions of the VTB United League season?

— We saw the usual dominance of four teams. From time to time, one of them fails, but this year all four looked more or less stable. CSKA deserved to win. In my opinion, the army men have a slightly greater margin of safety than the top three contenders for medals. Zenit was even more interesting in terms of composition, but CSKA was more well—played and stable. UNICS also has a very good gang, but two finals — both in the Cup and in the championship — didn't seem to work out: they reached it, and the final itself came out crumpled.

I like Lokomotiv Kuban very much and rightfully took the bronze series, because I probably wanted it more. I am glad that Seva Ishchenko is in their top roles. Of the other teams, I would like to mention Uralmash: throughout the season, it regularly bit the leaders. IBA, who won the Russian Cup, looked good. Also, Parma is probably somewhere in this cohort with IBA and Uralmash. Nizhny Novgorod, Avtodor, and Yenisei looked a little weaker precisely in the context of a serious struggle with the leaders.

I would like to mention the intra-season cup separately. I really liked its organization, and the Final Four in St. Petersburg deserves special thanks — it was a real celebration. Both the final and the match for third place turned out great: Perm made the comeback of the year, almost like New York against San Antonio - they caught up with Zenit and took the bronze.

— What do you think about the Women's Premier League?

— I really like the championship with one "but": you always put the club from Yekaterinburg in parentheses. I understand that they are trying to belittle him in some way, but he is so strong that it is difficult for other clubs to compete with him. During the season, UMMC literally went through the championship like a skating rink. But if you take UMMC out of the brackets, then it was really interesting to watch from second to eighth place. There were Russian girl leaders in many teams who performed well. It is a pleasure to watch the progress of young talents.

Despite the confident performance of UMMC, Dynamo Kursk imposed a crazy fight in the final. It seems like another 30 seconds and the fifth match in the series would have been waiting for us. Congratulations to the Yekaterinburg club. Once again, it's not their problem that they're so strong. Hats off to the management: being stable for more than 20 years in the current environment is cool and worthy. The team devotes a lot of time to their girls: takes care of them, does everything possible — the best accommodation, food, flights, the work of the coaching staff and physiotherapists. This is the standard of organization in women's basketball. I know that all teams strive for this level. But at the same time, I understand that this is a lot of work, and a lot depends on the owners. In this regard, UMMC, in my opinion, is ahead of everyone else.

"The arrival of the NBA in Europe was a magical kick for the Euroleague"

— The NBA season — how closely did you follow it and what impressions did you have?

— I can't say that I followed it very closely. I paid a little more attention to the playoffs than to the regular season. The champion changes for the eighth time in a row, and it seems to me that this is more a plus than a minus. Unpredictability makes the league more interesting.

This season, everyone thought that Oklahoma would take the title. But we must pay tribute to San Antonio: the team had a great season, especially with that "alien" Vembanyama in the squad.

I'll single out New York separately: the club has had a crazy season ‑ both the NBA Cup and the championship. This is probably the most stable team in the whole season. Yes, in the first half, Oklahoma was like a skating rink. But after winning the Cup, New York seemed to seize the initiative and felt that the season could turn out very well for them. And so it turned out.

— On June 30, it became known that NBA superstar LeBron James will leave the Lakers and continue his career at another club. What should he do next?

— LeBron can do whatever he wants — in his status, he has earned the right to move from team to team, stay, end his career, continue playing with his son, wait for the next son in the NBA. In my opinion, this is a top‑3 player in history — no question, or even a top‑2. I have no comments or criticism for him at all.

— How do you feel about the tension in the Euroleague due to the activity of the NBA?

— I treat this as an inevitable progress. It's clear that when a super-competitive opponent appears, you get stressed. But practice shows that cool products are born precisely in strong competition, no matter what it is about.

For the Euroleague, the appearance of the NBA with its product and teams in Europe is a very serious challenge, a blow, and at the same time an impetus for development and a step forward. The possibilities of the NBA, not even in sports, but in the commercial plane — the realization of rights, the attraction of sponsors — are incomparable with anyone in basketball. How much will the NBA be able to tighten up the sports part? I have no doubt that it will be a great product. The only question is how quickly it will become truly competitive in the Euroleague.

The strongest teams in Europe are probably playing in the Euroleague today. And I don't know yet how much the NBA will be able to tip the scales in its favor in terms of sports. But even the picture of this season has become a magic kick for the Euroleague: the teams and management have become more active in the marketing market, they work better with attention to the players and to the clubs.

It seems to me that the appearance of the NBA has worked as a good irritant, and clubs have much more opportunities. At the same time, of course, I personally want Russian clubs to return to this context as soon as possible. Moreover, CSKA is one of the shareholders of the Euroleague. I want them to play fully again. But this, I repeat, does not depend on us.