[ad_1]
Last Friday, Chimki finally decided to end R. Kurtinaitis’s suffering as the team’s coach, saying goodbye to the 60-year-old Lithuanian.
A string of 12 failures in the Euroleague and a section of absolute outsiders, a weak performance in the VTB United League – Chimki’s management’s patience lasted longer than could be expected in a similar situation.
S. Jelevičius, who was interviewed by the Russian media, believes that, despite all objective reasons, R. Kurtinaitis could not take advantage of the club’s potential.
“R. Kurtinaitis did not control the psychological situation in the locker room, he did not face the leaders. Of course, the chain of trauma and the coronavirus were also affected.
However, Chimki had the strongest lineup of all time this season. The coach had to make the most of it, be a true leader. Unfortunately, nothing went wrong. Therefore, the separation was logical, “said a specialist who worked at the Club of the Moscow Region in 1997-2007.
Last December, the team leaders, who were not committed to a more serious surgical operation, were satisfied with the dismissal of several assistants of R. Kurtinaitis – Robertas Kuncaitis and Giedrius Kurtinaitis, the son of a strategist, as well as Evaldas Kandratavičius, Physical Training Specialist.
According to S. Jelevičius, this step was not as insignificant as it may seem at first glance.
“Once the team entered the turbulent zone, the situation could no longer be corrected. But Rima himself did not give himself that opportunity because the specialists at his headquarters were very weak.
In this job it is not necessary to have friends, but good workers who perform their duties in a professional manner. In my opinion, it is foolish to put all the responsibility on their shoulders, “said S. Jelevičius.
After the dismissal of R. Kurtinaitis, his duties were taken over by Andrejus Malcevas, who was invited to join the squad in December. In addition, it is assisted by Aurim Jasilionis, the late Lithuanian chimki, Denis Karaulnov and Aleksandras Trifunovičius, a seasoned Serb who joined last month.
The changes did not yield sudden results: on Sunday, “Chimki” also lost in the VTB United League, losing 87:93 at home to UNIKS in Kazan.
In this match, the best solo performance of the season was organized by host leader Alexei Švedas. The defender played even more than usual: 36 minutes. – and scored 33 points (7/11 from two points, 3/7 from three points, 10/14 from penalties) and provided 8 assists.
However, the flashes of A. Švedas did not return to bring any benefit to the team in the tournament table, especially when in the decisive minute of the match and Chimki was 85:87 behind, the 32-year-old Russian basketball star shone slightly a triple from 8 meters more than 5 cm taller than striker John Brown. .
A. Švedas missed the mark, burning the best chance to save the match, but A. Malcev didn’t dare blame him.
“I do not intend to discuss the decision made by Alexei. I may seem like a rude or dishonest coach, but I will only discuss it with A. Švedas and the team,” said the new Chimki helmsman.
Interestingly, Malcev is only the second Russian to lead the VTB United League team this season.
Although 9 Russian clubs are playing in this tournament, so far only the instructions of the Krasnodar Lokomotiv have been shared by a local specialist, Yevgeny Pasutin.
Malcev will also become the first Russian strategist in the Euroleague club since 2015, when UNIKS, led by Pasutin himself, played a prestigious continental tournament.
Andrey Maltsev will be the new coach of BC Khimki. pic.twitter.com/1W3FxRTFvt
– BC Khimki (@Khimkibasket) January 15, 2021
So far he has only managed youth teams, for the last 15 years A. Malcev has worked in the CSKA system of Chimki’s main competitor in Moscow and has trained the club’s substitutes. Among the latter was once A. Švedas.
True, the 54-year-old stuntman himself primarily identifies with St. Petersburg, where he played most of his professional career, and calls himself a pupil of the legendary coach Vladimir Kondrashin.
The Euroleague debut awaits him on Thursday when Chimki visits Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece.
It is strictly prohibited to use the information published by DELFI on other websites, in the media or elsewhere, or to distribute our material in any way without consent, and if consent has been obtained, it is necessary to indicate DELFI as the source.
[ad_2]
