On October 30, the Russian Cup in basketball among men's and women's teams concluded at the hall of the Zelenograd Sports and Recovery Center "Complex Record."

The tournament featured seven men's teams (from Moscow, Moscow-2, St. Petersburg, Belgorod Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Chelyabinsk Oblast, and Rostov Oblast) and three women's teams from St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Moscow-2.

Over five highly intense competitive days, the group stage battles for the men's teams, divided into groups A and B, took place first, followed by the playoff stages, with the top teams advancing to the final matches. The women's competitions were held in a round-robin format.

It is worth noting that the Moscow basketball school excelled in both men's and women's matches, brilliantly winning all their head-to-head games and once again becoming the tournament champions. Representatives from Chelyabinsk Oblast and St. Petersburg also showed a commendable level, managing to secure podium finishes.

The official closing and awards ceremony was attended by OSFSG President Dmitry Rebrov, the head of the Russian national basketball team, Chairman of the Zelenograd Basketball Federation Yuri Rymarchuk, Olympic champion, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (author of the "golden pass" with three seconds left in the famous final match against the USA team at the 1972 Munich Olympics) Ivan Edeshko, and the bronze medalist of the XIV World Games for the Deaf in 1981 (Cologne, FRG) Alexey Ippolitov.

Yuri Rymarchuk: "Our competitions have concluded. It was a great pleasure to watch the games, which featured very interesting and intense play. Everyone showed excellent basketball. All competitions eventually come to an end, and now ours have too. But before awarding you, I would like to invite some people to greet you and talk to you about your sport."

Dmitry Rebrov: "Good afternoon, everyone. It's a joy to see you here at this Russian Cup event. Thank you for coming and performing, for showing worthy basketball. Under current sanctions, we are isolated from international competitions for now, but the Federation is doing everything possible to return our basketball to the international arena. I wish you continued development."

Alexey Ippolitov: "Dear athletes! It was a pleasure to observe, to see your games with my own eyes. Of course, these are completely different games; the growth in your technical skills is evident. I admire you! I wish you further success and good luck. Stay healthy!"

Ivan Edeshko in his speech shared how he was a consultant for the well-known sports film "Going Vertical" and about the goals of that final basketball match. He encouraged everyone to work on themselves to achieve professional growth and their life goals. To conclude, he presented the tournament winners with personalized, signed cards featuring motivational quotes.

Here are some of them: "Never surrender, and you will see others doing so," "Never say 'I can't'; if you do, it means you don't want to," "Only through hard work will you be the best!", "Every practice is about going vertical!"

ALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Alexander Vasilkov - Senior Coach of the Russian National Basketball Team:

"The Russian Cup is a major sporting event in basketball! It's hard to say what's more exciting now - the Cup or the Championship - the games are always very interesting to watch. The autumn clashes or the spring ones... I think everyone who was in the hall and saw the matches won't be able to say for sure either. Struggle, passion, beautiful moments, non-standard solutions – that's all our beloved basketball. This year, 7 men's and 3 women's teams participated in the Cup. The men's tournament, in particular, turned out to be very eventful and interesting. All games were played at a high level, the teams showed good teamwork, which underscores the importance of the competitions. The women's tournament was no less intense, the games were played at a good level, but unfortunately, due to the small number of participating teams, it wasn't as spectacular as the men's. I want to thank all the athletes and coaches, everyone who took part in these competitions, because with each new tournament our teams reach new heights, a new level."

Text: Nurlan Tazhigulov

Photos: Anton Zelenin, Sofia Rumyantseva, Gennady Kovalenko

Translation: Daria Kudelina