May 17, 2012
The Club Scene: Budivelnik BC
The 1954 team of Budivelnik (Photo: Budivelnik)Far from being a new club, Budivelnik has a seven-decade tradition since its foundation back in 1945. The club started right after World War II, when Vladimir Shablinsky former a team called SKIF which he would coach, recruiting players from the Kyiv Sports Institute. By 1953, SKIF was an emerging team in Russian basketball with players like Boris Vdovichenko, Vitaly Kovyanov or Nikolai Bagley. The team had reached the Soviet Union second division in the 1950s and would promote to the country's elite soon after that, competing against teams that dominated European basketball such as ASK Riga, CSKA Moscow or Dinamo Tblisi. Coach Shablinsky was a great student of the game and always found fun-to-watch, attractive ways to improve his team. SKIF was the first team in the country to use zone press defense or alleyoops.

The club needed more financial support, however, as some players left SKIF once they graduated from the sports institute. It found a sponsor that could take the team to the next level and SKIF was renamed to Budivelnik - a building company - in 1962. As a sign of identity, the club chose the Ukrainian name Budivelnik instead of its Russian version, Stroitel, but was well-known by both names. Nicknamed "the Constructors" due to its strong sponsor, Budivelnik finished third in the Soviet Union League in 1962 and 1964. With players as Vitaly Kovyanov, Yuriy Vystavkin or Anatoly Polivoda as its main references, Budivelnik did even better in 1965 and 1966, finishing second right behind mighty CSKA Moscow, that was almost unbeatable with Jaak Lipso, Gennadiy Volnov and Yuri Andreev as its star frontline.

Budivelnik kept fighting for all available titles but always came up short. The club reached the Soviet Union Cup final in 1969 and 1972, but also was third in the 1970 and 1974 Soviet Union Leagues. Team captain Kovyanov retired and longtime coach Shablinsky was replaced by Aleksandr Klimenko. The fact that Budivelnik was a first-class club was proved with the fact that two of its players - Sergey Kovalenko and Polivoda - helped the Soviet Union national team to conquer the gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. In one of the biggest upsets ever in world basketball history, the Soviet Union beat USA 49-50 in the title game.

Budivelnik in the 1964-65 season (Photo: Budivelnik)The club returned to its best form in the lae 1970s, with Alexander Belostenny and Vladimir Tkachenko as its twin towers. The club was third again in 1974 and finished second in the Soviet Union League four consecutive seasons from 1979 to 1982, but each and every time CSKA stood on its way to win the title. Belostenny and Tkachenko helped the USSR to win the gold medal at EuroBasket 1981 and became World Champions in 1982 but Budivelnik had othr stars like Vladimir Ryzhov or Andriy Shaptala. The club made its European competitions debut in the 1981-82 season, playing the Saporta Cup. Budivelnik had mighty Real Madrid on the ropes twice in the group stage but ended up losing both games by a narrow margin. Despite taking a 16-point lead in the first leg, Cibona rallied to make it to the final and eventually win the title. Tkachenko left for CSKA in 1983 but Budivelnik has its young, homegrown star in the making: Alexander Volkov.

Budivelnik was once again third in the Soviet Union League in 1983 and 1984, but CSKA and Zalgiris - now led by Arvydas Sabonis and Rimas Kurtinaitis - proved to be too strong for the Ukrainian powerhouse. All Budivelnik fans had to wait until 1989 to see the team lift its first Soviet Union League trophy. Volkov and Belostenny had returned to the club and the club signed big men Yevhen Dolgov and Aleksandr Shevchenko, forward Vladimir Levitsky and guard Yevhen Murzin. Budivelnik lost just one regular season game and advanced to the title series against Zalgiris. With the do-or-die game on the line, Budivelnik downed Zalgiris in the final on a series-winning three-point shot by Volkov that was not counted initially. The game went to overtime - 87-87 - and Zalgiris won 98-93, but Budivelnik protested and the day after the game, Volkov's eight-meter triple was deemed to be made before the buzzer. All of a sudden, Budivelnik had managed to be the first Ukrainian team to win the Soviet Union title, after trying so hard for three decades.

Khalid El-Amin in Budivelnik (Photo: Budivelnik)Once the Soviet Union broke down in the early 1990s and despite losing its biggest stars - Volkov famously became the first Soviet Union player to play in the NBA -, Budivelnik became a dominant force in the Ukrainian League, winning six consecutive titles from 1992 to 1997 with Grigoriy Khizhnyak, Oleksandr Okunskyy, Oleksandr Lokhmanchuk, Vitaly Potapenko and Leonid Yaylo as its main stars. Budivelnik reached the Saporta Cup Eighthfinals in 1997, losing against Verona. The club still was second in 1998 and third in the 1999 Ukrainian League, but Budivelnik underwent financial problems and could not play a major role in its competition by the turn of the millennium. Despite struggling against most powerful teams, the club managed to stay in the Ukrainian first division.

The club received a big sponsorship from Privat Group Budivelnik and it managed to be competitive again. With Rimantas Grigas as head coach and players like Tomas Delininkaitis, Derrick Zimmerman or John DeGroat, Budivelnik won the UBL Cup and reached the UBL final. Once the Superleague and the UBL merged again to become Ukraine's elite competition, Budivelnik put together a very competitive squad featuring Khalid El-Amin, Gerrod Henderson or RT Guinn. Budivelnik was the regular season champion but lost 2-3 in the title series against Azovmash, including a heartbreaking 70-77 home loss in Game 5. Budivelnik now has the chance to rewrite its own history by becoming the first Ukrainian team to reach the Eurocup Quarterfinals. A modern basketball organization, the club will stay ambitious and competitive, challenging for every available title, trying to get better every year.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Javier Gancedo, Eurocupbasketball.com
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