May 20, 2012
Serhiy Lishchuk, Azovmash Mariupol
Serhiy Lishchuk - BC Azovmash MariupolWith only one game to go in the Last 16, Ukrainian champion Azovmash Mariupol can still qualify to the Final Eight with a victory and a little luck. Should Azovmash succeed, it will mark the furthest that any Ukrainian club has reached in such a high level of European competition. Serhiy Lishchuk, the top shot-blocker this season in the Eurocup, is a major part of Azovmash having given itself a chance to qualify. The 26-year-old power forward has been the most distracting defensive presence in the competition, averaging 1.6 blocks over the first 11 games this season. In the Last 16, when Azovmash needed it most, Lishchuk elevated his game even higher, scoring12.2 points per game, second on the team, while remaining a force on the defensive end with 1.8 blocks on average. Lishchuk's numbers would be even better had he not been limited to just 8 minutes in Azovmash's latest win due to an injury. Now, the same injury might force him to miss this week's decisive road battle against Crvena Zvezda in Serbia, a match that means everything to Lishchuk. "My entire thoughts circle around that game," he told Eurocupbasketball.com. "Making it to the Final Eight has been the main goal for each and every player of our team, and for the team as a whole. Now, we are only a single game away from it, and though it will be tough to win and we also depend on the group's other outcome, I believe and hope that we will make it."

Lishchuk was born and raised in the city of Rovno in the north-western part of Ukraine. Like many boys, he tried several sports, but basketball was to become his favorite. "There was a basketball boom in Rovno, after our local team moved up to the best Ukrainian League, and when I was in the third grade," Lishchuk recalled. "A couple coaches came to our school and invited me and some other tall boys to try basketball. I was excited about basketball like everybody else, so I was happy to come and start practicing." Though Lishchuk was a quick learner, he didn't dream about becoming a professional, but rather just enjoyed playing the game until Rovno's top club, Pulsar, recruited the 14-year old in 1996. From that point onward, he was a part of the first team, practicing and helping out in whatever way he could, even as a stat-keeper on far-away road games. For his own Ukrainian League debut, Lishchuk would have to wait until 2000.

It didn't take Lishchuk long to establish himself among the leaders of Pulsar, and in 2001 his progress was awarded with a place on Ukraine's national team at the European Championships in Turkey. Though Lishchuk saw limited minutes, he nevertheless chipped in with 8 points in a victory over the mighty French team, before Ukraine failed to advance from its preliminary group. In the following seasons, Lishchuk continued to improve, dominating the 2002 under-20 European Championships with 18 points and 10.7 rebounds per game and ending the 2002-03 Ukrainian League season as Pulsar's main player. After six years with the team, Lishchuk felt it was time to move forward, accepting an offer from Khimik Yuzny. "I had to continue my growth as a player, and I wanted to play in European competitions, too," he says. "So this was the next step for me."

Serhiy Lishchuk - BC Azovmash MariupolWith Khimik, Lishchuk made his debut on the European club scene, participating in the FIBA Europe Challenge Cup. The next year, he played a major role in the team's success in the FIBA Europe League, averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game to help Khimik advance to the playoffs. The best season in club's history was crowned with a bronze medal in the Ukrainian League, but though Lishchuk kept improving his game and particularly remembers Khimik head coach Zvezdan Mitrovic for helping him grow, he would soon find himself in another place. After the 2004-05 season, when Lishchuk was named the Ukrainian League MVP, the country's basketball flagship, Azovmash Mariupol, wanted the forward on its roster. Playing for Ukraine's best team meant the chance to win something big, a chance Lishchuk hadn't had before. "I agreed at once to Azovmash's offer," he remembers.

Lishchuk wouldn't have to wait long for his first title, celebrating gold in the domestic league already in his first season, 2005-06. The next year, he helped Azovmash defend its national crown and make a breakthrough on the European scene. Lishchuk averaged 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and a competition-high 2.1 blocks per game as Azovmash made it all the way to the FIBA Europe League final, where it fell to Spanish club Girona on the latter's home court after having edged Virtus Bologna in the semifinals behind Lishchuk's double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. In the 2007-08 season, Azovmash and Lishchuk debuted in the ULEB Cup, which proved to be a tougher competition for the Ukrainian champs. Lishchuk made himself noticed with 12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, but Zadar of Croatia topped Azovmash in a Last 32 two-game series on points differential. But the Ukrainian champs are back with a vengeance this season, when, despite playing in arguably the toughest group of the regular season, Azovmash advanced to the Last 16 by knocking off Asvel Basket of France and Kalise Gran Canaria of Spain. Lishchuk had a combined 24 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in the last two regular season games against those direct rivals.

In the Last 16, Azovmash started by losing twice, but managed to rebound by downing competition's only unbeaten team, Pamesa Valencia of Spain, as Lishchuk contributed 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Now, Azovmash is in position to make it to the Final Eight, but needs to beat already-eliminated Crvena Zvezda on the road and at the same hope that Pamesa defeats another Serbian team, Hemofarm Stada, in nearby Vrsac. It's not an impossible task, by any means, but the bad news for Azovmash is that Lishchuk went down with a minor muscle injury in the team's last game - a win over Hemofarm.

Though Lishchuk has had a number of smaller injuries during the last two seasons, the latest one has left him questionable for one of the most important games of his life. If Lishchuk is not well enough to dress for the game, Azovmash will have a hard time finding a way to manage without his inside presence on both ends of the floor. "I am always very nervous and worried when I watch my team play without being able to help, and I can barely stand the thought of seeing this game from the sideline," Lishchuk says. "Right now, all my thoughts are on the game in Serbia, and I just hope that I will be ready in time to help Azovmash."
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Andrei Kazankov, Eurocupbasketball.com
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