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 As one of the winningest teams in the ULEB Cup since first joining the competition three seasons ago, it comes as little surprise that Unics Kazan arrives in Turin for the Final Eight as a title contender. After acing its regular season group in 2006 and reached the semifinals last season, Unics is a true powerhouse in the competition. Unics is one of the younger clubs in the ULEB Cup. It wasn’t founded until 1991, and has only been playing in the Russian Superleague for just over a decade. However, since its first taste of European competition in 1997, Unics has established itself as a force to be reckoned with. Unics’s very first season in the Russian topflight resulted in a top five finish. By 2001, led by Leonid Iailo and Evgeny Pashutin, Unics placed second to CSKA in the Russian League and reached the semifinals of the Saporta Cup before losing to eventual winner Maroussi Athens. Unics’s first title was the Russian Cup in March 2003, with an electrifying 81-82 overtime victory over CSKA. Unics fans did not have to wait long to see their team win a European title as well. Kazan hosted the FIBA Europe League final four in April 2004 and Unics made sure of its opportunity. Unics signed Saulius Stombergas, Eurelijus Zukauskas and Chris Anstey, won its regular season group and advanced to the final four on its own floor, where it was crowned the champion as MVP Martin Muursepp scored 22 points in an 87-63 win over Maroussi in the title game. By 2005-06, Unics went one level up and made its ULEB Cup debut, where Stombergas, Ksistof Lavrinovic and Travis Best helped it win its regular season group with a 9-1 record. However things turned south quickly, as it lost at home against Roma for the only time all season in the eighthfinals’ second leg and crashed out earlier than expected. Last season Unics reunited Darjus Lavrinovic with twin brother Ksistof to form a dynamic interior duo as the club outscored opponents with ease en route to the ULEB Cup semifinals before losing to eventual champs Real Madrid.  It also returned to the Russian League finals, losing against perennial champion CSKA. This season the club shook things up a bit, adding Tariq Kirksay, Marko Tusek and Virgil Stanescu to the roster, while keeping Darjus Lavrinovic and the ever-improving Dusko Savanovic, veteran playmaker Jerry McCullough and scorer Sergei Chikalkin. It took some time for the new pieces to come together, but under new head coach Aco Petrovic, Unics won three of its last four regular-season games in blowout fashion to set up a Last 32 clash with Turk Telekom. With Lavrinovic and Kirksay clicking, Unics won the first leg by 26 points and protected the advantage in the return game to move on. Then Savanovic and Larvrinovic were the heroes as the team ousted Artland Dragons in a battle for a ticket to the Final Eight. With the team’s combination of experience, depth and hunger, Unics Kazan has high expectations as it arrives in Turin for the ULEB Cup Final Eight!
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ULEBCup.com
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