This week general manager of Ural Great Sergey Belov, head coach of the team Drazen Anzulovic, his assistant Dario Gjergja and team manager Alexey Pegushin gave press conference to the local mass media. Here is the text of this conference.

Sergey Belov: Problems that Ural Great experienced in the past few years could not kill the interest that the Perm public has for the game of basketball. The attention that mass media pay to our club proves this too. I think our choice of Drazen Anzulovic as the head coach of the team is the first step towards improvement of the situation. I believe Drazen can help our club enter a brand new level. The team roster has been made under closest attention of the new head coach. Drazen showed big interest in the foreign players whom we signed this year.

D.Anzulovic: I hope we will build friendly relations with the mass media. In the beginning of my negotiations with Andrey Agishev and Sergey Belov I saw their big ambitions. I am an ambitious man too. I am sure our players will show the same character on the court. We have to give not 100 but 150 per cent of what we can in every practice and every game. Even when we lose we must know that we tried hard and did all we could. Our main task for today is to build up a team where every player works for our common interests. When we have the team, the result will come. I believe we can manage this task and will do our best to bring joy to our fans.

S.Belov: I would like to introduce you Alexey Pegushin in his new position of the team manager. Alexey is the person who can unite players. He is a veteran of Perm basketball and is actually the best candidate for this role.

A.Pegushin: My task is to build smoothly running working relations inside the team and between it and the office. In the working process certain problems and questions may arise. One of my goals is to salve the difficulties.

D.Gjergja: It is a great honour for me to work in Perm. I am sure we will have good preparation camp and start the season in proper condition. We will work hard to achieve the best results. I have been working with Drazen for 6 years and we have a good understanding of each other.

Question to Mr. Belov: Last season you allowed yourself no doubts about Rimas Kurtinaitis. Do you feel secure of Anzulovic right now?

Answer: Yes, I am positive about him.

Question to Mr. Anzulovic: Did you meet the players? What condition are they in?

A: At the moment we have 14 players practicing. We are in the preparation period. Before we leave to Slovenia we will determine the main roster consisting of 12-14 players including foreign ones. Plisnic will arrive on the 17th of August, the Americans are expected to come on the 18th-19th of August. On the 22nd of August we all depart for Slovenian Rogla. This place is very good for conditioning preparation. From the 2nd to 12th of September we will stay in Croatian Porec where we play 5 friendly games. After that we will return to Slovenia to play 3 more games. Our return to Perm is scheduled for the 17th of September. We will try to organize games here too before the beginning of the season. As for the conditions of the players it is too early to talk about it right now. I am getting to know them, look what they can do on the court.

Q: You entered this room with crutches. How do you feel?

A: I had a knee surgery this summer. After that I had a long rehabilitation period and now I am ready to work.

Q: Did you have other job offers this summer? Was the financial side important for you?

A: I had other proposals. I believe my choice of Ural Great is a serious step forward in my career. Financial side was important but not decisive.

Question to Mr. Belov: What are the team’s goals for the next season?

A: First and most important goal is that we have to qualify for the playoffs. Step by step Ural Great has to return to the number of top Russian basketball clubs. For a beginning our goals are to qualify to the domestic championship playoffs and go as far as possible in the FIBA EuroCup. But our main task is to build a really good team. Remember our glorious past when Ural Great beat at home such big clubs as Kinder Bologna, Real Madrid and CSKA. We have to get back to that winning spirit, make up a team that improves throughout several consecutive seasons.

Q: Do you expect more signings?

A: Our roster is almost finished. But further signings are possible in the run of the season.

Q: Did you solve financial problems?

A: We will not have such big problems as we experienced last season. I wish the new coaches good game and luck. I have been and remain an optimistic man. I believe they can solve big tasks.