This Sunday Ural Great plays its Russian Cup quarter-final game vs. Triumph Lubertsi. Our team manager Alexey Pegushin played for both clubs. He gave his brief interview for our website.
You played for Dynamo Moscow region in the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. This summer the club changed its name to Triumph. Is there anything common between Dynamo Moscow region and Triumph?
I think these are two different clubs. Triumph has different top managers, new coaches and players. There is no any single player in Lubertsi with I played in Dynamo Moscow region. Triumph is stronger. Their leader is Ognen Askrabic, he is half of the team. Their playmaker Chatman also does not need references. He was the one who brought ULEB Cup to Dynamo Moscow.
What do you think of the former Ural Great player Terrell Lyday?
He is a good player though not always stable. He may play well so that nobody can stop him. I may assume he will have extra-motivation in the game in Perm. Any player who comes to play against his former team has special feelings. These may be ambitions, offence or something else.
What did you feel playing against Ural Great?
It was flattering when I could play well against most important team in my life. I would say I tried to score. I prefer smart basketball. There are situations when you can shoot and when you cannot. You need to always stay a team player. I do not like those who leave the court happy having scored 30 points even when their team loses.
Head coach of Triumph is Stanislav Eremin.
Eremin has the task to prove that top managers of Triumph made a good choice of a head coach. He will do his best to uplift Triumph to a brand new level. Their goals are medals of the Russian championship. He has a difficult task. Boris Gromov, governor of Moscow region is a maximalist, he likes the teams that fight for top places, runner-ups. If Eremin does not reach these goals, nobody will stand it.
Why do you think Perm is the attraction centre for basketball players?
Perm has a special basketball atmosphere. Local people love basketball. In other cities like Moscow, Kazan the attitude to players is different. They consider players as wage employees. Perm is much warmer. The players in Ural Great do not go different ways after practices. We often spend time together. These traditions were born in our best champions years. It doesnt matter who you are: Russian, American or Lithuanian. The club did everything to make you feel a part of a big family. Informal atmosphere makes people closer. I cannot even find the word to describe that atmosphere in Ural Great. It wasnt even the family, it was idyll.
