The long-awaited debut of the Dushan Ivkovic team in the Euroleague took place last week and was decorated with Dynamo's home win against the German Cologne. But true baptism in the most prestigious tournament of the Old World awaited Muscovites in the second round, visiting the Spanish Taugres. Not so much the result as the game “Dynamo” against such a famous rival meant a lot to assess the true level of the team.
The confrontation between white and blue and it was Tau that sophisticated fans highlighted in red in September, immediately after the group stage draw. Actually, the Moscow club has nothing to do with it - it hasn’t gotten rivals in Europe yet. But to the rich basketball biography of Dynamo head coach Dushan Ivkovich, a lot of stories were stuck, entertaining and sharp. The last, promising an early continuation, happened in the season 04/05. Then, while still leading CSKA, Ivkovich lost his main “army” match - the semifinal of the Moscow “Final Four” - just “Taugres”. And that sensational defeat predetermined the departure of the coach from the club.
Of course, much has changed since then. There are no longer the main creators of that victory in Tau: the player Arvydas Matsyauskas (stands for the Greek Olympiakos) and coach Dushko Ivanovich (Barcelona). And Ivkovich himself is worried about the new team. However, the figure of the current head coach of the club from Vitoria - Serb Velimir Perasovich - is quite large-scale. Following the mentor of “Cologne”, Sasha Georgievich Ivkovich was opposed by another talented student of his, the champion of the world and Europe of the early 90's, who has now earned a reputation as one of the most talented trainers of the continent.
But these intricacies and intrigues, in many ways far-fetched, amused only the fans and the journalists. The teams pursued quite pragmatic tasks. Dynamo was to test itself for the first time in a battle with such a strong opponent. And “Tau”, which sets the season as the minimum goal in the “Final Four”, is rehabilitated for the starting defeat from the Greek “Olympiacos”. The tasks are different, but in the collision they promised a fascinating sight.
The first quarter marked the advantage of the hosts. The Balkan Tau rookies Planinic and Rakochevich successfully interacted in the attack. Teletovich carefully watched the leader of the Muscovites Papadopoulos. As a result, a spectacular 9-0 spurt in the middle of the quarter, after which Ivkovic took the first time out.
At Dynamo, in the starting minutes, the newcomer Hansen and Vasiliev, who replaced Papadopoulos, aptly attacked. But the whole effect of this pair’s actions was lost against the backdrop of global problems in organizing the offensive. Having earned two quick fouls, the main point guard Dynamo Popovich went to the bench. Instead, an injured rookie Gill appeared on the floor.
Ivkovich had no other choice. On the eve of the season, leading playmaker Mayr Chatman left the club due to disagreements with the coach. And the young Khvostov, who played well in the last match with the Germans, did not even fly to Vitoria due to an injury. These problems of Dynamo in the draw largely determined the course of the meeting and its outcome. Neither Gill, nor Popovich, who returned to the site, last season only replaced Chatman, could not organize sensible attacks. True, in the defense, the traditionally strong component of the Ivkovic teams, the blue and white all turned out well (29 rebounds). This allowed most of the match to be played on an equal footing with the opponent and partly reduced the acuteness of questions raised by Dynamo fans.
Faced with the accentuated custody of Papadopoulos, on the margin with which Muscovites have traditionally built attacks, neither Popovich nor Gill already knew how to play differently effectively. As a result, the Serb overexposed the ball over and over again, forcing himself and his partners to make unprepared shots in a hurry. And Gill, on the contrary, tried to get rid of the orange sphere as soon as possible. All this resulted in a general nervousness of the team and the coach. She did not even extinguish timeouts. The Spaniards competently and timely took advantage of the confusion of others. By the last quarter, they brought the difference to 11 points, and in the final minutes it only increased. The result is well deserved - 77:61.
Dynamo suffered their first defeat in the Euroleague. Note that, with the right conclusions, it can be much more valuable than a victory a week ago. It is hard to imagine that Ivkovic did not prepare himself for just such a development of events, parting a few days before the start of the season with playmaker Chatman - the team’s most useful basketball player. Having made coaching and team play independent from one person, Ivkovich certainly understood that an equivalent substitution would not work right away, and the game and result would suffer for some time.
Let us think the smallest of all evils. The qualifications of the Serbian coach are beyond suspicion. It is only a pity that Chatman, who left Dynamo, left his shadow somewhere in the locker room. And now in every match she can make her way to the floor, again and again causing involuntary comparisons of the game of white and blue with the disgraced American and without him. While they are not in favor of the current option.
Andrey IVANTSOV