Lokomotiv Kuban

Lokomotiv Kuban

Lokomotiv Kuban is a club based in Russia that has one of the most interesting histories. This team was founded in 1946, after the First World War, in Mineralnye Vody. This place was known for its mines, therefore, the first players were rail workers. Lokomotiv started to play in the Russian competitions and it became more known in the country.

However, in 2003, after some bad season, the management decided to move to team to Rostov-on-Don which was a more developed region. The club became known as Lokomotiv Rostov and it stayed there until 2009 when another change was made. This time, the organization was moved to Krasnodar, where it remained until now under the name of Lokomotiv Kuban.

Over time, some of the best coaches that have trained this team are Aco Petrovic, Sasa Obradovic, Kestutis Kemzura, Saso Filipovski, and Sergei Bazarevich. Also, the club has had some amazing players on its roster. A few of them are Nikita Gurbanov, Giedrius Gustas, Victor Claver, James Gist, Josh Powell, Gerald Green, Nick Calathes, Malcolm Delaney and so on.

In its 73-year history, Lokomotiv Kuban managed to win 2 Russian Cups (2000, 2018) and one EuroCup (2013). However, they have been many time runners-up: Russian Cup (2014), EuroCup (2018), FIBA EuroChallenge (2011), FIBA Korac Cup (2002), VTB United League (2013), and FIBA Europe Conference North (2005). Also, in 2016, finished third in EuroLeague.

Right now, Lokomotiv Kuban stands on the 4th place in VTB League, just behind CSKA Moscow, Unics Kazan, and Khimki Moscow. In EuroCup, Lokomotiv Kuban was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Unics Kazan after losing with 1-2 the game series.

The head coach of Lokomotiv Kuban is Vlada Jovanovic and his players are Moustapha Fall, Vitaly Fridzon, Stanislav Ilnitskiy, Vladimir Ivlev, JaJuan Johnson, Dmitry Khvostov, Dmitry Kulagin, Jamel McLean, Mateusz Ponitka, Dorell Wright, and Dragan Apic.