Both teams, holding the same amount of victories in the National Championship, still have three more matches, after the game in Krylatskoe. Two contenders for the gold of the Super League will play the last regular games in Rostov against Ural Great: Khimki at home and Dynamo in Perm). Moreover, BC Khimki still has an away game in St. Petersburg, and BC Dynamo in Kazan.

What we have seen so far…

During this season, the teams played three games, two of which ended in a Dynamo victory, and one, after the victory of Khimki with a scandal and sanctions against both teams from the RFB. The first game of Khimki’s season was characterized by the coaches of both teams as a high level duel, which gave the spectators some awesome moments and held them in suspense.

BC Khimki Head Coach Kestutis KEMZURA understands that on Monday the team needs a victory, which hinges for the most part on the motivation of the players and their spirit for the game. He deems that the rival going on to the playoffs of the Euro League in its debut season in this tournament speaks a lot about its level. The results are riding on their preparation for the court: “They have to give their part for the victory, regardless of the time they have on court, be it 3 or 30 minutes.”

…and more than once.

Dynamo Moscow made the Euro League in 1997, but during that same debut season, and due to financial problems, they folded. It took one full year for one of the oldest teams in the country to win a victory in the Super League B tournament to regain its place among the Russian b-ball.

The first match for points between BC Khimki and MBC Dynamo was October 2002. They have faced off 17 times, playing as home games– including one of the games of the Final Four for the Russian Cup played on a neutral court — for the most part at Dynamo’s Sports Palace on Lavochkina Street from where the rivals moved to Khimki and Krylatskoe.

SEASON	VENUE	POINTS	SEASON	VENUE	POINTS
02/03	H	86-87	04/05	A	77-88
RS	A	99-92	RS	H	75-66
03/04	A	84-102	CR-3	N	71-95
RS	H	97-120	05/06	A	82-77
2003/	A	98-99	RS	H	71-87
2004	A	86-100	1/4 CR	A	68-85
1/4 F	H	88-90	06/07	H	81-65
04/05	A	77-88	06/07	H	89-94
RS	H	75-66	Total	17	5/12

Key:
SEASON: season match was played. RS: regular stage of National Championshipl; 1/4 F: quarter finals of the series playoffs. 1/4 RC: quarter finals Russia Cup; RC-3: third place match in Russia Cup; H: home game for BC Khimki. A: away game, N: neutral court.

Meet the opponent

Dynamo Moscow Basketball team is a part of the greater Russian Sports Association of Dynamo, founded in the year 1923. The team was the first winner of the USSR Championship of Clubs in 1937, because before this date national championships were played between city’s clubs. They also won the gold in 1948 and was two-time silver medalist in the USSR Championship in (1944 and 1990), and nine-time champion of the bronze in the Union Championship, including the final USSR/IEU CEI (Community of Independent States) played in 1992 . They were two-time winners of the National Cup and qualified for the semifinals twice for the Euro Cup (Cup of Cups in 1991 and ‘96). The club took the silver home three times for the Russian Championship ((1995, ’96, and 2005), and the bronze in 2004. Having won the ULEB Cup last season, the club won its place in the Euro League games. The president of the club is the renowned coach from USSR days and now in the Russian Federation, Olympic champ, Evgeny Gomelsky.

Dynamo Moscow has always formed part of the National Basketball Team, and recently not only on Russian soil. Alexander Voloshev (currently substituting general director for BC Khimki) won the 1972 Olympics gold. Dynamo won the Olympics and became part of the USSR National Team as European and world champions.

Before last year’s season start, the club brought in Dusan Ivkovic, and under his direction the team added a series of famous world-class players including: Antonis Fotsis (Real, Madrid, Spain), Bojan Popovic (Zeleznik, Serbia), while they saw the return of Sergey Bykov, all of whom continue in the team. They reinforced their ranks during this pre-season signing on the NBA player Sergey Monia, and the Russian team’s Andrei Trushkin (Ural Great), Andrei Ivanov (Dynamo SPb), and the rookie Eddie Gill (Dynamo SPb), and also from Spain the TAU player Travis Hansen and from Crvena Zvezda, Miroslav Raicevic. During the season, the team continued to boost its bench with former Italian players, center Obbina Ekezie (Virtus, Roma), and guard Taquan Dean (Angelico, Biela)

Dynamo Moscow

№	PLAYER	POSITION	BORN.	HEIGHT cm	NATIONALITY
4	Bojan Popovic	Guard	1983	190	Serbia
5	Andrey Ivanov	Forward	1984	197
6	Travis Hansen	Guard	1978	198	USA
7	Dmitry Khvostov	Guard	1989	190
8	Eddie Gill	Guard	1978	183	USA
9	Taquan Dean	Guard	1983	191	USA
10	Sergey Bykov	Guard	1983	190
11	Sergey Monia	Forward	1983	202
12	Lázaros Papadopuoulos	Center	1980	210	Greece/Russia
13	Andrey Trushkin	Center	1981	207
14	Dmitry Domani	Guard	1974	200
15	Antonis Fotsis	Forward	1981	209	Greece
17	Yuri Vasiliev	Center	1981	207
19	Obbina Ekezie	Center	1975	208	Nigeria
21	Grigory Shukhovtsov	Center	1983	211
25	Sergey Romanov	Guard	1984	200
31	Miroslav Raicevic	Forward	1981	208	Serbia/Greece

Head Coach: Dusan Ivkovic
Asst. Coaches: Vangelis Agelou, Andrey Kornev, Roman Safronov