VTB-League.com continues to recap the league's sixth season. Earlier, we talked with executives at the eight clubs that missed the playoffs. Now it's time to hear from the clubs that qualified for the postseason and battled for a championship.

1. Rate your team's performance in the VTB United League this season. 
2. How would you rate the level of the league and which team or player surprised you most? 
3. What do expect from next season in the league?

CSKA Russia
(Regular season: 26-4, 1st place. Playoffs: champion)

Natalia Furaeva, club vice president

1. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that our performance in the league was exciting. CSKA played entertaining basketball and led the league in points, scoring over 100 points 12 times while going undefeated in the postseason.

2. I'm very happy that our clubs–the Russian clubs, first of all–are at a high level. I'd especially single out Zenit, top three most of the season and Avtodor, which played entertaining basketball in its debut season, qualified for the postseason and battled Khimki tough. Moscow Region also surprised in the semifinals, beating Lokomotiv-Kuban in a challenging series despite a rash of injuries.

It's hard to think of any breakthrough players. Even newcomers like de Colo, Fesenko and Parakhouski had already proved their talent at the top level.

3. As always, I expect interesting, competitive basketball. And, of course, I hope that CSKA wins.

Khimki Russia
(Regular season: 25-5, 2nd place. Playoffs: 2nd place, lost to CSKA in finals – 3-0)

Pavel Astakhov, club general director

1. We met our preseason goals: we made it to the VTB United League finals, which is why I think the team's performance was a success overall.

2. The overall level of the league has undoubtedly improved. Every team needs to play its best in any given game. There aren't any easy wins in the league. I don't think I was the only one pleasantly surprised by Avtodor.

3. I'm looking forward to even more interesting games, teams with distinct identities and exciting players. All of that will help popularize basketball and attract new fans.

Lokomotiv-Kuban Russia 
(Regular season: 23-7, 3rd place. Playoffs: lost to Khimki in the semifinals – 3-2)

Andrey Vedishchev, club president

1. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to reach the VTB United League and Eurocup finals. Though we didn't reach those goals, we still enjoyed an exciting season. We set the Eurocup record for consecutive wins and earned a VTB United League medal. That's a good result, if you consider that we were competing against the best teams in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, we had to play without quarterfinals star Anthony Randolph in the semifinals and Mantas Kalnietis, who we expected to be back in optimal condition by the playoffs. But even with those losses, we added a bronze medal to our trophy case. That accomplishment will not be forgotten.

2. The level of the league is very high. The top eight teams in the league provide serious competition and it's very interesting to watch them battle. The decision to change the format, stop dividing teams into groups and play a round robin schedule was absolutely the correct decision and made the VTB United League one of the top European leagues.

I was surprised by Anthony Randolph and Maxim Kolyushkin on our team and I don't think I was the only one. Nizhny Novgorod and Taylor Rochestie were another surprise. But the biggest surprise for me was Nando de Colo. He changed a lot in two years in the NBA. He became much better at handling the ball, running the pick-n-roll and playing both guard positions.

3. I expect another interesting season, unpredictable results and an exciting postseason. I think all the clubs and the league could work together on improving the quality of TV broadcasts and reliability of internet feeds. That's something we could do a better job of.

Nizhny Novgorod Russia
(Regular season: 19-11, 5th place. Playoffs: lost in the semifinals to CSKA – 3-0)

Sergey Panov, club board chairman

1. We had a very interesting season. We had to balance games in the VTB United League and Euroleague for the first time. That's probably why we were not always very consistent. We started well and didn't lose once in the league until late December. We beat UNICS and Lokomotiv-Kuban during that stretch. We were playing very well. But by the spring, fatigue became a factor for our leaders. As a result, we lost disappointing games to Kalev and Krasnye Krylia. During the quarterfinal series vs. Zenit, we played with a toughness that we had lacked sometimes during the regular season. We looked good during stretches against CSKA, but it's still tough for us to beat them in a series.

2. The level of the league and competition between teams grew. That's connected to the increase in the number of games and an open regular season. There were a lot of unexpected results, which always attracts attention to the league. As for concrete teams, I'd note successful debuts for Zenit and Avtodor. These teams play interesting basketball and are successful at drawing fans to the arena.

3. I expect continued growth in competition and the appearance of new Russian teams in the league.

Zenit Russia
(Regular season: 22-8, 4th place. Playoffs: lost in the quarterfinals to Nizhny Novgorod – 3-2)

Stanislav Eremin, club general secretary

1. Given what we had to deal with prior to the start of the season, I think that Zenit played well in its debut VTB United League season. We managed to finish in 4th place during the regular season, placing ahead of two Euroleague teams. We reached the Eurocup playoffs and everyone is very satisfied with the result.

2. I'd like to note the play and progress of Russian players this season. We have some very talented young players growing up. In addition to the Russian players at Zenit, promising Russian prospects from CSKA, Loko and Khimki are becoming leaders on their teams. That's very important for Russian basketball.

3. There is a lot of news concerning financial problems at several clubs which is cause for concern. There should be as many Russian teams as possible in the league and we need economic stability for basketball to develop.

UNICS Russia
(Regular season: 19-11, 6th place. Playoffs: lost in quarterfinals to Lokomotiv-Kuban – 3-0)

Evgeny Bogachev, club president

1. We're not thrilled by the team's performance. We finished lower in the league than we had planned. The regular season was mixed. We had some great games: our road win over Nizhny Novgorod and win at home vs. Khimki, when they were in peak condition and preparing for a big game in the Eurocup. We also lost to teams that we simply had to beat. There were several reasons for our inconsistent performance: changing coaches midseason and lots of injuries. Not having several key players made it difficult for us to win decisive games in the VTB United League and Eurocup.

2. The level of the league is quite high. There were interesting games. Avtodor was a surprise. Despite a modest budget, they played very well and reached the playoffs while playing attractive basketball. You could see the influence of experienced coach and manager Vladimir Rodionov. There aren't many who can match his ability to spot talent. Rodionov made Saratov go crazy over basketball. The stands were never empty.

3. We'd like the clubs to get bigger bonuses next season. Club expenses have risen for obvious reasons in all areas. I'd also like for the public and media to pay more attention to the youth league, which exclusively features young Russian players. Preparing new talent is a very serious question and demands special attention.

Avtodor Russia
(Regular season: 17-13, 7th place. Playoffs: lost in the quarterfinals to Khimki – 3-0)

Vladimir Rodionov, club president

1. We had a wonderful result. For a debut season after 10 years away from elite competition, we deserved an A+. During the regular season, Avtodor beat practically all of the big clubs in the league, including CSKA. If not for Downs's injury, we could have played much better in the playoffs. The colossal difference between the Superleague and VTB United League was very noticeable. Our biggest accomplishment this season was that we managed to draw a lot of fans to the arena with our play. We led the league in attendance.

2. The level of the league was very high. The round-robin format during the regular season was very fair when it came to the final VTB United League and Russian championship standings.

Almost all of the key players on our team were a pleasant surprise. I wasn't confident that Fortson would get comfortable so quickly at the highest level. He's a brilliant player and very competitive. He could definitely play in the NBA if he changed his attitude. But it's tough for him to stick at a top club because of his behavior and attitude toward life. Fesenko also made me happy. He'd never played as well as he did for us this season. I'm very happy for him and hope he keeps it up! Vzdyakhalkin, Peterson and Downs also enjoyed the best seasons of their careers.

3. First of all, I expect consistency from Avtodor, which will help us perform even better than we did this season. We are planning for the future when it comes to free agency. We plan to play at least as well in the upcoming season and compete for medals the following year.

Astana Kazakhstan
(Regular season: 13-17, 8th place. Playoffs: lost in the quarterfinals to CSKA, 3-0)

Valery Tikhonenko, club general director

1. We lost Nik Caner-Medley after our first game in the national league at the start of the season. Despite that misfortune, we started pretty well and were in the playoff zone. Then some of our other starters suffered injuries, which knocked us out of the top eight. But the guys pulled together and righted the ship. We won several games at the end to make the playoffs.

2. As for the standings, I think they accurately reflected the play on the court. Of course, the series between Lokomotiv-Kuban and Khimki was memorable and a thrill to watch!

As for Astana, I'd point out the progress made by Kazakh players Anatoly Kolesnikov, Pavel Ilyin and Anton Ponomarev. They were very impressive filling in for our leaders throughout the season.

3. We expect unpredictable results, excitement and good games. We'll try to win and improve on our results.

vtb-league.com