“Basketball has always been great, it just lacked the element of spectacle”: What do you need to know about the first media basketball league in the Russian Media Basket?

PPLTLK editors are rarely fooled by their intuition, and it looks like we didn’t miss it once again when they started talking about the fact that winter basketball culture has reached Russia. One of the brightest proofs of this is the Liga Stavok Media Basket, the first media basketball league in Russia this spring that brings together the best players, musicians, bloggers and stars on one platform. Therefore, every April weekend, your social media feed can be filled with reports from the matches, and on the accounts of LJ, T-killah, Nadia Sysoeva and other artists a basketball began to flicker more and more often – they and their team spend the weekend at the Arbat Hall in Moscow with the best spent to compete for the title. And now seven rounds are behind, ¼, ½ and of course, the finale of the first season of the Media Basket Stakes League, which happily coincided with the birthday of tonight’s main victory – T- Killah and his team, who celebrated their 34th birthday on April 30th. Rodina Media defeated 2DROTS with a score of 31:27. Meanwhile, our editors did not miss the event, the Pharaoh performance during the break, or the Slam Dunk Competition, where Russia’s most popular dunk and Hoops player Miroslav Yeletsky jumped over six people and a car. nor did the party after Basement Moscow take place on the night ballpark. Alexander Tarasov and Rodina players Maxim Pogodin and Maxim Shumkov celebrated the victory by dunking a few hours before the same site was packed with people. Meanwhile, Media Basket development director Hakobyan Sevak has already promised an impressive second season to our assistant editor-in-chief, author of this material and a budding basketball fan (we should at least expect a women’s team to appear), but for now we’re on the verge of telling you why you shouldn’t miss it. We talked about this and more with Sergey Mardoyan, one of the organizers of the tournament and co-founder of Basement Moscow.

sergei mardoyan

It seems that this year basketball has become a new trend in the world of sports – why do you think?

Basketball has always been distinguished by its spectacle and proximity to modern pop culture, missing just a little bit of chili that was an element of the show, whether it was to do something like a party or get together from a simple competitive event. Naturally, the new approach to running a sporting event attracted a lot of attention and became the main topic of discussion.

How did the “Media Basket” idea come about? What was the path from idea to implementation?

We love basketball, the NBA and everything related to it since childhood, we often get together to play with friends, and our social circle is made up of creative and enthusiastic people, as the main activity of our creative association is parties and nightlife. It’s only natural that at some point we decided to gather all our basketball-loving friends in one tournament and show it to others. the road was thorny (Laughs.)While nurturing and developing the idea of ​​basketball, we were able to create a media football league where we learned a lot and applied the experience we gained in creating a basketball story.

There were many nuances in the work, but with the cohesion of our team and the help of our friends – general sponsor Liga Stavok – we easily overcame all the obstacles and will not stop.

How do you select the participants for the project? Are there any conditional criteria?

Of course, there are some criteria, but the most important is the love of basketball. And when we just started everything, we first communicated with our friends and the same sports fans. Thus, Pena Team and Hoops, one of the first men of Sayonara Boys, caught fire with the idea of ​​the project. In general, at the beginning, as is often the case, the participants were formed from the immediate environment. As for the formation of teams and entry to the playing field, there are regulations here first and foremost – it’s important to strike a balance between professional athletes and media players – this is perhaps the hardest part and there will always be disagreements.

Let’s talk about numbers: how “media Is Sepet» as a profitable project?

For us right now the main concern is popularity, not profitability, we are at the very beginning of our journey and our main goal is to instill a love of basketball in as many people as possible. Let them watch, cheer, team up, join – numbers and pluses will follow.

What prospects do you see for the development of the project in the future?

At least the second season, as a maximum – an organization at the NBA level.

Are you planning to expand the geography and go to the regions with the project? For example, do you host city or even international games?

Absolutely, but all the details later. In the meantime, do not forget to subscribe to our social networks so that you do not miss anything.

What is the purpose of your project, what is in the foreground?

The main goal in everything we do is pleasure, including the fulfillment of our fantasies. And of course this is the promotion of basketball and leisure activities like going to basketball games. In addition, media sports give many athletes the chance to live their dreams and succeed in their favorite job, even though the doors of professional sports have been closed for various reasons.

Why should you definitely come?media Basket?

Because no sporting event has the atmosphere we have. Besides being close to rival athletes and believe me it is an indescribable energy. And simply because you rarely see so many bright and interesting guests in one place. Come and maybe sit between LJ and Miss Russia and watch Niletto and Nadya Sysoeva play on the basketball court.

Photo: Media Basket