Zibirov Dramir Irfanovich (born December 14, 1986, Volsk, Saratov Region) is a Russian professional basketball player, a point guard, and a Master of Sport of International Class. In the 2012/2013 season he played for the Nizhny Novgorod club BC Nizhny Novgorod.[2]

Career

At the age of 14, Zibirov entered the youth system of Saratov's Avtodor. In the 2001/2002 season he played for Avtodor-2, and from 2002 to 2005 he played for the senior squad. With Avtodor's youth team in the 2002/2003 season, he became Russian youth champion, after which he began to be called up to the country's junior and youth national teams. At 16 he made his debut with the senior team.[2]

In the summer of 2005 he moved to Saint Petersburg's Dynamo, with which he won the FIBA Euroleague and reached the Final Four of the FIBA Europe Cup. In 2006–2009 he played for Lokomotiv-Rostov, and in 2009–2010 for Moscow's Dynamo. In 2009 he received an invitation to the Russian student national team under Sergey Belov and won a silver medal at the World Summer Universiade in Belgrade (Serbia).[2]

He then played in succession for Cherepovets's Severstal (2010–2011), Rostov's Ataman (2011–2012), BC Nizhny Novgorod (2012–2013), and BC Ryazan (2013–2016). In the 2016/2017 season he played for Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) in Super League 1: in 30 games he averaged 12.5 points (38.9% on three-pointers), 3.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in 29.8 minutes, led the team to the final of the Russian Cup and a 4th-place finish in the regular season, and ranked second in Super League 1 in steals.[2]

In July 2017 he returned to Avtodor, signing a two-year contract on a "1+1" basis. Club president Vladimir Rodionov noted that Zibirov "has excellent physical attributes, plays aggressively on defense, and is good in transition." Head coach Andrea Mazzon called him a candidate to serve as a positive example for young players in the VTB United League.[2]

Achievements

  • FIBA EuroLeague champion (2005).[2]
  • FIBA Europe Cup Northern Conference finalist (2004); participant in the FIBA Europe Cup "Final Four" (2006).[2]
  • Two-time silver medalist in the Super League regular season (2006, 2012).[2]
  • Silver medalist at the World Summer Universiade in Belgrade (2009).[2]
  • Russian Cup finalist (2017).[2]
  • Russian youth champion with Avtodor (2002/2003 season).[2]

Sources

  1. superfinal.ilovebasket.ru — MLBL player Zibirov Dramir Irfanovich / MLBL Superfinal
  2. bckhimki.com — Welcome back, Dramir!
  3. czechia.news-pravda.com — "You want to see that the person who helps you cope with an emergency at home, whether it is medical assistance or the work of the fire service, is like you yourself. It…