"Nesterov Cup" is a preseason friendly basketball tournament held in Nizhny Novgorod. It has been known since at least 2013. The organizer was BC Nizhny Novgorod. The tournament is dedicated to a Nizhny Novgorod native — the pilot, aircraft designer, and founder of aerobatics Pyotr Nikolayevich Nesterov.[1][2]

The 2013 Tournament

The first documented edition took place on September 25–27, 2013, at the Meshchersky Sports Complex. The tournament was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the "Nesterov loop," performed in September 1913.[1] Four clubs took part: BC Nizhny Novgorod, Astana (Kazakhstan), and Spartak (Saint Petersburg) from the VTB United League, as well as Avtodor (Saratov) from the Super League.[2] The organizers stressed how difficult it was to assemble the participants: at that time most clubs were holding their preseason training camps in Europe.[1]

As part of the tournament, on September 25 a game was held between the Old Stars, a team of Russian basketball veterans, and the Nizhny Novgorod State University team — the first team in the Region's history to join the International University Basketball League. The Old Stars lineup included: Sergey Panov (general manager of BC NN, 12-time Russian champion, EuroLeague champion), Ilona Korstin (two-time Olympic medalist, "the face of women's basketball of 2006"), Valeriy Tikhonenko (1988 Olympic champion, general director of BC Astana), Gundars Vetra (NBA and CSKA player, bronze medalist at the European Championship with the USSR national team), Evgeniy Kisurin (two-time world runner-up), and Mikhail Mikhaylov (two-time world runner-up, who at various times played for Spartak, UralGreat, and Real Madrid). Relatives of Pyotr Nesterov were expected to attend the opening of the tournament.[1][2]

Subsequent Editions

The tournament continued to be held in the following years. In the final of one edition, BC Nizhny Novgorod met Parma of Perm. The final took place on September 27: regulation ended in a tie at 71–71, and the hosts won in overtime thanks to a long-range shot by point guard Kenny Boynton, while point guard Ivan Strebkov was named the tournament's best player.[5][4]

Links

  • Wikidata (Q18400250 — an entry in the free knowledge base)

Three clubs took part in the 2014 edition: BC Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnye Krylya of Samara, and Avtodor of Saratov, the winner of the previous year's tournament.[6]

Sources

  1. nn.aif.ru — In the final of one of the tournaments, held on September 27, BC Nizhny Novgorod defeated Perm's Parma in overtime by the narrowest of margins, 71:68 (archive)
  2. Newsroom24 — In 2014 the tournament was held for the second time: the opening game took place on September 26 in Kstovo (the Volzhsky Bereg sports complex), which was the first time the competition was held t
  1. KP — Nizhny Novgorod — The Nesterov Cup. Aerobatics of Basketball (archive)
  2. V Gorode N — The Nesterov Cup basketball tournament kicks off in Nizhny Novgorod
  3. 52basketball.ru — Game Center (archive)
  4. rutube.ru — Nesterov Cup Final: Nizhny Novgorod vs. Parma (Perm)