Urartu BC

Urartu Vivaro
Urartu Vivaro logo
NicknameԱրաբկիրի հին խաղացողները (Arabkir's old players)
LeagueArmenia Basketball League A
Founded2016
ArenaArmenia Sports Arena
Capacity950
LocationYerevan, Armenia
Team colorsYellow, Purple
   
PresidentArmenia Karen Giloyan
Head coachArmenia Mikael Pogosian
Championships1 Armenian SuperCup

Urartu Basketball Club (Armenian: Ուրարտու բասկետբոլային ակումբ), also currently known as Urartu Vivaro for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team in Armenia, currently based in Yerevan. Founded in 2016 in Yerevan. The team is a founding member of the Armenia Basketball League A.

History

Urartu was founded in 2016 with the players who participated for national team in the European Championship for Small Countries played just months before. In its debut first season, the club joined the Russian Basketball Super League,[1] but after nine rounds the team resigned to continue playing due to financial difficulties.[2]

In 2017, the team joined the newly created Armenia Basketball League A, becoming one of the seven clubs that played the first season.[3] Despite finishing the regular season with a perfect balance of 12 wins in 12 games, Urartu was eliminated in the semifinals by Artsakh.[4]

Ara Poghosyan was the first president of the club who chaired between 2016 and 2017, followed by Karen Giloyan. Tigran Gyokchyan managed the team during the same period until late 2017 when he was replaced by Sargis Stepanyan.

Season by season

Season Tier Division Pos.
2017–18 1 League A 3rd
2018–19 1 League A 2nd

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Urartu BC roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
SG 6 Armenia Danielyan, Arman 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 25 – (1999-07-21)21 July 1999
C 11 Armenia Podkolzin, Georgii 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 25 – (1999-05-27)27 May 1999
G 25 United States MClain, Akil 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 27 – (1997-12-08)8 December 1997
G 23 United States Johnson, David 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 27 – (1997-11-04)4 November 1997
PG 12 Armenia Vardanyan, Mkhitar 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 30 – (1994-04-03)3 April 1994
PG Armenia Gasparyan, Babken
PG 8 United States Nouchanthavong, Jose 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 32 – (1992-02-21)21 February 1992
F United States White, DeWan 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 27 – (1997-07-04)4 July 1997
F Armenia Khachatryan, Karapet
G Armenia Khachatryan, Gevorg
Head coach
  • Armenia Mikael Pogosian
Assistant coach(es)
  • Armenia Arayik Poghosyan
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: December 23, 2021

Notable players

Trophies

  • Armenian SuperCup (1): 2019

References

  1. ^ "Баскетбол. Ереванский "Урарту" согласовал условия контрактов с 10-ю игроками" (in Russian). Armfootball.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Ուրարտուն դադարեցնում է ելույթները" (in Armenian). Urartu BC at Facebook. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Մեկնարկում է Ա լիգայի կանոնավոր առաջնությունը" [Armenia Basketball League A, 2017-18 season launched] (in Armenian). Armsport. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Ա լիգա. "Արցախը" եզրափակչում է" [League A. Artsakh is in the final] (in Armenian). Basketball Federation of Armenia. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.