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{{Infobox Basketball club
| color1        = white
| color2        = #003153
| name          = Almaty Legion
| nickname      = 
| logo          = Almaty Legion logo.png
| imagesize     = 
| leagues       = [[Kazakhstan Basketball Championship]]
| founded       = 2006
| history       = '''BC Almaty'''<br>(2006–2014) <br> '''Almaty Legion'''<br>(2014–present)
| arena         = Sports complex Dostyk
| capacity      = 
| location      = [[Almaty]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| colors        = White, Blue<br> {{color box|white}} {{color box|#003153}}
| president     = Oleg Severgin
| coach         = Alexander Chernov
| championships =  '''1''' [[Kazakhstan Basketball Cup|Domestic Cups]]
| website       = [http://al-bclegion.kz/ al-bclegion.kz] {{ru icon}}
}}

'''Basketball Club "BC" Almaty''' ({{lang-ru|Баскетбольный клуб "БК" Алматы}}) is a [[Kazakhstan]]i professional [[basketball]] club based in the city of [[Almaty]] in southern Kazakhstan.

Founded in 2006, it has played under the name '''Almaty Legion''' ({{lang-ru|Алматинский легион}}) since 2014. The club has competed in the [[Kazakhstan Basketball Championship]] -  losing twice in the championship final – and the [[Kazakhstan Basketball Cup]], which they won in 2015.

For the 2014–15 season, the team also competed in the [[Russian Basketball Super League]], the professional second division league in [[Russia]].

==History==
BC Almaty was founded in December 2006 by the municipality of [[Almaty]],  it was managed by the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of that city.<ref name=AlmatyHistory>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-bclegion.kz/about/history |script-title=ru:ТОО " Баскетбольный клуб "Алматы" » г. Алматы  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=BC Almaty |access-date=20 June 2015 |language=Russian |trans-title=LLP Basketball Club Almaty, Almaty}}</ref>
In July 2014, the club became a  [[Limited liability partnership#Kazakhstan|limited liability partnership]],<ref name=AlmatyHistory /> with the municipality selling the totality (100%) of its shares in the club as part of a privatization campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.almaty.gov.kz/upload/files/2015_vtoraya_volna_privatizacii_rus.pdf#page=11 |script-title=ru:ТОО " Баскетбольный клуб "Алматы" » г. Алматы  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=[[Almaty]] government |access-date=23 June 2015 |language=Russian |trans-title=List of communal property [privatisation] to be implemented in 2015}}</ref>

In their first season in the [[Kazakhstan Basketball Championship]] in 2007–08,<ref name=AlmatyHistory /> they reached the championship finals, losing to the [[Astana Tigers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobasket.com/reports/2008/5/2.asp |title=Eurobasket news report – 5/2/2008: Tigers taste Gold  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2 May 2008  |website=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

After the Tigers turned down an invitation to play in the [[2008 FIBA Asia Champions Cup]], Almaty replaced them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobasket.com/reports/2008/4/5.asp |title=Eurobasket news report – 5/4/2008: Almaty will participate in Asian Championship  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=4 May 2008  |website=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref> In their first international foray they reached the quarterfinal stage, losing to eventual champions [[Saba Battery Tehran BC|Saba Battery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurobasket.com/reports/2008/5/18.asp |title=Eurobasket news report – 5/18/2008: Asia Champions Cup. Quarterfinals  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=18 May 2008  |website=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>

In the 2014 off-season, BC Almaty went through a re-branding, changing its name to '''Almaty Legion''' ({{lang-ru|Алматинский легион}}), though it retained the former designation as its legal name, also changing its logo.<ref name=Legion2014>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-bclegion.kz/news/191 |script-title=ru:БК "Алматы": Перезагрузка  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=BC Almaty |access-date=23 June 2015 |language=Russian |trans-title=BC Almaty: Reloaded}}</ref>
[[SKA Almaty]], who had played in the [[USSR Premier Basketball League|Soviet league]] in the 1980s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vtb-league.com/en/news/week-7-recap2.htm |title=Week 7. Recap |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2 December 2013 |website=[[VTB United League]] |access-date=23 June 2015}}</ref> was merged into BC Almaty to serve as the reserve squad in the second division Higher league under the name Almaty Legion KazNU ({{lang-ru|Алматинский Легион КазНУ}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://basketball.asia-basket.com/team/Kazakhstan/Almatynski_Legion-2_Alma-Ata/10331?Page=5 |title=Almatynski Legion-2 Alma-Ata - History |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=Asia-Basket |publisher=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=23 June 2015}}</ref>

Almaty Legion were accepted into the [[Russian Basketball Super League]], the second division of distant neighbours Russia, to play the 2014–15 season there.<ref name=Legion2014 /> They finished dead last of the 16 team league with 2 wins out of 30, though they later beat MBA Moscow in the 15th place playoffs to move up a position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://russiabasket.ru/competitions/205900/#main |script-title=ru:Русский |title=I этап - Регулярный чемпионат |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=[[Russian Basketball Federation]] |access-date=23 June 2015 |language=Russian |trans-title=Stage I – regular season }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sport.zakon.kz/4708227-bk-almatinskijj-legion-zavershil-sezon.html |script-title=ru:БК "Алматинский Легион" завершил сезон на 15-м месте в Суперлиге России  |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1 May 2015 |website=Sport Zakon.kz |access-date=23 June 2015 |language=Russian |trans-title=BC Almatynski Legion finished the season in 15th place in the Russian Superleague}}</ref>

In February 2015, Legion won their first trophy, the [[Kazakhstan Basketball Cup]], beating [[BC Tobol Kostanay|Tobol Kostanay]] 90-86 in the final to win the tournament organised in Almaty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asia-basket.com/Kazakhstan/news/395547/Almatynski-Legion-claim-Kazakh-Cup-title |title=Almatynski Legion claim Kazakh Cup title |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=23 February 2015 |website=Asia-Basket |publisher=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref>
They also reached the final of the [[2014–15 Kazakhstan Basketball Championship]] but were crushed 82-56 by perennial champions [[BC Astana]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asia-basket.com/Kazakhstan/news/401187/BC-Astana-conquer-fourth-straight-D1-trophy |title=BC Astana conquer fourth straight D1 trophy |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=10 April 2015 |website=Asia-Basket.com |publisher=[[Eurobasket.com]] |access-date=20 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vtb-league.com/en/news/astana-wins-kazakh-championship.htm |title=Astana wins Kazakh championship |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=11 April 2015 |website=[[VTB United League]] |access-date=19 June 2015}}</ref>

==Titles==
*[[Kazakhstan Basketball Cup]]: winners ([[Kazakhstan Basketball Cup|2015]])

==Current squad==
{{Basketball roster nationality note}}
{{Basketball roster header|team=BC Almaty
| color1 = white | bg1 = #003153 | color2 = #003153 | bg2 = white | ht = n | wt = n | age = n }}
<!-- list of players -->
{{player3 | num =1 | nat = KAZ | name = Zhalgasbek Kadyr| pos = PG }}
{{player3 | num =3 | nat = KAZ | name = Vadim Fabrikantov| pos = G }}
{{player3 | num =4 | nat = KAZ | name = Temirlan Dzusunov| pos = G/F }}
{{player3 | num =5 | nat = KAZ | name = Anuar Shakirov| pos = PG }}
{{player3 | num =8 | nat = KAZ | name = Vadim Korzhov| pos = PG }}
{{player3 | num =9 | nat = RUS | name = Andrey Litvinenko| pos = G/F }}
{{player3 | num =10 | nat = KAZ | name = Igor Tinyaev| pos = PF }}
{{player3 | num =13 | nat = KAZ | name = Vsevolod Fadeikin| pos = C }}
{{player3 | num =14 | nat = KAZ | name = Vyacheslav Ostrosko| pos = F }}
{{player3 | num =24 | nat = KAZ | name = Alexander Danilchenko| pos = C }}
{{player3 | num =31 | nat = KAZ | name = Nikita Timofeyev| pos = F }}
{{player3 | num =41 | nat = KAZ | name = Daniyel Albrant| pos = C }}
{{player3 | num =45 | nat = KAZ | name = Yuriy Kozhanov| pos = G }}
{{player3 | num =47 | nat = KAZ | name = Ruslan Aitkali| pos = G/F }}

<!-- end list of players -->
{{Basketball roster footer
| head_coach =
{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Nikolaj Tanaseychuk]]
| asst_coach = 

| roster_url = http://al-bclegion.kz/
| accessdate = 14 January 2017 }}

==Notable Players==
:'''To appear in this section a player must have either:'''
- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.<br>
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team or one [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] game at any time.
{{columns-list|1|
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Amiran Amirkhanov]]
*{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Vyacheslav Bogdanov]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/gameCent/p/leagueid/KAZ/ot/1/season/2015/tid/6003120/teamView.html FIBA game center profile] Retrieved 23 June 2015
*[http://basketball.asia-basket.com/team/Kazakhstan/Almatynski_Legion_Alma-Ata/1675?Page=0 AsiaBasket.com profile] Retrieved 23 June 2015
*[http://russiabasket.ru/competitions/team/206359/?comp_id=205900#main Russian Basketball Federation profile] Retrieved 23 June 2015 {{ru icon}}

[[Category:Basketball teams established in 2006]]
[[Category:Basketball teams in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Sport in Almaty]]