It is difficult to believe but 14 years passed by since young and promising forward moved here from Lokomotiv Novosibirsk. Since then Andrey not only matured but he became one of the most recognizable Russian player, records- and titles-holder. It seemed that the achievement of Sergey Panov who won 12 Russian League titles will be eternal. But Vorontsevich bested it last season just after Victor Khryapa. It seemed that nobody will be able to reach Andrey Lopatov, who played 14 years in red-and-blue. Here comes Vorontsevich!
3-time EuroLeague champion, 2015 VTB League Finals MVP, VTB League Best Russian Player (2015), 3-time VTB League All-Star, the first VTB League All-Star Game MVP, one of the leaders of the Russian National Team, 2011 Eurobasket bronze winner – this is the short list of Vorontsevich achievements in his CSKA years.
He leads by a wide margin in overall games played for CSKA (696). He is 12th all-time in EuroLeague games played (274). Only scorers JR Holden and Nando De Colo top him in points for CSKA (4169). He is second to the specialist Victor Khryapa in rebounds (2416).
Andrey Vatutin, PBC CSKA President:
It was not an easy decision, we had to think for a long time. For everyone of us it is difficult to imagine Vorontsevich in the other team’s uniform, because he became a symbol of CSKA after all these years. Here, the kid from Omsk has become one of the most recognizable and successful players in Russian basketball. Some other time we would definitely offer Andrey a new deal, but now the situation makes us consider many different factors, makes us go against our feelings and desires. Andrey is still one of the best Russian basketball players, he still possesses a hunger to fight, love for the game, but he had to adapt to a reserve role. That’s why we let Vorontsevich go with huge appreciation for our victories together, with confidence that he did not say his last word in basketball, that he will be able to have a great next season to prepare himself to Olympic qualifiers. For us the time has come to give a chance to our young players, the ones who may use the reserve role to jump-start their pro careers. To Andrey: thank you very much for the games you played, for your dedication, loyalty to CSKA and our fans. CSKA is your home forever.
Dimitris Itoudis, CSKA head coach:
I can say only the best about Voro. He played so many years for CSKA, we work together since my day 1 with the team. We have connected really well not only professionally but also personally, we had many conversations on different topics. I would like to wish him to stay strong and healthy, from the bottom of my heart I wish him best of luck in his career and personal life. Thank you, Andrey, for all you did for the club and for me personally.
Andrey Vorontsevich:
Thank you to the club, management, coaching staff, fans, everyone who gave their souls to the club, who shared all the wins and losses with us! I am proud that I played 14 years for CSKA! Life goes on! It’s time to reach new heights!
