Serhiy Zavalin made sure Azovmash fans went into the close season grinning ear to ear because after a turbulent year, the coach guided the club to another Ukrainian title.

Azovmash began the campaign with Rimas Girskis at the helm but after dropping out of the Eurocup, failing in the inaugural VTB league and losing time after time after time in the domestic league, Girskis quit.

Andrey Podkovyrov replaced Girskis, but he too was ultimately let go.

Azovmash then turned to their long-time assistant coach Zavalin, and he made the most of his opportunity.

He took over the team, led the side into the play-offs from the sixth spot and took them all the way to the finals where they beat Budivelnik in a Game 5 decider.

Azovmash won, despite not having home-court advantage in any of their three play-off series.

The victory in the title series was especially sweet, too, because Budivelnik had appointed Podkovyrov as their coach.

Most pundits believed him to be the superior coach, but Zavalin proved them wrong.

On Thursday, Azovmash discovered they would face Entente Orleanais in the Eurocup Qualifying Round.

The good news for Azovmash is they look to have a powerhouse team.

In the play-offs, Rumel Curry (18.3 ppg), Demetrius Alexander (15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Fred House (14 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.8 steals) were the key men.

Azovmash have re-signed all three for another season, but also added last season's Ukraine Superleague MVP, power forward Charles Thomas.

He averaged 19.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in 35 Superleague games for Ferro-ZNTU.

Azovmash have also added the center from Mykolaiv, Daniel McClintock, along with Ukraine international players Maxim Pustozvonov from BC Kyiv and veteran Rostyslav Kryvych from Hoverla.

Mclintock averaged 18 points and 7.9 rebounds and finished with an efficiency rating of 21.6 in his 29 games - good enough for second best in the league.

Pustozvonov averaged 13.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 35 games for BC Kyiv while Kryvych averaged 10.2 points in 20 games for Hoverla.

Zavalin spoke to Oleksiy Namov for FIBA Europe.

Coach Zavalin, now that you know your opponents in the Eurocup Qualifying Round, what do you think about your chances?

Zavalin: I just know that our opponents finished sixth in the French league and that they don't have certainty about their roster. The level of the French championship is always very strong, but I feel we should advance past Orleans.

You've been with Azovmash as an assistant and have gone through numerous selection and scouting mistakes. It's quite early in the close season, your roster is complete and you've managed to keep the core or last year's championship squad, having added high profile free agents. This is quite uncommon, but at the same time should pay dividends. Is that how you see it?

Zavalin: You are right, we decided not to reinvent the wheel. The performance our players demonstrated last season, especially during the play-offs, the fact they got along with each other and with the coach very well convinced us to keep them. We just added the players for the positions we had problems with and this gives us great depth in the roster. You know, Fred played small forward last season, but he really is a two-guard, therefore signing a high-level small forward was our top priority. We decided to fill this vacancy with a Ukrainian player (Pustozvonov), because it's tough to find a decent "three" from abroad. Dijon Thompson, who'd played for us in 2008/09 is the type of all-around forward who suits us perfectly, but unfortunately we did not manage to bring him back. I followed Max Pustozvonov very closely and he was my number one choice. We also signed  Rostyslav Kryvych for this position and we also have young prospect Viacheslav Bobrov, who should be given a chance to play at this level.

Last season you took the reins of the team when it was on the verge of missing the play-offs for the first time in history and managed to, first of all, improve the team climate and bring back the championship spirit. Now you have all the time to prepare for the upcoming season. You must be setting only the highest goals for the tournaments you'll be participating in.

Zavalin: Absolutely. Only the max goals.

How much more expensive did your players become after the team's success in the play-offs?

Zavalin: We increased the payroll, but their pay raise was reasonable. SuperLeague has a salary cap and we are not exceeding it.

What are the team's plans for the near future?

Zavalin: We are still on vacation. We'll gather in Mariupol on August 6. On the 13^th, we'll be heading out to Italy, on September 2 to Lithuania. I managed to take my family to Crimea for five days and that was all the rest I got. Scouting, negotiations and constant thinking about basketball have been taking up most of my time.

If someone had told you a year ago what Azovmash would go through during the season and that you would be holding the Champions' Trophy as a head coach at the end of finals' decider, would you have believed him?

Zavalin: No, absolutely not.