# 2018–19 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League

The 2018–19 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, known as OlyBet Latvian–Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural season of the newly formed Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, the combined top basketball division of Latvia and Estonia.
The season began on 28 September 2018, with the 2018 Estonian champions Kalev/Cramo hosting a game against the 2018 Latvian champions Ventspils. The Final Four was played at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia, with Ventspils winning the inaugural title.

## Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of the regular season, which lasts from 28 September 2018 to 24 March 2018, all the teams play each other twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 28 games. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the eight highest-ranked teams advancing to the double-legged quarter-finals. The winning teams will determine the champion in a Final Four tournament.

## Teams

15 teams, 7 from Estonia and 8 from Latvia, are contesting the league in the 2018–19 season.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | Rapla | Sadolin Sports Hall |
| Jūrmala Betsafe | Jūrmala | Jurmala State Gymnasium Sports Hall |
| Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv | Jēkabpils | Jēkabpils Sports Hall |
| Kalev/Cramo | Tallinn | Kalev Sports Hall |
| Latvijas Universitāte | Rīga | Elektrum Olympic Sports Center |
| Liepāja | Liepāja | Liepāja Olympic Center |
| Ogre | Ogre | Ogre 1st Secondary School |
| Pärnu Sadam | Pärnu | Pärnu Sports Hall |
| Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | Tallinn | Sõle Sports Centre |
| TalTech | Tallinn | TalTech Sports Hall |
| Tartu Ülikool | Tartu | University of Tartu Sports Hall |
| Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits | Valga | Valga Sports Hall |
| Valmiera Glass VIA | Valmiera | Vidzeme Olympic Center |
| VEF Rīga | Rīga | Elektrum Olympic Sports Center |
| Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils Olympic Center |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | Toomas Annuk | Indrek Kajupank | Spalding | Fenikss Casino |
| Jūrmala Betsafe | Mārtiņš Gulbis | Uģis Pinete | Spalding | Betsafe |
| Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv | Marko Žarković | Rodrigo Būmeisters | Joma | PATA |
| Kalev/Cramo | Donaldas Kairys | Kristjan Kangur | Nike | Cramo |
| Latvijas Universitāte | Guntis Endzels | Linards Jaunzems | Nike | University of Latvia |
| Liepāja | Artūrs Štālbergs | Mareks Jurevičus | Erreà | |
| Ogre | Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis | Kristaps Dārgais | Erreà | Kronus |
| Pärnu Sadam | Heiko Rannula | Rannar Raap | Nike | Port of Pärnu |
| Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | Martin Müürsepp | Mario Paiste | Nike | City of Tallinn |
| TalTech | Rait Käbin | Jaan Puidet | Nike | Tallinn University of Technology |
| Tartu Ülikool | Priit Vene | Julius Kazakauskas | Nike | University of Tartu |
| Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits | Mikhail Karpenko | Timo Eichfuss | Teamshield | SynotTip |
| Valmiera Glass ViA | Roberts Zeile | Jānis Kaufmanis | Spalding | Valmiera Glass |
| VEF Rīga | Jānis Gailītis | Mareks Mejeris | Adidas | Mākslai vajag telpu |
| Ventspils | Roberts Štelmahers | Māris Gulbis | Joma | Port of Ventspils |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | Ventspils | 28 | 27 | 1 | 2516 | 1996 | +520 | .964 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 2 | VEF Rīga | 28 | 26 | 2 | 2567 | 1931 | +636 | .929 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 3 | Kalev/Cramo | 28 | 25 | 3 | 2583 | 2046 | +537 | .893 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 4 | Ogre | 28 | 18 | 10 | 2533 | 2307 | +226 | .643 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 5 | TalTech | 28 | 16 | 12 | 2306 | 2297 | +9 | .571 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 6 | Tartu Ülikool | 28 | 14 | 14 | 2202 | 2249 | −47 | .500 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 7 | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 28 | 13 | 15 | 2242 | 2284 | −42 | .464 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 8 | Pärnu Sadam | 28 | 13 | 15 | 2156 | 2222 | −66 | .464 | Advanced to play-offs and national championships |
| 9 | Jūrmala Betsafe | 28 | 13 | 15 | 2175 | 2232 | −57 | .464 | Qualification for Latvian championship |
| 10 | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 28 | 12 | 16 | 2276 | 2250 | +26 | .429 | Qualification for Estonian championship |
| 11 | Latvijas Universitāte | 28 | 9 | 19 | 1972 | 2193 | −221 | .321 | Qualification for Latvian championship |
| 12 | Valmiera Glass/ViA | 28 | 8 | 20 | 2214 | 2414 | −200 | .286 | Qualification for Latvian championship |
| 13 | Liepāja | 28 | 7 | 21 | 2151 | 2500 | −349 | .250 | |
| 14 | Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits | 28 | 7 | 21 | 1976 | 2286 | −310 | .250 | |
| 15 | Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv | 28 | 2 | 26 | 1884 | 2546 | −662 | .071 | |
* 1 2 3 Rapla 2–2 (+10); Pärnu 2–2 (-1); Jūrmala 2–2 (-9)
* 1 2 Liepāja 2–0 Valga-Valka

### Results

| Home \ Away | RAP | JUR | JEK | KAL | LAT | LIE | OGR | PAR | TLU | TCH | TRT | VLG | VIA | VEF | VEN |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | — | 68–71 | 104–80 | 77–84 | 77–74 | 99–96 | 83–95 | 94–85 | 69–87 | 71–89 | 97–71 | 81–83 | 100–88 | 71–77 | 72–93 |
| Jūrmala Betsafe | 67–60 | — | 79–61 | 66–78 | 80–62 | 101–96 | 90–84 | 89–93 | 71–74 | 82–85 | 89–95 | 66–85 | 81–69 | 73–96 | 62–72 |
| Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv | 69–79 | 72–77 | — | 64–102 | 57–90 | 71–63 | 68–113 | 78–85 | 54–88 | 65–76 | 74–93 | 61–79 | 49–71 | 68–123 | 58–115 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 81–68 | 103–84 | 104–56 | — | 94–69 | 97–57 | 118–92 | 88–77 | 93–92 | 107–68 | 104–71 | 97–59 | 88–79 | 82–91 | 97–85 |
| Latvijas Universitāte | 75–97 | 55–62 | 89–76 | 71–97 | — | 78–70 | 60–86 | 75–70 | 53–66 | 78–76 | 72–77 | 76–84 | 80–71 | 64–91 | 61–89 |
| Liepāja | 82–89 | 81–87 | 81–65 | 80–107 | 70–78 | — | 75–93 | 62–93 | 94–88 | 91–98 | 89–78 | 85–76 | 73–71 | 70–106 | 66–110 |
| Ogre | 84–77 | 104–83 | 106–72 | 78–93 | 62–67 | 95–68 | — | 99–74 | 94–77 | 97–102 | 99–89 | 86–73 | 92–71 | 75–90 | 92–94 |
| Pärnu Sadam | 62–73 | 87–72 | 76–67 | 66–93 | 82–64 | 96–83 | 79–86 | — | 70–65 | 48–70 | 76–82 | 91–79 | 87–82 | 72–76 | 72–82 |
| Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 83–86 | 96–99 | 85–82 | 72–79 | 84–88 | 73–60 | 83–81 | 85–91 | — | 76–81 | 82–84 | 87–61 | 120–109 | 83–93 | 65–84 |
| TalTech | 82–78 | 80–75 | 110–71 | 66–100 | 84–78 | 99–82 | 84–92 | 91–84 | 83–99 | — | 86–94 | 78–66 | 99–73 | 72–95 | 78–92 |
| Tartu Ülikool | 85–76 | 79–59 | 101–55 | 58–77 | 82–64 | 86–68 | 91–94 | 52–68 | 75–66 | 79–68 | — | 71–72 | 70–76 | 75–81 | 59–85 |
| Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits | 70–85 | 67–90 | 59–70 | 54–88 | 62–58 | 80–102 | 65–81 | 70–79 | 78–90 | 64–87 | 79–83 | — | 74–69 | 54–82 | 65–82 |
| Valmiera Glass ViA | 69–82 | 77–103 | 84–82 | 71–84 | 87–63 | 87–93 | 71–86 | 77–75 | 63–86 | 86–75 | 106–98 | 88–84 | — | 76–95 | 97–108 |
| VEF Rīga | 102–68 | 81–59 | 102–63 | 84–66 | 82–70 | 102–47 | 111–108 | 91–56 | 95–56 | 86–72 | 99–41 | 96–78 | 92–61 | — | 89–90 |
| Ventspils | 100–61 | 72–58 | 112–76 | 91–82 | 78–60 | 97–67 | 99–79 | 97–62 | 80–68 | 88–67 | 88–83 | 77–56 | 95–85 | 61–59 | — |

## Play-offs

The quarter-finals were played with a double-legged format while the semi-finals and final in a Final Four format was hosted at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia.

### Bracket

| Quarter-finals 27 March – 2 April | Quarter-finals 27 March – 2 April | Quarter-finals 27 March – 2 April | Quarter-finals 27 March – 2 April | Semi-finals 5 April | Semi-finals 5 April | Semi-finals 5 April | Semi-finals 5 April | Final 6 April | Final 6 April | Final 6 April | Final 6 April |
| Pärnu Sadam | 80 | 80 | 160 | | | | |
| Ventspils | 83 | 94 | 177 | | | | |
| Ventspils | 83 | 94 | 177 | Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils | 84 |
| | | | | Ogre | Ogre | Ogre | 80 |
| TalTech | 87 | 59 | 146 | Ogre | Ogre | Ogre | 80 |
| Ogre | 81 | 85 | 166 | | | | | | | | |
| Ogre | 81 | 85 | 166 | | | | | Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils | 102 |
| | | | | | | | | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | 80 |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | 65 | 71 | 136 | | | | | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | 80 |
| VEF Rīga | 90 | 121 | 211 | | | | | | | | |
| VEF Rīga | 90 | 121 | 211 | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | VEF Rīga | 90 | | | | |
| | | | | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | 80 | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| Tartu Ülikool | 59 | 59 | 118 | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | 80 | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| Kalev/Cramo | 84 | 96 | 180 | | | | | | | | |
| Kalev/Cramo | 84 | 96 | 180 | | | | | Ogre | Ogre | Ogre | 85 |
| | | | | | | | | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | Kalev/Cramo | 87 |

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Pärnu Sadam | 160–177 | Ventspils | 80–83 | 80–94 |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | 136–211 | VEF Rīga | 65–90 | 71–121 |
| Tartu Ülikool | 118–180 | Kalev/Cramo | 59–84 | 59–96 |
| TalTech | 146–166 | Ogre | 87–81 | 59–85 |

### Semi-finals

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Ventspils | 84–80 | Ogre |
| VEF Rīga | 90–80 | Kalev/Cramo |

### Third place game

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Ogre | 85–87 | Kalev/Cramo |

### Final

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Ventspils | 102–80 | VEF Rīga |

## Individual statistics

Players qualify to this category by having at least 50% games played.

### Points

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
| 1 | Justin Johnson | Liepāja | 27 | 579 | 21.44 |
| 2 | Jānis Kaufmanis | Valmiera Glass ViA | 28 | 554 | 19.79 |
| 3 | Arnas Velička | Tartu Ülikool | 29 | 551 | 19.00 |
| 4 | Linards Jaunzems | Latvijas Universitāte | 25 | 463 | 18.52 |
| 5 | Toomas Raadik | TalTech | 30 | 531 | 17.70 |

### Rebounds

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Rebounds | RPG |
| 1 | Jurijs Aleksejevs | Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv / Jūrmala Betsafe | 27 | 250 | 9.26 |
| 2 | Julius Kazakauskas | Tartu Ülikool | 27 | 230 | 8.52 |
| 3 | Kristaps Dārgais | Ogre | 32 | 268 | 8.38 |
| 4 | Mihkel Kirves | Pärnu Sadam | 29 | 241 | 8.31 |
| 5 | Guntis Sīpoliņš | Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits / Liepāja | 28 | 228 | 8.14 |

### Assists

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Assists | APG |
| 1 | Tony Wroten | Kalev/Cramo | 18 | 137 | 7.61 |
| 2 | Aaron Johnson | Ventspils | 30 | 202 | 6.73 |
| 3 | Jabril Durham | VEF Rīga | 28 | 180 | 6.43 |
| 4 | Rinalds Sirsniņš | Ogre | 32 | 204 | 6.38 |
| 5 | Norman Käbin | TalTech | 28 | 163 | 5.82 |

## Awards
### Most Valuable Player

* Rihards Lomažs ( Ventspils)

### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| October | Julius Kazakauskas | Tartu Ülikool |
| November | Kaspars Bērziņš | Ogre |
| December | Toomas Raadik | TalTech |
| January | Dominique Hawkins | Avis Utilitas Rapla |
| February | Toomas Raadik | TalTech |

## Estonian championship
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Kalev/Cramo | 3 |
| | | Pärnu Sadam | 0 |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | 1 | Pärnu Sadam | 0 |
| Pärnu Sadam | 3 | | | | |
| Pärnu Sadam | 3 | | | Kalev/Cramo | 3 |
| | | | | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 0 |
| | | TalTech | 0 | | |
| | | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 3 | Third place | Third place |
| Tartu Ülikool | 1 | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 3 | Third place | Third place |
| Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 3 | | | | |
| Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 3 | | | Pärnu Sadam | 3 |
| | | | | TalTech | 0 |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Tartu Ülikool | 1–3 | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 78–73 | 70–87 | 77–83 | 96–97 | 0 |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | 1–3 | Pärnu Sadam | 60–83 | 57–82 | 82–80 | 76–88 | 0 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 3–0 | Pärnu Sadam | 91–85 | 102–62 | 89–72 | 0 | 0 |
| TalTech | 0–3 | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 75–78 | 86–94 | 92–97 | 0 | 0 |

### Third place series

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Pärnu Sadam | 3–0 | TalTech | 75–68 | 79–73 | 89–63 | 0 | 0 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Kalev/Cramo | 3–0 | Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ | 87–78 | 101–73 | 105–83 | 0 | 0 |

## Latvian championship

The six best Latvian teams qualified for the national play-offs, that started on 10 April 2019.
Quarterfinals and semifinals are played in a best-of-five games format (1-1-1-1-1) while the final in a best of seven one.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| | | Ventspils | 3 |
| | | Jūrmala Betsafe | 0 |
| Jūrmala Betsafe | 3 | Jūrmala Betsafe | 0 |
| Latvijas Universitāte | 0 | | | | |
| Latvijas Universitāte | 0 | | | Ventspils | 1 |
| | | | | VEF Rīga | 4 |
| | | VEF Rīga | 3 | | |
| | | Ogre | 0 | Third place | Third place |
| Ogre | 3 | Ogre | 0 | Third place | Third place |
| Valmiera Glass ViA | 0 | | | | |
| Valmiera Glass ViA | 0 | | | Ogre | 3 |
| | | | | Jūrmala Betsafe | 0 |

### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Ogre | 3–0 | Valmiera Glass ViA | 100–81 | 93–82 | 73–67 | 0 | 0 |
| Jūrmala Betsafe | 3–0 | Latvijas Universitāte | 72–56 | 60–55 | 90–59 | 0 | 0 |

### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Ventspils | 3–0 | Jūrmala Betsafe | 86–78 | 91–63 | 85–72 | 0 | 0 |
| VEF Rīga | 3–0 | Ogre | 110–71 | 104–77 | 90–85 | 0 | 0 |

### Third place series

The team with the higher seed played game one, two, five and seven (if necessary) at home.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| Ogre | 3–0 | Jūrmala Betsafe | 78–60 | 97–90 | 83–78 | 0 | 0 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| Ventspils | 1–4 | VEF Rīga | 75–81 | 80–71 | 77–81 | 90–98 | 69–82 | 0 | 0 |

## Estonian and Latvian clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| Ventspils | Champions League | Regular season |
| Ventspils | FIBA Europe Cup | Round of 16 |