# 2021–22 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League

The 2021–22 Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, known as Paf Latvian–Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, was the 4th season of the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League, the combined top basketball division of Latvia and Estonia.
The season began on 1 October 2021. Regular season ended on 26 March 2022. The play-off quarterfinal series were being played after the regular season but the champion was crowned in a Final Four tournament.

## Competition format

The regular season includes two rounds, followed by the quarter-finals and Final 4. The league’s management followed the development of the epidemiological situation in both countries and if necessary, the playoff system may be changed. However, no changes were applied, except for some rescheduled regular season games.

## Teams

14 teams, 8 from Estonia and 6 from Latvia, contested the league in the 2021–22 season.

### Venues and locations

| Team | Home city | Arena | Capacity |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | Rapla | Sadolin Sports Hall | 1000 |
| Kalev/Cramo | Tallinn | Kalev Sports Hall | 1870 |
| Kalev/Cramo | Tallinn | Saku Suurhall | 7200 |
| Latvijas Universitāte | Rīga | Rimi Olympic Sports Center | 830 |
| Liepāja | Liepāja | Liepāja Olympic Center | 2542 |
| Ogre | Ogre | Ogre 1st Secondary School | 500 |
| Pärnu Sadam | Pärnu | Pärnu Sports Hall | 1820 |
| Rakvere Tarvas | Rakvere | Rakvere Sports Hall | 2747 |
| Tallinna Kalev | Tallinn | Sõle Sports Centre | |
| Tallinna Kalev | Tallinn | Nord Cramo Sports Hall | 980 |
| TalTech | Tallinn | TalTech Sports Hall | 1000 |
| Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | Tartu | University of Tartu Sports Hall | 2600 |
| Viimsi/Sportland | Viimsi | Karulaugu Spordikeskus | 500 |
| Valmiera Glass VIA | Valmiera | Vidzeme Olympic Center | 1500 |
| VEF Rīga | Rīga | Rimi Olympic Sports Center | 830 |
| VEF Rīga | Rīga | Arena Riga | 11 200 |
| Ventspils | Ventspils | Ventspils Olympic Center | 3085 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | Lluis Riera | Sven Kaldre | Spalding |
| Kalev/Cramo | Roberts Štelmahers | Martin Dorbek | Nike |
| Latvijas Universitāte | Guntis Endzels | Edvards Mežulis | Nike |
| Liepāja | Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis | Roberts Krastiņš | Nike |
| Ogre | Uldis Švēde | Rinalds Sirsniņš | Erreà |
| Pärnu Sadam | Heiko Rannula | Mihkel Kirves | Nike |
| Rakvere Tarvas | Martin Müürsepp | Sten Saaremäel | Spalding |
| Tallinna Kalev | Brett Nõmm | Mario Paiste | Nike |
| TalTech | Alar Varrak | Oliver Metsalu | Nike |
| Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | Nikolajs Mazurs | Adomas Drungilas | Spalding |
| KK Viimsi | Valdo Lips | Rain Veideman | Nike |
| Valmiera Glass VIA | Edmunds Valeiko | Ervīns Jonāts | Spalding |
| VEF Rīga | Jānis Gailītis | Artis Ate |
| Ventspils | Gints Fogels | Andrejs Šeļakovs | Joma |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | VEF Rīga | 26 | 23 | 3 | 2346 | 1808 | +538 | .885 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | Kalev/Cramo | 26 | 21 | 5 | 2189 | 1688 | +501 | .808 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | Ventspils | 26 | 21 | 5 | 2163 | 1909 | +254 | .808 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | TalTech | 26 | 18 | 8 | 2148 | 1970 | +178 | .692 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Ogre | 26 | 16 | 10 | 2125 | 2011 | +114 | .615 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | Viimsi | 26 | 16 | 10 | 2020 | 2025 | −5 | .615 | Advance to playoffs |
| 7 | Pärnu Sadam | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2137 | 1986 | +151 | .577 | Advance to playoffs |
| 8 | Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | 26 | 12 | 14 | 1945 | 2035 | −90 | .462 | Advance to playoffs |
| 9 | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 26 | 12 | 14 | 2164 | 2200 | −36 | .462 | |
| 10 | Valmiera Glass VIA | 26 | 8 | 18 | 1925 | 2101 | −176 | .308 | |
| 11 | Latvijas Universitāte | 26 | 6 | 20 | 1809 | 2047 | −238 | .231 | |
| 12 | Liepāja | 26 | 5 | 21 | 1973 | 2186 | −213 | .192 | |
| 13 | Rakvere Tarvas | 26 | 5 | 21 | 1900 | 2315 | −415 | .192 | |
| 14 | Tallinna Kalev | 26 | 4 | 22 | 1763 | 2326 | −563 | .154 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | KAL | LIE | LUN | OGR | PAR | RAK | RAP | TCH | TLU | TRT | VEF | VEN | VII | VLM |
| Kalev/Cramo | — | 87–62 | 69–67 | 94–69 | 66–79 | 94–65 | 92–66 | 93–63 | 113–55 | 86–36 | 76–93 | 81–55 | 80–67 | 97–66 |
| Liepāja | 59–78 | — | 72–77 | 94–83 | 84–70 | 105–100 | 61–63 | 80–81 | 79–80 | 83–86 | 77–83 | 73–98 | 66–74 | 80–82 |
| Latvijas Universitāte | 58–68 | 89–68 | — | 63–82 | 79–99 | 64–61 | 61–92 | 79–89 | 92–64 | 80–77 | 72–94 | 71–94 | 57–67 | 68–60 |
| Ogre | 76–64 | 90–76 | 93–79 | — | 74–71 | 95–75 | 107–84 | 77–65 | 106–80 | 85–66 | 59–83 | 69–78 | 100–77 | 81–87 |
| Pärnu Sadam | 78–79 | 79–68 | 80–56 | 83–78 | — | 105–74 | 78–83 | 60–61 | 98–72 | 76–66 | 77–80 | 94–79 | 74–82 | 94–71 |
| Rakvere Tarvas | 65–93 | 79–86 | 91–79 | 57–72 | 61–95 | — | 88–91 | 62–92 | 91–83 | 91–89 | 58–110 | 67–99 | 69–89 | 86–81 |
| Avis Utilitas Rapla | 61–85 | 105–69 | 84–74 | 86–88 | 107–79 | 90–85 | — | 95–78 | 87–96 | 78–83 | 52–99 | 82–94 | 95–97 | 93–77 |
| TalTech | 53–71 | 87–81 | 94–62 | 103–73 | 91–73 | 106–60 | 82–73 | — | 92–67 | 92–76 | 88–102 | 102–90 | 70–88 | 78–76 |
| Tallinna Kalev | 62–90 | 74–97 | 74–67 | 52–97 | 57–84 | 80–81 | 64–78 | 53–84 | — | 73–81 | 66–93 | 64–103 | 75–97 | 89–69 |
| Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | 64–92 | 78–71 | 67–53 | 75–81 | 82–77 | 70–67 | 94–98 | 68–81 | 77–62 | — | 64–95 | 83–63 | 65–82 | 75–61 |
| VEF Rīga | 86–84 | 102–71 | 79–59 | 96–84 | 92–95 | 94–52 | 96–69 | 83–75 | 97–51 | 86–93 | — | 93–57 | 94–60 | 73–55 |
| Ventspils | 75–68 | 94–71 | 68–59 | 77–57 | 81–72 | 89–67 | 91–81 | 86–71 | 93–54 | 69–62 | 87–81 | — | 100–70 | 83–80 |
| Viimsi | 49–97 | 81–69 | 85–74 | 67–74 | 82–83 | 84–73 | 91–84 | 71–76 | 87–62 | 88–75 | 64–87 | 67–80 | — | 73–70 |
| Valmiera Glass VIA | 59–92 | 86–71 | 76–70 | 79–75 | 81–84 | 80–75 | 91–87 | 71–94 | 93–54 | 65–93 | 63–75 | 70–80 | 76–81 | — |

## Play-offs

In quarter-finals teams play against each other must win two games to win the series. Quarter-finals started on 29 March and ended on 4 April, with three of four winners being teams without home-court advantage. Semi-finals and final in a Final Four format was held on 9–10 April at the Arēna Rīga in Rīga, Latvia.

### Quarter-finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| VEF Rīga | 2–0 | Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | 91–57 | 88–85 OT |
| Kalev/Cramo | 0–2 | Pärnu Sadam | 60–67 | 57–76 |
| BK Ventspils | 0–2 | KK Viimsi | 63–70 | 77–79 OT |
| TalTech/Optibet | 0–2 | BK Ogre | 77–89 | 69–85 |

### Games
## Final Four

Final Four was held on 9–10 April at the Arēna Rīga in Rīga, Latvia.
| Semifinals 9 April | Semifinals 9 April | Semifinals 9 April | Final April 10 | Final April 10 | Final April 10 |
| 1 | VEF Rīga | 116 | | | |
| 5 | BK Ogre | 55 | | | |
| 5 | BK Ogre | 55 | 1 | VEF Rīga | 95 |
| | | | 6 | Viimsi/Sportland | 64 |
| 7 | Pärnu Sadam | 81 | 6 | Viimsi/Sportland | 64 |
| 6 | Viimsi/Sportland | 83 | Bronze medal game April 10 | Bronze medal game April 10 | Bronze medal game April 10 |
| | | | 5 | BK Ogre | 77 |
| | | | 7 | Pärnu Sadam | 84 |

### Final
## Statistics

As of April 10, 2022.

### Points

| Rank | Name | Team | PPG |
| 1. | Brandon Childress | TalTech/Optibet | 23.9 |
| 2. | Jaron Martin | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 20.6 |
| 3. | Demajeo Wiggins | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 15.9 |
| 4. | Darryl Tucker | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 15.9 |
| 5. | Jānis Kaufmanis | Valmiera Glass ViA | 15.6 |

### Rebounds

| Rank | Name | Team | RPG |
| 1. | Demajeo Wiggins | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 10.6 |
| 2. | Darryl Tucker | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 9.5 |
| 3. | Kristaps Dārgais | BK Ogre | 9.4 |
| 4. | Emmanuel Wembi | Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits | 8.9 |
| 5. | Zigmārs Raimo | Liepāja | 8.7 |

### Assists

| Rank | Name | Team | APG |
| 1. | Jaron Martin | Avis Utilitas Rapla | 7.3 |
| 2. | Brandon Childress | TalTech/Optibet | 6.6 |
| 3. | Aleksa Nikolić | Rakvere Tarvas | 6.2 |
| 4. | Rinalds Sirsniņš | BK Ogre | 6.0 |
| 5. | Kristers Zoriks | VEF Rīga | 5.7 |

## Awards
### Regular season MVP

| Player | Team | Ref. |
| Kristaps Dārgais | BK Ogre | |

### Final Four MVP

| Player | Team | Ref. |
| Jalen Riley | VEF Rīga | |

### Final Four All Star Five

| Pos. | Player | Team |
| PG | Jalen Riley | VEF Rīga |
| PG | Vitaliy Zotov | VEF Rīga |
| SG | Robert Valge | Pärnu Sadam |
| PF | Alexander Madsen | VEF Rīga |
| C | Tyler Roberson | Viimsi/Sportland |

### MVP of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| 2021 ||||
| October | Mikk Jurkatamm | TalTech/Optibet |
| November | Ronalds Zaķis | Viimsi/Sportland |
| December | Jaron Martin | Avis Utilitas Rapla |
| 2022 ||||
| January | Jānis Kaufmanis | Valmiera Glass ViA |
| February | Brandon Childress | TalTech/Optibet |
| March | Kristaps Dārgais | BK Ogre |

## Estonian and Latvian clubs in European competitions

| Team | Competition | Progress |
| VEF Rīga | Champions League | Regular season (2–4) & Play-in (0–2) |
| Kalev/Cramo | Champions League | Regular season (2–4) |
| Pärnu Sadam | FIBA Europe Cup | Qualifying Round (1–1) |

## Local Leagues

After the conclusion of season, each country played its own national championship play-offs. On May 19, VEF Rīga won its 9th Latvian championship. On May 26, Pärnu Sadam won their first ever Estonian championship