BK Ventspils

BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.
History
BK Ventspils was founded in 1994. In first years Ventspils proved themselves as relevant part of Latvian basketball, but major step came in 1997 when Ventspils Olympic Center was built. At that time Ventspils started to play in international competitions playing in 1997–98 edition of FIBA Korać Cup, which was followed by playing in FIBA Saporta Cup. Meanwhile, in the Latvian League Ventspils reached finals in both 1998 and 1999, but in 2000 they won their first domestic title and then went on to win seven consecutive from 2000 to 2006. The team won its eight Latvian League championship in 2009.
During that championship run Ventspils also had great performances in European competitions. In the 2002–03 season Ventspils reached FIBA Champions Cup Final Four, where they finished third. In the 2003–04 season Ventspils debuted in the ULEB Cup competition, making eighthfinals. In the 2004–05 ULEB Cup season, Ventspils reached new heights and missed semifinals after, losing by one point in two game series against Hemofarm. Before the 2009–10 season, Ventspils participated in the EuroLeague Qualifying round, becoming the first Latvian team to do so.
Ventspils has been a team for many players to establish themselves on the European stage, such as Mire Chatman, Marijonas Petravičius, Jānis Blūms, Brent Wright, and others, who later had successful careers at the EuroLeague level.
In 2013, BK Ventspils became the first Latvian club to have won the Baltic Basketball League, after winning the first leg by a score of 69:91, and losing the second, by a score of just 70:73, in the finals against Prienai, from Lithuania. In the following season, BK Ventspils won their first Latvian League title since 2009, becoming the champions of the 2014 Latvian Basketball League campaign.
Honours
League
Latvian-Estonian League
Winners (1): 2019
Latvian League:
Winners (10): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018
Runners-up (12): 1998, 1999, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Bronze (5): 1996, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2020
Latvian Cup
Runners-up (1): 2022
Baltic League
Winners (1): 2013
Runners-up (1): 2015
Bronze (2): 2007, 2010
North European Basketball League
Bronze (1): 2002
FIBA Europe Champions Cup
Bronze (1): 2003
Season by season
Roster
Depth chart
Notable players
Rihards Lomažs
Artis Ate
Ainars Bagatskis
Dairis Bertāns
Artūrs Bērziņš
Jānis Blūms
Sandis Buškevics
Kaspars Cipruss
Raimonds Gabrāns
Raitis Grafs
Māris Gulbis
Dāvis Gūtmanis
Uvis Helmanis
Kristaps Janičenoks
Mareks Jurevičus
Ernests Kalve
Rihards Kuksiks
Toms Leimanis
Mārtiņš Meiers
Kārlis Muižnieks
Ivars Timermanis
Jānis Timma
Mārtiņš Skirmants
Artūrs Strēlnieks
Jānis Strēlnieks
Andrejs Šeļakovs
Aigars Šķēle
Armands Šķēle
Žanis Peiners
Kristaps Purnis
Juris Umbraško
Raimonds Vaikulis
Arnis Vecvagars
Sandis Valters
Ronalds Zaķis
Uģis Viļums
Aigars Vītols
Aigars Zeidaks
Akselis Vairogs
Marijonas Petravičius
Kęstutis Šeštokas
Saulius Kuzminskas
Simas Buterlevičius
Edgaras Želionis
Vladimir Štimac
Bojan Bakić
Georgios Tsiakos
Dušan Jelić
Nikos Gkikas
Akin Akingbala
Weyinmi Efejuku
Mamadi Diané
Emmanuel Ubilla
Denis Ikovlev
Mike Lenzly
Rashad Anderson
Jimmy Baxter
Tyrone Brazelton
Rasheed Brokenborough
Mike Bruesewitz
Dominez Burnett
Folarin Campbell
Tweety Carter
Warren Carter
Mire Chatman
Ricky Clemons
Willie Deane
John Gilchrist
Jerai Grant
Steven Gray
Blake Hamilton
Darnell Hoskins
Brandon Hunter
Ted Jeffries
Dalron Johnson
Michael-Hakim Jordan
Justin Love
Bernard King
Willie Kemp
Chester Mason
Dan McClintock
Chad McClendon
Gerry McNamara
Aaron Pettway
Eddie Shannon
Casey Shaw
Lewis Sims
Kip Stone
Jamaal Tatum
Terrance Thomas
Lorenzo Williams
Brent Wright
Jahmar Young
Notable coaches
Armands Krauliņš
Kārlis Muižnieks
Agris Galvanovskis
Guntis Endzels
Gundars Vētra
Gašper Okorn
Silvano Poropat
Algirdas Brazys
Roberts Štelmahers
Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis
References
External links
Official Website
Eurocup Team Page
FIBA Europe Team Page
Baltic League Team Page
Latvian League Team Page
Eurobasket.com Team Page
Bk Ventspils
Basketball teams in Latvia