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.

Estonian-Latvian Basketball League
Saku Suurhall in Tallinn hosted the Final Four
Season2018–19
Duration28 September 2018 – 6 April 2019
Number of games222
Number of teams15
TV partner(s)Best4Sport TV, TTV, Delfi TV
Regular season
Season MVPLatvia Rihards Lomažs
Finals
ChampionsLatvia Ventspils (1st title)
  Runners-upLatvia VEF Rīga
Third placeEstonia Kalev/Cramo
Fourth placeLatvia Ogre
Statistical leaders
PointsUnited States Justin Johnson21.4
ReboundsLatvia Jurijs Aleksejevs9.3
AssistsUnited States Tony Wroten7.6

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.[1][2][3]

Teams

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

Venues and locations

TeamHome cityArena
Avis Utilitas RaplaRaplaSadolin Sports Hall
Jūrmala BetsafeJūrmalaJurmala State Gymnasium Sports Hall
Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lvJēkabpilsJēkabpils Sports Hall
Kalev/CramoTallinnKalev Sports Hall
Latvijas UniversitāteRīgaElektrum Olympic Sports Center
LiepājaLiepājaLiepāja Olympic Center
OgreOgreOgre 1st Secondary School
Pärnu SadamPärnuPärnu Sports Hall
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜTallinnSõle Sports Centre
TalTechTallinnTalTech Sports Hall
Tartu ÜlikoolTartuUniversity of Tartu Sports Hall
Valga-Valka/Maks & MooritsValgaValga Sports Hall
Valmiera Glass VIAValmieraVidzeme Olympic Center
VEF RīgaRīgaElektrum Olympic Sports Center
VentspilsVentspilsVentspils Olympic Center

Personnel and sponsorship

TeamHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Avis Utilitas Rapla Toomas Annuk Indrek KajupankSpaldingFenikss Casino
Jūrmala Betsafe Mārtiņš Gulbis Uģis PineteSpaldingBetsafe
Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv Marko Žarković Rodrigo BūmeistersJomaPATA
Kalev/Cramo Donaldas Kairys Kristjan KangurNikeCramo
Latvijas Universitāte Guntis Endzels Linards JaunzemsNikeUniversity of Latvia
Liepāja Artūrs Štālbergs Mareks JurevičusErreà
Ogre Artūrs Visockis-Rubenis Kristaps DārgaisErreàKronus
Pärnu Sadam Heiko Rannula Rannar RaapNikePort of Pärnu
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ Martin Müürsepp Mario PaisteNikeCity of Tallinn
TalTech Rait Käbin Jaan PuidetNikeTallinn University of Technology
Tartu Ülikool Priit Vene Julius KazakauskasNikeUniversity of Tartu
Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits Mikhail Karpenko Timo EichfussTeamshieldSynotTip
Valmiera Glass ViA Roberts Zeile Jānis KaufmanisSpaldingValmiera Glass
VEF Rīga Jānis Gailītis Mareks MejerisAdidasMākslai vajag telpu
Ventspils Roberts Štelmahers Māris GulbisJomaPort of Ventspils

Regular season

League table

PosTeamPldWLPFPAPDPCTQualification
1 Ventspils2827125161996+520.964Advanced to play-offs and national championships
2 VEF Rīga2826225671931+636.929
3 Kalev/Cramo2825325832046+537.893
4 Ogre28181025332307+226.643
5 TalTech28161223062297+9.571
6 Tartu Ülikool28141422022249−47.500
7 Avis Utilitas Rapla28131522422284−42.464[a]
8 Pärnu Sadam28131521562222−66.464[a]
9 Jūrmala Betsafe28131521752232−57.464[a]Qualification for Latvian championship
10 Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ28121622762250+26.429Qualification for Estonian championship
11 Latvijas Universitāte2891919722193−221.321Qualification for Latvian championship
12 Valmiera Glass/ViA2882022142414−200.286
13 Liepāja2872121512500−349.250[b]
14 Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits2872119762286−310.250[b]
15 Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv2822618842546−662.071
Source: estlatbl.com
Notes:

Results

Home \ AwayRAPJURJEKKALLATLIEOGRPARTLUTCHTRTVLGVIAVEFVEN
Avis Utilitas Rapla68–71104–8077–8477–7499–9683–9594–8569–8771–8997–7181–83100–8871–7772–93
Jūrmala Betsafe67–6079–6166–7880–62101–9690–8489–9371–7482–8589–9566–8581–6973–9662–72
Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv69–7972–7764–10257–9071–6368–11378–8554–8865–7674–9361–7949–7168–12358–115
Kalev/Cramo81–68103–84104–5694–6997–57118–9288–7793–92107–68104–7197–5988–7982–9197–85
Latvijas Universitāte75–9755–6289–7671–9778–7060–8675–7053–6678–7672–7776–8480–7164–9161–89
Liepāja82–8981–8781–6580–10770–7875–9362–9394–8891–9889–7885–7673–7170–10666–110
Ogre84–77104–83106–7278–9362–6795–6899–7494–7797–10299–8986–7392–7175–9092–94
Pärnu Sadam62–7387–7276–6766–9382–6496–8379–8670–6548–7076–8291–7987–8272–7672–82
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ83–8696–9985–8272–7984–8873–6083–8185–9176–8182–8487–61120–10983–9365–84
TalTech82–7880–75110–7166–10084–7899–8284–9291–8483–9986–9478–6699–7372–9578–92
Tartu Ülikool85–7679–59101–5558–7782–6486–6891–9452–6875–6679–6871–7270–7675–8159–85
Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits70–8567–9059–7054–8862–5880–10265–8170–7978–9064–8779–8374–6954–8265–82
Valmiera Glass ViA69–8277–10384–8271–8487–6387–9371–8677–7563–8686–75106–9888–8476–9597–108
VEF Rīga102–6881–59102–6384–6682–70102–47111–10891–5695–5686–7299–4196–7892–6189–90
Ventspils100–6172–58112–7691–8278–6097–6799–7997–6280–6888–6788–8377–5695–8561–59
Source: estlatbl.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Red = away team win.

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
Semi-finals
5 April
Final
6 April
 
                
 
 
 
 
Pärnu Sadam 8080160
 
 
 
Ventspils 8394177
 
Ventspils 84
 
 
 
Ogre80
 
TalTech 8759146
 
 
 
Ogre 8185166
 
Ventspils102
 
 
 
VEF Rīga80
 
Avis Utilitas Rapla 6571136
 
 
 
VEF Rīga 90121211
 
VEF Rīga 90
 
 
 
Kalev/Cramo 80Third place
 
Tartu Ülikool 5959118
 
 
 
Kalev/Cramo 8496180
 
Ogre 85
 
 
Kalev/Cramo 87
 

Quarter-finals

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Pärnu Sadam 160–177 Ventspils80–8380–94
Avis Utilitas Rapla 136–211 VEF Rīga65–9071–121
Tartu Ülikool 118–180 Kalev/Cramo59–8459–96
TalTech 146–166 Ogre87–8159–85

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

RankNameTeamGamesPointsPPG
1 Justin Johnson Liepāja2757921.44
2 Jānis Kaufmanis Valmiera Glass ViA2855419.79
3 Arnas Velička Tartu Ülikool2955119.00
4 Linards Jaunzems Latvijas Universitāte2546318.52
5 Toomas Raadik TalTech3053117.70

Rebounds

RankNameTeamGamesReboundsRPG
1 Jurijs Aleksejevs Jēkabpils/SMScredit.lv / Jūrmala Betsafe272509.26
2 Julius Kazakauskas Tartu Ülikool272308.52
3 Kristaps Dārgais Ogre322688.38
4 Mihkel Kirves Pärnu Sadam292418.31
5 Guntis Sīpoliņš Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits / Liepāja282288.14

Assists

RankNameTeamGamesAssistsAPG
1 Tony Wroten Kalev/Cramo181377.61
2 Aaron Johnson Ventspils302026.73
3 Jabril Durham VEF Rīga281806.43
4 Rinalds Sirsniņš Ogre322046.38
5 Norman Käbin TalTech281635.82

Awards

Most Valuable Player

Player of the Month

MonthPlayerTeam
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

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
 
          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kalev/Cramo3
 
 
 
Pärnu Sadam0
 
Avis Utilitas Rapla1
 
 
 
Pärnu Sadam3
 
Kalev/Cramo3
 
 
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ0
 
 
 
 
 
TalTech0
 
 
 
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ3Third place
 
Tartu Ülikool1
 
 
 
Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ3
 
Pärnu Sadam3
 
 
TalTech0
 

Quarterfinals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Tartu Ülikool1–3Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ78–7370–8777–8396–970
Avis Utilitas Rapla1–3Pärnu Sadam60–8357–8282–8076–880

Semifinals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Kalev/Cramo3–0Pärnu Sadam91–85102–6289–7200
TalTech0–3Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ75–7886–9492–9700

Third place series

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Pärnu Sadam3–0TalTech75–6879–7389–6300

Finals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Kalev/Cramo3–0Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ87–78101–73105–8300

Latvian championship

The six best Latvian teams qualified for the national play-offs, that started on 10 April 2019.[4]

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

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
 
          
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ventspils3
 
 
 
Jūrmala Betsafe0
 
Jūrmala Betsafe3
 
 
 
Latvijas Universitāte0
 
Ventspils1
 
 
VEF Rīga4
 
 
 
 
 
VEF Rīga3
 
 
 
Ogre0Third place
 
Ogre3
 
 
 
Valmiera Glass ViA0
 
Ogre3
 
 
Jūrmala Betsafe0
 

Quarterfinals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Ogre3–0Valmiera Glass ViA100–8193–8273–6700
Jūrmala Betsafe3–0Latvijas Universitāte72–5660–5590–5900

Semifinals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Ventspils3–0Jūrmala Betsafe86–7891–6385–7200
VEF Rīga3–0Ogre110–71104–7790–8500

Third place series

The team with the higher seed played game one, two, five and seven (if necessary) at home.

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5
Ogre3–0Jūrmala Betsafe78–6097–9083–7800

Finals

Team 1SeriesTeam 2Game 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7
Ventspils1–4VEF Rīga75–8180–7177–8190–9869–8200

Estonian and Latvian clubs in European competitions

TeamCompetitionProgress
VentspilsChampions LeagueRegular season
FIBA Europe CupRound of 16

References

External links