BK Ventspils

BK Ventspils
BK Ventspils
Leagues	Latvian–Estonian Basketball League
Founded	1994
History	BK Ventspils; 1994–present
Arena	Ventspils Olympic Center
Capacity	3,085
Location	Ventspils, Latvia
Team colors	Yellow and Blue;
President	Ģirts Štekerhofs
Head coach	Gints Fogels
Championships	10 Latvian Championships; 1 BBL Championships; 1 Latvian-Estonian Basketball League
Website	bkventspils.lv
Home	Away

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.^[1]

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,^[2] and losing the second, by a score of just 70:73,^[3] 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 (6): 1996, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2020, 2024

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

Season	League	Pos.	Baltic League	Pos.	European competitions
1993–94	LBL	7th
1994–95	LBL	6th
1995–96	LBL	3rd
1996–97	LBL	4th
1997–98	LBL	2nd			3 Korać Cup	R16
1998–99	LBL	2nd			2 Saporta Cup	R16
1999–00	LBL	1st			2 Saporta Cup	R32
2000–01	LBL	1st
2001–02	LBL	1st
2002–03	LBL	1st			3 FIBA Champions' Cup	3rd
2003–04	LBL	1st			2 ULEB Cup	T16
2004–05	LBL	1st	Elite Division	4th	2 ULEB Cup	QF
2005–06	LBL	1st	Elite Division	5th	2 ULEB Cup	T16
2006–07	LBL	2nd	Elite Division	3rd	2 ULEB Cup	T16
2007–08	LBL	3rd	Elite Division	6th	2 ULEB Cup	T32
2008–09	LBL	1st	Elite Division	7th	3 EuroChallenge	RS
2009–10	LBL	3rd	Elite Division	4th	1 Euroleague	QR1
2009–10	LBL	3rd	Elite Division	4th	2 Eurocup	RS
2010–11	LBL	2nd	Elite Division	4th	3 EuroChallenge	QF
2011–12	LBL	2nd	Elite Division	6th	2 Eurocup	QR
2011–12	LBL	2nd	Elite Division	6th	3 EuroChallenge	QF
2012–13	LBL	2nd	Champion		3 EuroChallenge	L16
2013–14	LBL	1st	Quarterfinalist		3 EuroChallenge	L16
2014–15	LBL	2nd	Runner-up		2 Eurocup	RS
2015–16	LBL	3rd			3 FIBA Europe Cup	R16
2016–17	LBL	2nd			3 Champions League	POQ
2017–18	LBL	1st			3 Champions League	RS
2017–18	LBL	1st			4 FIBA Europe Cup	R16
2018–19	LBL	2nd	Lat-Est BL	1st	3 Champions League	RS
2018–19	LBL	2nd	Lat-Est BL	1st	4 FIBA Europe Cup	R16
2019–20	LBL	3rd	Lat-Est BL		3 Champions League	QR2
2019–20	LBL	3rd	Lat-Est BL		4 FIBA Europe Cup	RS
2020–21	LBL	2nd	Lat-Est BL	6th

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

BK Ventspils roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
SG		Eduards Hāzners	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	26 – (1997-12-28)28 December 1997
G	2	Artūrs Ausējs	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	34 – (1990-12-16)16 December 1990
PG	5	Michael Randolph Jr	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	90 kg (198 lb)	25 – (1999-11-18)18 November 1999
PG	7	Renārs Birkāns	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	27 – (1997-06-26)26 June 1997
F	10	Roberts Bērze	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	94 kg (207 lb)	23 – (2001-08-01)1 August 2001
F	11	Zac Watson	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	98 kg (216 lb)	24 – (2000-02-04)4 February 2000
PF	13	Rūdis Donis	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	85 kg (187 lb)	18 – (2006-11-12)12 November 2006
SG	15	Valters Vēveris	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	82 kg (181 lb)	24 – (2000-04-21)21 April 2000
C	30	Ronalds Zaķis	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)	110 kg (243 lb)	37 – (1987-07-08)8 July 1987
C	31	Edvards Mežulis	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	115 kg (254 lb)	24 – (2000-01-14)14 January 2000
SF	35	Mihail Miseailo	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)		22 – (2002-08-01)1 August 2002
PG	44	Jānis Censonis	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)	75 kg (165 lb)	19 – (2005-02-08)8 February 2005
G	51	Kārlis Šķiliņš	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)		17 – (2007-05-12)12 May 2007
PG	55	Tailers Tīģers	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)		17 – (2007-09-12)12 September 2007
G	69	Roberts Prūsis			26 – (1998-07-22)22 July 1998

Head coach

Gints Fogels

Assistant coach(es)

Andris Gūtmanis
Edgars Seredjuks

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Updated: November 1, 2024

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Ronalds Zaķis	Edvards Mežulis
PF	Zac Watson	Rūdis Donis
SF	Roberts Bērze	Mihail Miseailo
SG	Artūrs Ausējs	Valters Vēveris
PG	Michael Randolph Jr	Jānis Censonis	Renārs Birkāns