Rapla KK

Last updated
AVIS UTILITAS Rapla
Rapla basketball logo.png
Leagues Korvpalli Meistriliiga
Estonian-Latvian Basketball League
Founded2004;20 years ago (2004)
HistoryRapla KK
(2004–present)
Arena Sadolin Sports Hall
Capacity958
Location Rapla, Estonia
Team colorsWhite, Red
  
Team managerJaak Karp
Head coach Brett Nõmm
Website raplakk.ee

Rapla KK, also known as UTILITAS RAPLA for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Rapla, Estonia. The team plays in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the Sadolin Sports Hall.

Contents

History

The origins of the team can be traced back to Korvpalliklubi Rapla (Basketball Club Rapla), which was founded in 1996 as a division of the Rapla Sports School. Rapla Korvpallikool (Rapla Basketball School) was founded in 2004. [1] In 2010, they moved to the newly built Sadolin Sports Hall and Rapla's first team joined the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), the top tier of Estonian basketball. The team also joined the Challenge Cup competition of the Baltic Basketball League (BBL) for the 2011–12 season. TYCO Rapla reached the Estonian Cup final in 2012, but were defeated by BC Rakvere Tarvas. [2]

Coached by Aivar Kuusmaa, the team finished third in the Estonian League in 2015 and 2016. AVIS UTILITAS Rapla made it to the KML Finals for the first time in 2017, but were swept in four games by defending champion BC Kalev/Cramo. [3] They came third again in the 2017–18 season. [4]

In 2018, the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League was formed. AVIS UTILITAS Rapla reached the playoffs in the league's inaugural season, where they lost to VEF Riga in the quarterfinals.

Sponsorship naming

Home arenas

Players

Current roster

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

AVIS UTILITAS Rapla roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
PG 7 Flag of Estonia.svg Laane, Rait-Riivo 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)78 kg (172 lb)31 – (1993-05-24)24 May 1993
SG 8 Flag of Estonia.svg Ruubel, Markus 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)82 kg (181 lb)22 – (2002-02-08)8 February 2002
SG 12 Flag of Estonia.svg Ratas, Jan Märten 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)75 kg (165 lb)22 – (2001-09-07)7 September 2001
SF 19 Flag of Estonia.svg Niits, Tormi 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)94 kg (207 lb)26 – (1998-05-19)19 May 1998
SG 33 Flag of Estonia.svg Ruut, Marek 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)86 kg (190 lb)26 – (1998-04-02)2 April 1998
SF Flag of Estonia.svg Eelmäe, Hendrik 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)90 kg (198 lb)23 – (2000-10-26)26 October 2000
G Flag of the United States.svg McKissic, Brandon 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)88 kg (194 lb)25 – (1999-01-20)20 January 1999
PF Flag of the United States.svg McCreary, Jalyn 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)102 kg (225 lb)
PG Flag of Latvia.svg Krūmiņš, Emīls 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)82 kg (181 lb)22 – (2001-10-10)10 October 2001
C Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ezeagu, Kaosi 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)116 kg (256 lb)24 – (1999-11-26)26 November 1999
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Flag of Estonia.svg Kustas Põldoja

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Updated: 20 August 2023

Depth chart

Pos.Starting 5Bench 1Bench 2
C Kaosi Ezeagu
PF Jalyn McCreary
SF Tormi Niits Hendrik Eelmäe
SG Brandon McKissic Jan Märten Ratas Marek Ruut
PG Emīls Krūmiņš Rait-Riivo Laane Markus Ruubel

Head coaches

Season by season

SeasonTierDivisionPos. Estonian Cup Baltic competitions
2008–093II liiga1st
2009–102I liiga5th
2010–11 1 KML 6thQuarterfinalist
2011–12 1 KML 4thQuarterfinalist BBL Challenge Cup RS
2012–13 1 KML 4thRunner-up Baltic Basketball League RS
2013–14 1 KML 7thQuarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League RS
2014–15 1 KML 3rdQuarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League EF
2015–16 1 KML 3rdSecond round Baltic Basketball League EF
2016–17 1 KML 2ndQuarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League EF
2017–18 1 KML 3rd Baltic Basketball League QF
2018–19 1 KML 6th Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 7th
2019–20 1 KML 2nd [lower-alpha 1] Estonian-Latvian Basketball League [lower-alpha 1]
2020–21 1 KML 3rdQuarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 4th
2021–22 1 KML 6thQuarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 9th
2022–23 1 KML 5thQuarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 6th
2023–24 1 KML 3rdQuarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 10th
  1. 1 2 The season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Runners-up (1): 2016–17
Runners-up (1): 2012

Individual awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Kalev</span> Estonian basketball club

BC Kalev, also known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. Their home arena is the Kalev Sports Hall.

The Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), known as the PAF Korvpalli Meistriliiga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier men's basketball league in Estonia. The league is organized by the Estonian Basketball Association.

Aivar Kuusmaa is an Estonian basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played mostly at the shooting guard position.

Rain Veideman is an Estonian professional basketball player for BC Tallinna Kalev of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga. He also represents the Estonian national basketball team internationally. Standing at a height of 1.92 m, he primarily plays the shooting guard position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Pärnu</span> Estonian basketball team

BC Pärnu, also known as Pärnu Sadam for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Pärnu, Estonia. The team plays in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the Pärnu Sports Hall. In 2022, the team won their first and only KML title.

The Korvpalli Meistriliiga 2011-2012 (KML) was the eighty-eighth season of top-tier basketball in Estonia. The season began in October 2011 and ended on 17 May 2012. The defending champion BC Kalev/Cramo won its 5th league title.

Gert Dorbek is an Estonian retired basketball player. He is a 1.93 m tall shooting guard. He has also represented the Estonian national basketball team internationally.

The 2012–13 G4S Korvpalli Meistriliiga was the 88th season of the Estonian basketball league and the fourth under the title sponsorship of G4S. Kalev/Cramo came into the season as defending champions of the 2011–12 KML season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BC Tarvas</span> Estonian basketball club

BC Tarvas is a professional basketball club based in Rakvere, Estonia. The club competes in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. Their home arena is the Rakvere Sports Hall.

The 2014–15 Alexela Korvpalli Meistriliiga was the 90th season of the Estonian basketball league and the second under the title sponsorship of Alexela. Kalev/Cramo came into the season as defending champions of the 2013–14 KML season.

The 2015–16 Korvpalli Meistriliiga season was the 91st season of top-tier basketball in Estonia. TÜ/Rock came into the season as defending champions of the 2014–15 KML season.

The 2016–17 Korvpalli Meistriliiga season was the 92nd season of top-tier basketball in Estonia. BC Kalev/Cramo came into the season as defending champions of the 2015–16 season.

The 2017–18 Korvpalli Meistriliiga season was the 93rd season of top-tier basketball in Estonia.

The 2019 KML Play-offs was the tournament to determine the Korvpalli Meistriliiga champions for the 2018–19 season. This season saw the introduction of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League, replacing the KML regular season, with the top six Estonian teams advancing to the KML play-offs. The play-offs began on 9 April and concluded on 22 May with Kalev/Cramo defeating Tallinna Kalev/TLÜ 3 games to 0 in the finals to win their 11th Estonian Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latvian–Estonian Basketball League</span> Basketball league

The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, known as Optibet Latvian-Estonian Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier men's basketball league in Latvia and Estonia. The competition was introduced in 2018 and is organised by the Estonian Basketball Association and the Latvian Basketball Association.

The 2021–22 Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) season, also known as PAF Korvpalli Meistriliiga for sponsorship reasons, was the 96th season of the top-tier basketball league in Estonia. The regular season began on 1 October 2021 and finished on 24 April 2022. The play-offs started on 26 April and finished on 26 May with Pärnu Sadam winning their first KML title.

The 2021 KML playoffs was the postseason tournament of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga's 2020–21 season. The playoffs began on 19 April and ended on 17 May. The games were played without spectators due to COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament concluded with BC Kalev/Cramo defeating Pärnu Sadam three games to one in the finals. Chavaughn Lewis was named KML Finals MVP.

The 2020–21 Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) season, also known as PAF Korvpalli Meistriliiga for sponsorship reasons, was the 95th season of the top-tier basketball league in Estonia.

The 2023 KML Playoffs was the postseason tournament held to determine the 2022–23 champions of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). The playoffs began on 12 April 2023 and ended on 27 May with BC Kalev/Cramo defeating Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits in the finals.

The 2024 KML Playoffs is the postseason tournament held to determine the 2023–24 champions of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). The playoffs began on 23 April 2024 and ended on 28 May with BC Kalev/Cramo defeating Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits in the finals.

References

  1. "Ajalugu". RaplaKK.ee (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2021.
  2. "Tarvas võitis korvpalli Eesti karika". Postimees Sport (in Estonian). 22 December 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  3. "Kalev/Cramo krooniti üheksandat korda Eesti meistriks, Raplale esimene hõbemedal". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. "Meeskond". RaplaKK.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  5. "Sadolin Spordihoone". spordiregister.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.