ASK Rīga is a former professional basketball club that was based in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. "ASK" stood for "Armijas Sporta Klubs" (in English: Army Sports Club).

History

BK Rīga was then founded in 2004 as an attempt to revive the defunct club Rīgas ASK which was founded in 1931 and considered the most successful Latvian club on international level. BK Riga got back the original name of ASK Rīga on March 23, 2006, which was supported by the Riga City Council, the National Latvian Army Forces, and some powerful sponsors, as well as the brand new

Arēna Rīga Arena Riga ( lv, Arēna Rīga) is an indoor arena in Riga, Latvia. It is primarily used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts. Arena Riga holds a maximum of 14,500 and was opened on 15 February 2006. It was built to be used as one of the venu ...

, with room for 12,500 fans. The team then made it to both the Baltic League and the FIBA EuroCup quarterfinals, but the best was yet to come. The arrival of

Torraye Braggs Torraye L. Braggs (born May 15, 1976) is an American professional basketball player born in Fresno, California, formerly of the NBA. After a college career at Xavier University, Braggs was drafted by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 1998 ...

happened to be the key piece in a roster already featuring Sandis Valters, Raitis Grafs, Curtis Millage,

A.J. Bramlett Aaron Jordan Bramlett (born January 10, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. Bramlett was a three-year letterman at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, leading the Bears to a state championship in 1994. He com ...

, and Sandis Buškevics. ASK won the best-of-seven 2006–07 Latvian League finals 4–2, and started a new era for the club, breaking

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 pa ...

's seven-year Latvian League dynasty. ASK hosted the EuroCup's 2007–08 opening game, but a plague of injuries did not allow the team to reach the competition's elimination rounds. In that season same 2007–08 season, ASK Rīga finished fourth in the Baltic League, and also finished in 3rd place in the Latvian League. The 2008–09 season was the last season of ASK Rīga to date.

Arena

ASK Rīga played its home games at the 12,500 seat

Honours

Domestic competitions

* Latvian League : Winners (1): 2006–07

Notable players

Sandis Buškevics (28) * Flag of Latvia

Dairis Bertāns (45) * Flag of Latvia

Gatis Jahovičs Gatis Jahovičs (born August 11, 1984) is a Latvian former professional basketball player. He last played for BK Liepājas Lauvas in LBL. He is 2.00 m (6 ft 6.75 in) and a small forward. Latvian national team Jahovičs is also a member of ...

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Kaspars Kambala (34) * Flag of Latvia

Roberts Štelmahers Roberts Štelmahers (born November 19, 1974) is a Latvian retired professional basketball player, who played the point guard position. Štelmahers was a member of the Latvia national basketball team from 1992 to 2005 participating in four EuroBa ...

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Sandis Valters (10) * Flag of Latvia

Arnis Vecvagars (15) * Flag of Latvia

Uģis Viļums (7) * Flag of Latvia

Uvis Helmanis (4) * Flag of Latvia

Raitis Grafs (5) * Flag of Latvia

Ernests Kalve (11) * Flag of Latvia

Aigars Vītols (55) * Flag of Lithuania

Darius Lukminas * Flag of Lithuania

Martynas Andriukaitis (13) * Flag of Lithuania

Steponas Babrauskas Steponas Babrauskas (born June 20, 1984) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. Professional career Babrauskas was a runner-up in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) with Lietuvos Rytas, in 2004. He won the Latvian Basketball League ...

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Vytautas Danelius Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great (Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', Ol ...

Marius Runkauskas (10) * Flag of Lithuania

Andrius Mažutis (12) * Flag of Serbia

Milutin Aleksić Milutin Aleksić ( sr-cyr, Милутин Алексић, born April 28, 1982) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. Professional career A native of Belgrade, Aleksić began his career with KK Crvena zvezda. He moved to Montenegro ...

(7) *

Bruno Šundov (14) * Flag of Slovenia

Marko Antonijević Marko may refer to: * Marko (given name) * Marko (surname) * Márkó, a village in Hungary See also

*Marco (disambiguation) *Markko (disambiguation) *Marka (disambiguation) *Markov *Marku * * {{disambiguation, surname ...

Smiljan Pavič Smiljan Pavič (born February 5, 1980 in Slovenj Gradec, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rect ...

Rodney Billups Rodney Dee Billups (born January 14, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named head coach at the University of Denver on M ...

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(32) *

A. J. Bramlett Aaron Jordan Bramlett (born January 10, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. Bramlett was a three-year letterman at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, leading the Bears to a state championship in 1994. He com ...

(42) *

Corey L. Brewer Corey Lavelle Brewer (born January 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. After graduating from West Memphis High School, Brewer attended and played basketball at Navarro Junior College (1994–1995) and Carl Albert Stat ...

(31) *

Dwayne Broyles (8) * Flag of the United States

Ricardo Marsh Ricardo Marsh (born September 12, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the Israeli Basketball Premier League Statistical Leaders, top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League in 2007 and is currently assistant ...

(21) *

Curtis Millage (14) * Flag of the United States

Aerick Sanders Aerick Rashal Sanders (born June 1, 1982) is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Kansas City Roos of the Summit League. Previously he was the former Director of Player Personnel at the University ...

(34) *

Sean Colson (8) *

List of ASK Rīga players This is a list of players who have played at least one game for the ASK Rīga professional basketball club, of the Latvian Basketball League, LBL, Baltic Basketball League, BBL, and other European leagues. This list also includes players for the fo ...

Notable coaches

Ramunas Butautas * Flag of Lithuania

Donaldas Kairys * Flag of Latvia

Raimonds Miglinieks

Notes

References

External links

EuroCup Team PageBaltic League Team PageLatvian League Team Page
{{Authority control Basketball teams in Latvia Sport in Riga Basketball teams established in 1929 Basketball teams established in 2005 Basketball teams in the Soviet Union