Siim-Sander Vene (born 12 November 1990) is an Estonian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. Standing at 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he plays both the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

positions. Vene represents the

Estonian national basketball team The Estonia men's national basketball team ( et, Eesti korvpallikoondis) represents Estonia in international basketball matches. They are controlled by the Estonian Basketball Association. The team competed in their first international tourname ...

internationally, and was named

Estonian Basketball Player of the Year The Estonian Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the best performing Estonian basketball player of the respective season. From 1995 to 2001 the award was decided by a poll of Estonian sports journalists and given by the magaz ...

in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Professional career

Vene began playing basketball with Siili Palliklubi and TTÜ. In 2006, Vene moved to Lithuania and joined Žalgiris' junior team Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school. With Žalgiris, Vene won the

Nike International Junior Tournament The Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament is an international boy's youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the best basketball clubs in Europe in the Under-18 age category. The tournament is organized by Euroleague Ba ...

in 2007 and the

Nacionalinė krepšinio lyga The National Basketball League (NKL) (), also known as 7bet-NKL for sponsorship reasons, is the second-tier basketball minor league in Lithuania. It is placed below the top division Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). The competition currently consis ...

(NKL) in 2008. Vene was loaned to Kaunas Triobet of the

Lietuvos krepšinio lyga Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL) (''English'': Lithuanian Basketball League), also known as Betsafe LKL for sponsorship reasons, is the premier professional men's club basketball league in Lithuania. It is composed of 12 teams, and it is a member o ...

(LKL) for the 2008–09 season. In the

2009–10 Euroleague The 2009–10 Euroleague was the 10th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 53rd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ...

, Vene averaged 2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. In October 2010, Vene was loaned to

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, and in December 2010, to

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL). In 2011, Vene joined Baltai (former Kaunas) on loan from Žalgiris. In February 2012, he was loaned to VEF Rīga of the

Latvijas Basketbola Līga The Latvian Basketball League (LBL; lv, Latvijas Basketbola līga) also known as the '' Pafbet'' LBL for sponsorship reasons, is the national basketball championship in Latvia; composed of 6 teams. It is considered the biggest basketball league ...

(LBL). On 27 September 2012, Vene was loaned to

Prienai Prienai () is a city in Lithuania situated on the Nemunas River, south of Kaunas. In 2011 the city had 9,867 inhabitants. The name of the city is a derivative from a surname ''Prienas''. Pociūnai Airport is associated with the city. History ...

. Prienai finished the 2012–13 season in fourth place. In July 2013, Vene returned to Žalgiris. In the

2013–14 Euroleague The 2013–14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 14th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the fourth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

, Vene averaged 3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game, as Žalgiris reached Top 16. Vene won his first Lithuanian Championship in the 2013–14 season, after defeating Neptūnas 4 games to 2 in the finals. In the 2014–15 season, Vene averaged 3.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in the Euroleague and won his second Lithuanian Championship, after Žalgiris defeated league rivals

Lietuvos rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also ...

4–0 in the finals. In the

2015–16 Euroleague The 2015–16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 16th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the sixth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Cham ...

, Žalgiris once again reached Top 16, but failed to advance to the playoffs with a 2–12 record. Vene averaged 3.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He won his third consecutive Lithuanian Championship in the 2015–16 season, after Žalgiris defeated Neptūnas in the finals. On 8 August 2016, Vene signed with

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. He was named

in 2017. On 16 August 2017, Vene signed with Reggiana of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA). On 29 September, he was sidelined for three months due to a leg injury and didn't play any games for Reggiana. On 4 January 2018, it was announced that Vene will sign for LBA club

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. On 21 June 2018, he was named Estonian Basketball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. On September 5, 2018, Vene signed a six-week deal with

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of the Comarca of Bages, located in the geographical centre of Catalonia, Spain, and crossed by the river Cardener. It is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

as a replacement for the injured

Justin Doellman Justin Joseph Doellman (born 3 February 1985) is an American-born naturalized Kosovan former professional basketball player who last played for Baxi Manresa of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he plays at the power forward position. College career D ...

. He was released from the team when his contract ended. He signed with another Liga ACB team

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

in December 2018. Only a week later Vene moved to another Liga ACB team

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

after making use of his opt-out for signing with a EuroLeague team. On July 1, 2019 he signed contract with

of the LBA. He returns to Varese after a season with three different Spanish teams. On May 24, 2020 Vene signed a contract with

, making a return to the Spanish club where he had already a stint in 2018. On September 28, 2021, he signed a 2-month contract with

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. On January 4, 2022, he signed with

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

of the Italian

(LBA). On August 9, 2022, he signed with

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

National team career

Vene was a member of the Estonian national under-18 basketball team that competed at the

2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Spain in 2007. Final ranking 1. 2. Greece 3. Latvia 4. Lithuania 5. Spain 6. France 7. Croatia 8. Turkey 9. Germany 10. Russia 1 ...

and finished the tournament in 12th place. Vene averaged 12.1 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist per game. As a member of the senior Estonian national team, Vene competed at the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

, averaging 10 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Estonia finished the tournament in 20th place. Vene was named the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Estonian national team in 2020 ahead of the

EuroBasket 2021 qualification The EuroBasket 2022 qualification was a basketball competition that was played from November 2017 to February 2021, to determine the 20 FIBA Europe nations who would join the automatically qualified co-hosts Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy, and G ...

games.

Personal life

Vene's father, Priit, and mother, Lea, were both basketballers. His father is now a basketball coach. Vene's younger brother, Kent-Kaarel, is also a professional basketball player.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 6 , , 0 , , 10.9 , , .417 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 5 , , 0 , , 13.7 , , .462 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 2.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.0 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 14 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .450 , , .438 , , .714 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 3.4 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 20 , , 1 , , 12.1 , , .491 , , .300 , , .833 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 3.3 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 4 , , 15.0, , .478 , , .389 , , .842 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .5 , , .0 , , 6.8 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 63 , , 5 , , 11.2 , , .471 , , .357 , , .789 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.2 , , 2.8

Domestic leagues

Estonia national team

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005 , style="text-align:left;", 2005 U-16 European Championship Division B , style="text-align:left;", Estonia U-16 , 6 , , 4 , , 28.0 , , .448 , , .444 , , .583 , , 5.2 , , .0 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006 , style="text-align:left;", 2006 U-16 European Championship Division B , style="text-align:left;", Estonia U-16 , 9 , , 9 , , 34.3 , , .372 , , .328 , , .378 , , 9.6 , , 3.3 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, 2007 , style="text-align:left;", 2007 U-18 European Championship , style="text-align:left;", Estonia U-18 , 8 , , 2 , , 26.5 , , .430 , , .333 , , .667 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007 U-20 European Championship Division B , style="text-align:left;", Estonia U-20 , 8 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .300 , , .050 , , .500 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .9 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009 , style="text-align:left;", EuroBasket 2009 Qualification Relegation Round , style="text-align:left;",

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 14.4 , , .400 , , .300 , , .500 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , .4 , , .8 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011 , style="text-align:left;",

EuroBasket 2011 Division B The FIBA EuroBasket Division B was the second-ranked tier of the bi-annual FIBA EuroBasket competition. All the teams of this tournament qualified for the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification. This was the last FIBA EuroBasket Division B tournament ...

, style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 3 , , 0 , , 7.7 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012 , style="text-align:left;",

EuroBasket 2013 Qualification This page describes the qualification procedure for EuroBasket 2013. Map Qualified teams Eight teams have secured their places at the EuroBasket 2013 before the qualification process. Sixteen teams qualified through the Qualifying Round. 5 Gro ...

, style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 10 , , 1 , , 25.9 , , .551 , , .370 , , .571 , , 6.8 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .5 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013 , style="text-align:left;", EuroBasket 2015 First Qualification Round , style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 4 , , 0 , , 21.3 , , .290 , , .286 , , .833 , , 3.3 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 6.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 5 , , 2 , , 23.2 , , .340 , , .100 , , .667 , , 6.4 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018 , style="text-align:left;", 2019 Basketball World Cup Qualification , style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 4 , , 4 , , 29.0 , , .490 , , .286 , , .750 , , 3.2 , , 2.2 , , 2.8 , , .0 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020 , style="text-align:left;",

EuroBasket 2022 qualification The EuroBasket 2022 qualification was a basketball competition that was played from November 2017 to February 2021, to determine the 20 FIBA Europe nations who would join the automatically qualified co-hosts Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy, and G ...

, style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 2 , , 2 , , 31.2 , , .542 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", 2023 Basketball World Cup Qualification , style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 7 , , , , 26.6 , , .262 , , .176 , , .857 , , 4.1 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022 , style="text-align:left;",

EuroBasket 2022 The EuroBasket 2022 was the 41st edition of the EuroBasket championship organized by FIBA Europe. It was the first since it was agreed it would take place every four years, with a similar system of qualification as for the FIBA Basketball World C ...

, style="text-align:left;", Estonia , 5 , , , , 21.1 , , .465 , , .400 , , .875 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , 11.4

Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

;Žalgiris-Arvydas Sabonis school *

champion: 2007 * Lithuanian 2nd division champion: 2008 ;Žalgiris *3× Lithuanian League champion:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Baltic Basketball League Baltic Basketball League (BBL) was the Baltic states basketball league founded in 2004. The league mainly focused on teams from the Baltic states, but teams from Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, and Belarus have participated in the Baltic L ...

champion:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

* Lithuanian Cup champion:

;VEF Rīga * Latvian League champion:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

;Prienai * Lithuanian Cup champion: 2013

Individual

: 2017, 2018, 2019

References

External links