Kalev (also known as Tallinn Kalev, Korvpalliklubi Kalev) was a professional basketball club from
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
,
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 ...
what was back then part of
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
Kalev Sports Hall
Kalev Sports Hall ( et, Kalevi spordihall) is a multi-purpose arena in Estonia. It was built in 1962 and holds up to 1,780 people (all-seater).Soviet Union Basketball League until 1992; thereafter Kalev was designed like a national team with the best 12 players from all over Estonia.
History
Kalev was founded in 1920 with the eponymous sports Estonian society. Kalev became winner of the second to last championship of the
USSR Premier Basketball League
The USSR Premier Basketball League, or Soviet Union Premier Basketball League (also called Supreme League), was the first-tier men's professional basketball league in the former Soviet Union. The league existed from 1923 to 1991, as the top profe ...
in 1991 and in 1991–92 season the team became runner-up of the open
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
league. After the collapse of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
leading players left to play in European basketball clubs. In the season 1993–94 the club almost collapsed, and a year later, in season 1994–95, played in the Estonian Championship already under brand Kalev/Auma. In the 1995–96 season the team is regaining its former name in saw the return of
Martin Müürsepp
Martin Müürsepp (; born 26 September 1974) is an Estonian professional basketball coach and former player, who is the head coach of BC Rakvere Tarvas of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. Widely regarded as one of Estonia's greatest bas ...
and
Margus Metstak
Margus Metstak (born June 16, 1961) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player who played mostly at the center position.
Club career
Early career
Margus Metstak started his career at the age of 18 with Tallinn Pedagogical Institute fo ...
, and in the 1996–97 season
Tiit Sokk
Tiit Sokk (born 15 November 1964) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player and current coach. Often cited as one of the very best European point guards of his generation, he is widely recognized as the greatest Estonian basketball p ...
returned from
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
. In the 1999–98 season for the club signed
Rauno Pehka
Rauno Pehka (born January 1, 1969) is a retired Estonian professional basketball player who played mostly at the point guard position.
He won the Soviet Union league championship in 1991 as a member of the Tallinn Kalev basketball team. Pehka ...
and
Gert Kullamäe
Gert Kullamäe (born 3 June 1971) is an Estonian basketball coach and a former professional basketball player who currently coaches Estonian team BC Pärnu Sadam. Kullamäe mostly played at the shooting guard position and was a great 3-point sh ...
who returned to the team Sergei Babenko and American players. In the same season Tiit Sokk leaves from Tallinn to play in Greece. In the 1999–2000 season the club won the champion of Estonia. The season 2004–05 became runner-up of the Estonian Cup. The next season the historic Kalev merged into
BC Kalev/Cramo
BC Kalev, known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia. The team plays in the Korvpalli Meistriliiga, the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the FIBA Europe Cup. They play their ...
.
Kalev is often confused with Estonian team Tallinna/Kalev TLÜ, which has no connections with KK Kalev.
Honours & achievements
USSR League
* Winners (1): 1990–91
* Runners-up (1): 1991–92
USSR Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...
Estonian Cup
The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...