TalTech Basketball, also known as TalTech/ALEXELA for sponsorship reasons, is a 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 (appro ...
team based in
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, Estonia. They are a part of the
Tallinn University of Technology
Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...
Sports Club. The team plays in the
Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the
Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the
TalTech Sports Hall.
Tallinn University of Technology teams have won eight
Estonian League championships and eight
Estonian Cup titles.
History
Basketball was first played at Tallinn Tehnikum, the predecessor of the
Tallinn University of Technology
Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...
, on 4 February 1928, when the Tallinn Tehnikum team defeated the visiting
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country. 21–19.
TPI Spordiklubi (Tallinn Polytechnic Institute Sports Club) was formed in 1948.
TPI made their debut in the
Estonian Championship in 1951 under coach Jaroslav Dudkin, who would stay with the team for the next 32 seasons. They established themselves as a major force in Estonian basketball in the 1960s, when
Tõnno Lepmets and
Priit Tomson led the team to six consecutive league titles from 1961 to 1966. August Sokk took over as head coach in 1982 and guided the team, led by his son
Tiit Sokk and
Margus Metstak, to two more championships in 1984 and 1985.
In 1989, TPI changed its name back to TTÜ. The team began to struggle in the early 1990s as more professional basketball clubs joined the top division, and after the 1993–94 season, they withdrew from the league.
In 1999, TTÜ became affiliated with Tallinna Ülikoolid-A. Le Coq (formerly BC Tallinn). In 2001, the team moved to the newly renovated
TTÜ Sports Hall and changed their name to
TTÜ-A. Le Coq. After the 2001–02 season concluded, TTÜ and
A. Le Coq shifted their sponsorship to BC Hotronic, who changed their name to
TTÜ/A. Le Coq. Coached by
Heino Enden and led by veterans
Aivar Kuusmaa and
Rauno Pehka, the team won the
Estonian Cup in 2003.
On 6 September 2005, TTÜ announced that they will withdraw from the forthcoming KML season. They returned to the league for the
2006–07 season. In 2010, TTÜ Korvpalliklubi merged operations with
Tallinna Kalev and became TTÜ/Kalev. However, the partnership ended after just one season, and TTÜ Korvpalliklubi continued independently. They have won the International Students Basketball League (ISBL) three times, in 2013, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the university adopted TalTech as its official abbreviation.
Sponsorship naming
*TTÜ/
A. Le Coq: 2001–2005
*TalTech/OPTIBET: 2021–2024
*TalTech/
ALEXELA: 2024–present
Home arenas
*
TalTech Sports Hall (1975–present)
Players
Current roster
Depth chart
Coaches
*
Jaroslav Dudkin 1950–1982
*
August Sokk 1982–1986
*
Andres Liinat 1987
*
Märt Kermon 1987–1989
*
Alar Sõnajalg 1989–1992, 1993–1994
*
Mihkel Reinsalu 1992–1993
*
Heino Lill 2004–2005, 2011–2012, 2014–2015
*
Priit Vene 2005–2007
*
Aivar Kuusmaa 2007–2010
*
Üllar Kerde 2010–2011
*
Tiit Sokk 2012–2014
*
Rait Käbin 2015–2019
*
Gert Kullamäe 2019
*
Kris Killing 2019–2021
*
Alar Varrak 2021–present
Season by season
Trophies and awards
Trophies
*
Estonian League
: Winners (8): 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1983–84, 1984–1985
*
Estonian Cup
: Winners (8): 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 2003
*International Students Basketball League
: Winners (3): 2012–13, 2015–16, 2016–17
Individual awards
KML Best Young Player
*
Matthias Tass – 2018
*
Ralf Küttis – 2022
KML All-Star Five
*
Bambale Osby – 2011
*
Kristjan Kitsing – 2016
*
Toomas Raadik – 2019
*
Rasmus Andre – 2025
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:TalTech Basketball
Basketball teams in Estonia
Basketball teams established in 1948
1948 establishments in Estonia