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 B ...

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, and it got back the original name of ASK Rīga on March 23, 2006, which was supported by the

Riga City Council Riga City Council ( lv, Rīgas dome) is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga C ...

, 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 v ...

, with room for 12,500 fans. The team then made it to both the

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinav ...

and the

FIBA EuroCup FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

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 (Cincinnati), Xavier University, Braggs was drafted by the Utah Jazz ...

happened to be the key piece in a roster already featuring

Sandis Valters Sandis Valters (born 31 August 1978) is a retired professional basketball shooting guard, who last played for BK Ventspils. He is member of Latvia national basketball team. His father is a former Soviet basketball star, Valdis Valters, and his ...

, Raitis Grafs,

Curtis Millage Curtis Millage (born May 4, 1981) is an American professional basketball player for who last played for AZS Koszalin of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for Arizona State. At and , he usually plays as a point guard, bu ...

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 p ...

'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

, 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 Dairis Bertāns (born September 9, 1989) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Spanish Liga ACB. Bertāns also plays for the Latvia national basketball team. He is the older brother of Dāvis Bertāns. Professional c ...

(45) *

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 The small forward (SF), also known as the three or s ...

(9) *

Kaspars Kambala Kaspars Kambala (born December 13, 1978) is a Latvian semi-professional basketball player, currently for BK Jūrmala, and a former professional boxer. Standing at , he plays at the position of forward-center. High school A 1997 graduate of Hom ...

(34) *

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 ...

(7) *

(10) *

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 Ernests Kalve (born April 4, 1987) is a Latvian professional basketball player and assistant coach for BK Ogre of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. Professional career Kalve's first team was Falco/Ķeizarmežs in Latvian Amateur Basketball ...

(11) *

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 BC Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas, in 2004. He won the Latvian ...

(11) *

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 Marius Runkauskas (born May 20, 1986) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for Gargždai-SC of the National Basketball League (NKL). He plays primarily at the shooting guard position, but he can also play point guard, if needed. Ear ...

(10) *

Andrius Mažutis Andrius Mažutis (born April 21, 1981) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player. Standing at is a 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in), Mažutis used to play as point guard. ReferencesEurobasket.com – Andrius Mažutis 1981 births Livin ...

(12) *

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 Bruno Šundov (born February 10, 1980) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. Standing at 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in), he played the center position. He played for five different NBA teams and over 20 clubs around the world. Professio ...

(14) *

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 ...

(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 Dwayne Broyles (born July 10, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the Euroleague, was an All-Star in four different European leagues and won three consecutive Belgium Championships. Broyles is currently an ...

(8) *

Ricardo Marsh Ricardo Marsh (born September 12, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League in 2007 and is currently assistant men’s basketball coach at Virginia State University. ...

(21) *

(14) *

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 Sean Tyree Colson (born July 1, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At a height of 6'0" (1.83 m) tall, he played at the point guard position. College career Colson attended the U ...

(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

Vakidis

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