AVIS UTILITAS Rapla
AVIS UTILITAS Rapla logo
LeaguesKorvpalli Meistriliiga
Estonian-Latvian Basketball League
Founded2004; 20 years ago (2004)
HistoryRapla KK
(2004–present)
ArenaSadolin Sports Hall
Capacity958
LocationRapla, Estonia
Team colorsWhite, Red
   
Team managerJaak Karp
Head coachBrett Nõmm
Websiteraplakk.ee

Rapla KK, also known as AVIS UTILITAS Rapla for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Rapla, Estonia. The team plays in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League and the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML). Their home arena is the Sadolin Sports Hall.

History

The origins of the team can be traced back to Korvpalliklubi Rapla (Basketball Club Rapla), which was founded in 1996 as a division of the Rapla Sports School. Rapla Korvpallikool (Rapla Basketball School) was founded in 2004.[1] In 2010, they moved to the newly built Sadolin Sports Hall and Rapla's first team joined the Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML), the top tier of Estonian basketball. The team also joined the Challenge Cup competition of the Baltic Basketball League (BBL) for the 2011–12 season. TYCO Rapla reached the Estonian Cup final in 2012, but were defeated by BC Rakvere Tarvas.[2]

Coached by Aivar Kuusmaa, the team finished third in the Estonian League in 2015 and 2016. AVIS UTILITAS Rapla made it to the KML Finals for the first time in 2017, but were swept in four games by defending champion BC Kalev/Cramo.[3] They came third again in the 2017–18 season.[4]

In 2018, the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League was formed. AVIS UTILITAS Rapla reached the playoffs in the league's inaugural season, where they lost to VEF Riga in the quarterfinals.

Sponsorship naming

Home arenas

Players

See also: Category:Rapla KK players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

AVIS UTILITAS Rapla roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
C 1 United States Pope, Malik 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 27 – (1996-07-25)25 July 1996
PG 7 Estonia Laane, Rait-Riivo (C) 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) 78 kg (172 lb) 30 – (1993-05-24)24 May 1993
SG 8 Estonia Ruubel, Markus 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 82 kg (181 lb) 22 – (2002-02-08)8 February 2002
SG 12 Estonia Ratas, Jan Märten 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 75 kg (165 lb) 22 – (2001-09-07)7 September 2001
SG 13 United States Hunter, Eric Jr. 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 74 kg (163 lb) 25 – (1999-01-23)23 January 1999
C 14 Bosnia and Herzegovina Tomić, Obrad 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 31 – (1993-04-08)8 April 1993
SF 19 Estonia Niits, Tormi 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 94 kg (207 lb) 25 – (1998-05-19)19 May 1998
SF 21 Ukraine Shevchenko, Volodymyr 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 29 – (1994-12-03)3 December 1994
SF 22 United States Gosnell, Niko 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 101 kg (223 lb) 25 – (1999-02-13)13 February 1999
PF 32 Estonia Kilk, Karmo 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 19 – (2005-01-23)23 January 2005
SG 33 Estonia Ruut, Marek 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 26 – (1998-04-02)2 April 1998
SG 40 Estonia Paasoja, Martin 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 31 – (1993-01-04)4 January 1993
Head coach
  • Estonia Brett Nõmm
Assistant coach(es)
  • Estonia Kustas Põldoja
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 9 December 2023

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Obrad Tomić Malik Pope
PF Volodymyr Shevchenko Niko Gosnell Kardo Kilk
SF Tormi Niits
SG Martin Paasoja Eric Hunter Jr. Markus Ruubel Jan Märten Ratas
PG Rait-Riivo Laane Marek Ruut

Head coaches

Season by season

Season Tier Division Pos. Estonian Cup Baltic competitions
2008–09 3 II liiga 1st
2009–10 2 I liiga 5th
2010–11 1 KML 6th Quarterfinalist
2011–12 1 KML 4th Quarterfinalist BBL Challenge Cup RS
2012–13 1 KML 4th Runner-up Baltic Basketball League RS
2013–14 1 KML 7th Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League RS
2014–15 1 KML 3rd Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League EF
2015–16 1 KML 3rd Second round Baltic Basketball League EF
2016–17 1 KML 2nd Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League EF
2017–18 1 KML 3rd Baltic Basketball League QF
2018–19 1 KML 6th Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 7th
2019–20 1 KML 2nd[a] Estonian-Latvian Basketball League –[a]
2020–21 1 KML 3rd Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 4th
2021–22 1 KML 6th Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 9th
2022–23 1 KML 5th Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League 6th
  1. ^ a b The season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Runners-up (1): 2016–17
Runners-up (1): 2012

Individual awards

References

  1. ^ "Ajalugu". RaplaKK.ee (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Tarvas võitis korvpalli Eesti karika". Postimees Sport (in Estonian). 22 December 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  3. ^ "Kalev/Cramo krooniti üheksandat korda Eesti meistriks, Raplale esimene hõbemedal". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Meeskond". RaplaKK.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Sadolin Spordihoone". spordiregister.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.

External links

PAF Korvpalli Meistriliiga
Categories