Rapla KK

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.

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

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
  • Piimameister Otto/Rapla: 2010–2012
  • TYCO Rapla: 2012–2015
  • AVIS Rapla: 2015–2017
  • AVIS UTILITAS Rapla: 2017–present

Home arenas

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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
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) 21 – (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) 24 – (1999-01-23)23 January 1999
C 14 Bosnia and Herzegovina Tomić, Obrad 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 30 – (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) 28 – (1994-12-03)3 December 1994
SF 22 United States Gosnell, Niko 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 101 kg (223 lb) 24 – (1999-02-13)13 February 1999
SF 31 United States Howard, Raylon 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 96 kg (212 lb) 25 – (1998-01-15)15 January 1998
PF 32 Estonia Kilk, Karmo 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 18 – (2005-01-23)23 January 2005
SG 33 Estonia Ruut, Marek 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 25 – (1998-04-02)2 April 1998
SG 40 Estonia Paasoja, Martin 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 30 – (1993-01-04)4 January 1993
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Estonia Kustas Põldoja
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 9 October 2023

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

Head coaches
  • Estonia Indrek Ruut 2008–2014
  • Estonia Aivar Kuusmaa 2014–2018
  • Estonia Toomas Annuk 2019–2021
  • Spain Lluís Riera 2021–2022
  • Croatia Arnel Dedić 2022–present

Season by season
Season Tier Division Pos. Estonian Cup Baltic competitions
2008–09 3II liiga 1st
2009–10 2I liiga 5th
2010–11 1KML 6th Quarterfinalist
2011–12 1KML 4th Quarterfinalist BBL Challenge CupRS
2012–13 1KML 4th Runner-up Baltic Basketball LeagueRS
2013–14 1KML 7th Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueRS
2014–15 1KML 3rd Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueEF
2015–16 1KML 3rd Second round Baltic Basketball LeagueEF
2016–17 1KML 2nd Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball LeagueEF
2017–18 1KML 3rd Baltic Basketball LeagueQF
2018–19 1KML 6th Estonian-Latvian Basketball League7th
2019–20 1KML 2nd[lower-alpha 1] Estonian-Latvian Basketball League–[lower-alpha 1]
2020–21 1KML 3rd Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League4th
2021–22 1KML 6th Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League9th
2022–23 1KML 5th Quarterfinalist Estonian-Latvian Basketball League6th
  1. 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.
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