ASK Riga

ASK Rīga
Founded 1929 (re-founded 2005)
Dissolved 2009
Arena Arēna Rīga
Arena Capacity 12,500
Location Riga, Latvia
Team colors White with Yellow-Gold stripes and Carolina Blue
              
President Jānis Birks
Head coach Donaldas Kairys
Championships Latvian Championships: 1
Soviet League Championships: 3
EuroLeague Championships: 3
Website askriga.lv
Uniforms
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ASK Rīga is a former professional basketball club that was based in Riga, Latvia. "ASK" stood for "Armijas Sporta Klubs" (in English: Army Sports Club).

History

ASK, which stood for Army Sports Club, was the first FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) winner in 1958, and managed to defend its title again in 1959 and 1960. Only the Yugoslav Federal League club, Split, (1989, 1990, 1991) has been able to win three consecutive European top-tier level continental crowns since then. ASK defeated Academic Sofia in the 1958 and 1959 EuroLeague two-way finals, and did the same against Dynamo Tblisi, the following season. The club's head coach, Alexander Gomelsky, then soon joined the rival Soviet League club, CSKA Moscow, which then replaced ASK Rīga as the new team to beat in Soviet and European basketball. However, ASK Rīga stayed competitive in the Soviet League until the early 1990s.

Years of obscurity then followed for the club. Yet the city of Riga was always represented in the sport of basketball by teams like BK Skonto, Barons/LMT, and VEF Rīga. BK Rīga was then re-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, the National Latvian Army Forces, and some powerful sponsors, as well as the brand new Arēna Rīga, with room for 12,500 fans.

The team then made it to both the Baltic League and the FIBA EuroCup quarterfinals, but the best was yet to come. The arrival of Torraye Braggs happened to be the key piece in a roster already featuring Sandis Valters, Raitis Grafs, Curtis Millage, A.J. Bramlett, 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'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 Baltic League, 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 Arēna Rīga.

Honours

Domestic

Soviet League

Latvian League

European

EuroLeague

Notable players

Notable coaches

References

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