Rapla KK

AVIS UTILITAS Rapla
Leagues Korvpalli Meistriliiga
Baltic Basketball League
Founded 1996 (1996)
History KK Rapla
(1996–2004)
Rapla KK
(2004–present)
Arena Sadolin Sports Hall
Arena Capacity 818
Location Rapla, Estonia
Team colors Red, White
         
President Jaak Karp
Head coach Aivar Kuusmaa
Website www.raplakk.ee
Uniforms
Home
Away

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

History

The club's predecessor, Basketball Club Rapla (Estonian: Korvpalliklubi Rapla), was founded in 1996 as division of the Rapla Sports School, developing both men's and women's basketball players. In 2004, Rapla Basketball School (Estonian: Rapla Korvpallikool) was formed.[1]

In 2010, Rapla moved to the new Sadolin Sports Hall and was promoted to the top-tier Korvpalli Meistriliiga (KML) for the 2010–11 season. Coached by Indrek Ruut, the team finished the regular season in 6th place and reached the playoffs, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by TTÜ/Kalev, losing the series 1 game to 3. In 2011, Rapla joined the Challenge Cup competition of the regional Baltic Basketball League for the 2011–12 season, but failed to advance past the group stage. In 2012, Rapla reached the Estonian Cup finals, but finished as runners-up after being defeated by Rakvere Tarvas 64–81.[2]

In 2014, Ruut was replaced as head coach by Aivar Kuusmaa. The team finished the 2014–15 regular season in third place. In the quarterfinals, the team faced Valga and won the series 3 games to 1. The team lost in the semifinals to Kalev/Cramo, but won the bronze medals in the third place games, winning the series against Rakvere Tarvas 2 games to 1. Domagoj Bubalo named to the All-KML Team. Rapla finished the 2015–16 regular season in fourth place. The team defeated Rakvere Tarvas in the quarterfinals 3 games to 1, but were swept by Kalev/Cramo in the semifinals. Rapla faced TLÜ/Kalev in the third place games and won the series 3 games to 1. Indrek Kajupank named to the All-KML Team.[3] Rapla finished the 2016–17 regular season in third place. Thomas van der Mars was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season. In the playoffs, the team defeated Valga in the quarterfinals and University of Tartu in the semifinals, reaching the KML Finals for the first time in their history, but lost the series to Kalev/Cramo 0 games to 4.

Sponsorship naming

The team has had several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship:

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 Rapla roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age
SG 1 Puerto Rico Suárez, Rasham 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 24 – (1992-09-21)21 September 1992
C 3 Netherlands Kok, Jito 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) 23 – (1994-03-23)23 March 1994
SG 4 Estonia Ruut, Marek 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 19 – (1998-04-02)2 April 1998
SF 6 Estonia Metsalu, Oliver 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 23 – (1993-12-04)4 December 1993
PG 8 Slovenia Bratož, Domen 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 80 kg (176 lb) 24 – (1993-03-23)23 March 1993
C 12 Netherlands van der Mars, Thomas 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 26 – (1990-11-15)15 November 1990
PG 14 Estonia Ilves, Gregor 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 18 – (1999-01-13)13 January 1999
PF 18 Estonia Kajupank, Indrek (C) 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 98 kg (216 lb) 29 – (1988-05-15)15 May 1988
SF 33 Estonia Voolaid, Kristjan 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 96 kg (212 lb) 24 – (1992-10-29)29 October 1992
SG 40 Estonia Paasoja, Martin 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 86 kg (190 lb) 24 – (1993-01-04)4 January 1993
SG 45 Estonia Kaldre, Sven 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 25 – (1991-10-31)31 October 1991
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Estonia Toomas Annuk
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Updated: 1 March 2017

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2 Bench 3
C Thomas van der Mars Jito Kok
PF Indrek Kajupank
SF Kristjan Voolaid Karl Johan Lips
SG Martin Paasoja Sven Kaldre Rasham Suarez Marek Ruut
PG Domen Bratož Gregor Ilves

Coaches

Season by season

Season Tier Division Pos. Postseason RS PO Estonian Cup Baltic Basketball League
2008–09 3 II Liiga 1 Champion 23–3 – – – – –
2009–10 2 I Liiga 2 Runner-up 20–6 – – – – –
2010–11 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 6 Quarterfinalist 13–19 1–3 Quarterfinalist – – –
2011–12 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 4 Fourth place 14–14 3–6 Quarterfinalist BBL Challenge Cup RS 2–8
2012–13 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 5 Fourth place 14–18 4–5 Runner-up Baltic Basketball League RS 1–9
2013–14 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 7 Quarterfinalist 10–22 0–3 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League RS 3–9
2014–15 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 3 Third place 21–11 5–5 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League T16 3–7
2015–16 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 4 Third place 18–14 6–5 Round of 16 Baltic Basketball League T16 8–6
2016–17 1 Korvpalli Meistriliiga 3 Runner-up 20–12 6–5 Quarterfinalist Baltic Basketball League T16 8–6

Trophies and awards

Trophies

Estonian Championship

Estonian Cup

Individual awards

References

  1. ↑ "Ajalugu" (in Estonian). Rapla KK.
  2. ↑ "Tarvas võitis korvpalli Eesti karika" (in Estonian). Postimees.
  3. ↑ "Korvpalliliit lõpetas Saku Suurhallis hooaja ja tunnustas paremaid" (in Estonian). Delfi. 2 June 2016.
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