BC Kalev
BC Kalev/Cramo | |||
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Website | bckalev.ee | ||
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BC Kalev, also known as BC Kalev/Cramo for sponsorship reasons, is a professional
BC Kalev/Cramo have been the most successful Estonian basketball club in the last two decades, having won one
History
1998–2005: early years
Founded in 1998, the club started out as Canon Eesti noortemeeskond (Canon Estonia junior team). The team was coached by Allan Dorbek and played their home games at Kalev Sports Hall. The club's first season was a disappointment as they finished in last place without winning a single game. In 1999, Ehitustööriist became the official name sponsor of the team. In 2003, the club merged operations with Audentes and became Ehitustööriist/Audentes. However, the merger only lasted one season and Ehitustööriist continued independently.[1]
Ehitustööriist moved to the new Saku Suurhall, now Unibet Arena, for the 2004–05 season. The team also made their debut in the Baltic Basketball League (BBL). In 2005, they won their first Estonian championship, defeating Tartu Ülikool/Rock four games to three in the finals. Howard Frier was named the KML Most Valuable Player (MVP).[1][2]
2005–present: BC Kalev/Cramo
Coming off their first ever championship, Ehitustööriist leased the trademark "Kalev" from
In the 2006–07 season, BC Kalev/Cramo won their second Estonian Cup, but were unable to defend their league title, losing to rivals TÜ/Rock in the finals. The team also finished top-six in the Baltic Basketball League. Travis Reed was named Most Valuable Player in both the BBL and the KML, while Valmo Kriisa won the Estonian Basketball Player of the Year award.[1][5] The team saw limited success in Europe, reaching the second round in the 2006–07 FIBA EuroCup and competing in the 2007–08 ULEB Cup, where they failed to advance past the group stage. The team won another Estonian Cup in 2007. Prior to the 2008–09 season, Nenad Vučinić was hired as the new head coach. BC Kalev/Cramo went on to win their fourth consecutive Estonian Cup. In the 2009 KML Finals, the team defeated TÜ/Rock four games to two, to win their third Estonian League title. Kristjan Kangur was named KML Finals MVP and Estonian Basketball Player of the Year, but left the team after the 2008–09 season. In July 2009, they joined the newly established VTB United League. In December 2009, Vučinić left BC Kalev/Cramo and was succeeded by assistant coach Alar Varrak. The team struggled in the 2009–10 KML season and finished the regular season in fourth place. In the playoffs, BC Kalev/Cramo lost to TÜ/Rock in the semifinals, but beat TTÜ Korvpalliklubi in the series for the third place.
Aivar Kuusmaa returned to coach BC Kalev/Cramo prior to the 2010–11 season. The team finished the regular season in first place and swept the playoffs, beating TÜ/Rock in four games in the finals. Armands Šķēle won the KML Finals MVP award. Led by Gregor Arbet and Tanel Sokk, BC Kalev/Cramo successfully defended their title in the 2011–12 season, defeating Tartu Ülikool in another four-game sweep in the finals. Sokk was named MVP for the series.[1]
BC Kalev/Cramo struggled early in the
BC Kalev/Cramo won their fifth Estonian Cup in 2015. The team finished the 2015–16 KML regular season undefeated and extended their winning streak in the quarter- and semifinals. In the finals, they once again faced TÜ/Rock, winning the series 4–1. Rolands Freimanis was named the KML Finals MVP.[7] In 2016, BC Kalev/Cramo won another Estonian Cup. They successfully defended their KML title in the 2016–17 season, sweeping AVIS UTILITAS Rapla in four games in the finals. Branko Mirković won the Finals MVP award. In November 2017, Varrak was fired after a poor start to the season and replaced by Donaldas Kairys. Under Kairys, the team, led by Isaiah Briscoe, won their third consecutive KML championship in 2018 by sweeping Tartu Ülikool in four games in the finals. Kristjan Kangur, who returned to the club after eight years, was named Finals MVP.
In 2018, the
After the 2021–22 season, Štelmahers was replaced as head coach by Heiko Rannula, who had previously coached Pärnu Sadam. They won their eighth Estonian Cup, beating Viimsi/Sportland in the final. BC Kalev/Cramo made it to the FIBA Europe Cup semifinals in 2023, where they were defeated by Cholet Basket.[10] Led by Artur Konontšuk and Oleksandr Kovliar, the team swept through the 2023 KML Playoffs, defeating Tallinna Kalev/Audentes, Viimsi/Sportland, and Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits to win their 13th KML championship. Kovliar was named the KML Finals MVP.
Sponsorship naming
- Canon ENM: 1998–1999
- Ehitustööriist: 1999–2005
- BC Kalev/Cramo: 2005–present
Logos
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BC Kalev
(2005–2016) -
BC Kalev/Cramo
(2016–2020) -
BC Kalev/Cramo uncolored
(2018–2020) -
BC Kalev/Cramo
(2020–present)
Home arenas
- Kalev Sports Hall (1998–2002, 2005–2015, 2017–present)[11]
- Valtu Sports Hall (2002–2003)
- Audentes Sports Center (2003–2004)
- Saku Suurhall(2004–2021), renamed Unibet Arena.
Players
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.
BC Kalev/Cramo roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 13 March 2024 |
Depth chart
Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
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C | Manny Suárez | Rauno Nurger | ||
PF
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Mihkel Kirves | Kregor Hermet | ||
SF | Hugo Toom | Tanel Kurbas | ||
SG | Martin Dorbek | Mikk Jurkatamm | Leemet Böckler | Kaspar Kitsing |
PG | Severi Kaukiainen | Ben Shungu |
Coaches
- Allan Dorbek 1998–2003, 2004–2005
- Maarten van Gent 2003–2004
- Aivar Kuusmaa 2005–2006, 2010–2012
- Veselin Matić 2006–2008
- Nenad Vučinić 2008–2009
- Alar Varrak 2010, 2012–2017
- Donaldas Kairys 2017–2019
- Roberts Štelmahers 2019–2022
- Heiko Rannula 2022–present
Season by season
- ^ a b c The season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ The club withdrew from the league due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trophies and awards
Trophies
- Winners (13): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23
- Runners-up (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2014–15
- Winners (9): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022, 2024
- Runners-up (4): 2009, 2011, 2013, 2021
- FIBA Europe Cup
- Semifinals (1): 2022–23
Individual awards
- Howard Frier – 2005
- Travis Reed – 2007
- James Williams – 2006
- Kristjan Kangur – 2009, 2018
- Armands Šķēle – 2011
- Tanel Sokk – 2012, 2013
- Vlad Moldoveanu – 2014
- Rolands Freimanis – 2016
- Branko Mirković – 2017, 2019
- Chavaughn Lewis – 2021
- Oleksandr Kovliar – 2023
- Bamba Fall – 2012
- Gregor Arbet – 2014
- Allan Dorbek – 2005
- Aivar Kuusmaa – 2006, 2011, 2012
- Veselin Matić – 2007
- Nenad Vučinić – 2009
- Alar Varrak – 2013, 2014, 2016
- Donaldas Kairys – 2018, 2019
- Roberts Štelmahers – 2021
- Howard Frier – 2005
- Víctor González – 2005
- Rait Keerles – 2006
- Kristjan Kangur – 2007, 2008, 2009
- Valmo Kriisa – 2007
- Travis Reed – 2007
- Nate Fox – 2009
- John Linehan – 2009
- Charron Fisher – 2010
- Gregor Arbet – 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016
- Armands Šķēle – 2011
- Tanel Sokk – 2012, 2013
- Frank Elegar – 2013, 2014
- Bamba Fall – 2013
- Rain Veideman – 2014
- Scott Machado – 2015
- Shawn King – 2016
- Sten Sokk – 2016
- Branko Mirković – 2017
- Isaiah Briscoe – 2018
- Bojan Subotić – 2018
- Chavaughn Lewis – 2019
- Arnett Moultrie – 2019
- Janari Jõesaar – 2021
- Marcus Keene – 2021
- Devin Thomas – 2021
- Artur Konontšuk – 2023
- Hugo Toom – 2023
- Rain Veideman – 2015
- Demonte Harper – 2016
- Kregor Hermet – 2020
- Hugo Toom – 2022
- Severi Kaukiainen – 2024
Estonian-Latvian League Final Four MVP
- Maurice Kemp – 2021
- Janari Jõesaar – 2021
- Maurice Kemp – 2021
- Oleksandr Kovliar – 2023
- Ben Shungu – 2024
- Kregor Hermet – 2024
- Travis Reed – 2007
VTB United League Young Player of the Year
- Isaiah Briscoe – 2018
References
- ^ a b c d e "Klubist". BCKalev.ee (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 16 July 2017.
- ^ "Korvpallihooaja 2004/05 parimad". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 9 June 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Kalev on surnud? Elagu Kalev!". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). 30 June 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "BC Kalev trash PAOK for first victory". FIBAEurope.com. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Valiti korvpallihooaja 2006/2007 parimad". Eesti Päevaleht (in Estonian). 6 June 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "AMETLIK: Kalev/Cramo lõpetas Kuusmaaga koostöö, peatreenerina jätkab Varrak". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 24 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- ^ "Kalev/Cramo kindlustas meistritiitli koguni 27-punktise võiduga!". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ "BC Kalev/Cramo defeated VEF in Paf League final, Ogre brought home the bronze". EstLatBL.com. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Pärnu Sadama hoog rauges kolmandal veerandajal, Kalev/Cramo võitis 12. Eesti meistritiitli". Delfi Sport (in Estonian). 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Cholet complete comeback as Anwil await in Finals". FIBA.basketball. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "Kalevi Spordihall". spordiregister.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.