Latvian Basketball League
Latvijas Basketbola līga (LBL)
SportBasketball
Founded1992
No. of teams6
CountryLatvia
ContinentFIBA Europe
Most recent
champion(s)		VEF Riga (10th title)
Most titlesVentspils
VEF Riga
(10 each)
TV partner(s)Latvia:
Level on pyramid1st tier
Official websitebasket.lv

The Latvian Basketball League (LBL; Latvian: Latvijas Basketbola līga) also known as the Pafbet LBL for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the national basketball championship in Latvia; composed of 6 teams. It is considered the biggest basketball league in Latvia. The LBL is a part of Latvian Basketball Association, which is the national governing body of basketball in Latvia.

Its 6 teams are located in 5 cities; two in Riga, and one in Ventspils, Liepāja, Valmiera, and Ogre. The LBL season usually runs from September to April. The league was founded in 1992, and its first season was played in the same year.

History

Early years

The first LBL season was played in 1992. From 1992 to 1999 all championships were won by BK Brocēni, however, from 2000 to 2006 BK Ventspils were the champions. In 2007, ASK Rīga stopped BK Ventspils winning streak. BK Ventspils won again in 2009, beating Barons/LMT in a thriller 4–3. Barons would return to the final the following year, this time against VEF Rīga, and win by the same 4–3 margin. The 2011 final again went to 7 games, with VEF Rīga defeating Ventspils.

From 2012 to 2015, the league was known as Aldaris Latvijas Basketbola līga due to the AS Aldaris brewery becoming the general sponsor of the Latvian Basketball Association.[2] In 2016, they were succeeded by betting brand Olybet and later Pafbet.

Teams

Location of teams in 2020–21 Latvian Basketball League
Team Home city Arena
Liepāja Liepāja Liepāja Olympic Center
Latvijas Universitāte Rīga OSC
Ogre Ogre Ogre's Secondary School No.1
Valmiera Valmiera Vidzeme Olympic Center
VEF Rīga Rīga OSC
Ventspils Ventspils Ventspils Olympic Center

Title holders

Performance by club

Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
Ventspils
10
12
 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018
VEF Rīga
10
4
 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Brocēni
8
2
 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Barons
2
3
 2008, 2010
ASK Riga
1
1
 2007
Valmiera
1
0
 2016
Bonus
0
4
Skonto
0
3
Ogre
0
1
Metropole
0
1
Liepāja
0
1

The finals

YearWinnerRunner-upScoreFinals MVP
1992 Brocēni ParairBonus
2–0
1993 BrocēniBonus
3–0
1994 SWH BrocēniBonus
3–0
1995 SWH BrocēniBonus
4–3
1996 ASK BrocēniMetropole
4–2
1997 ASK Brocēni LMTLiepājas Baltika
4–0
1998 ASK Brocēni LMTVentspils
4–1
Ainārs Bagatskis
1999 Brocēni LMTVentspils
4–2
Edgars Šneps
2000 VentspilsBrocēni LMT
4–3
Aigars Vītols
2001 VentspilsBK LMT
4–1
2002 VentspilsSkonto
4–0
Kristaps Purnis
2003 VentspilsSkonto
4–1
2004 VentspilsSkonto
4–0
Kestutis Sestokas
2005 VentspilsBarons
4–0
Justin Love
2006 VentspilsBarons
4–0
Marijonas Petravičius
2007 ASK RigaVentspils
4–2
Sandis Valters
2008 Barons LMTASK Riga
4–1
Armands Šķēle
2009 VentspilsBarons LMT
4–3
Mareks Jurevičus
2010 Barons LMTVEF Rīga
4–3
Oritseweyinmi Efejuku
YearWinnerRunner-upScoreFinals MVP
2011 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–3
Sandis Valters
2012 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–1
Kristaps Janičenoks
2013 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–1
Earl Rowland
2014 VentspilsVEF Rīga
4–1
Jānis Timma
2015 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–2
Mareks Mejeris
2016 Valmiera OrdoVEF Rīga
4–3
Artūrs Bērziņš
2017 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–0
Mareks Mejeris
2018 VentspilsVEF Rīga
4–2
Aigars Šķēle
2019 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–1
Jabril Durham
2020 VEF RīgaOgre
Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19
2021 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–0
Kyle Allman Jr.
2022 VEF RīgaVentspils
4–1
Kristers Zoriks
2023 VEF Rīga Ventspils
4–1
 Nysier Brooks

References

  1. ↑ "Pafbet LBL".
  2. ↑ ""Aldaris" kļuvis par LBL ģenerālsponsoru" [Aldaris becomes LBL general sponsor]. Apollo (in Latvian). 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
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