Introduced in 2018, the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League (Eesti-Läti Korvpalliliiga) is the top-tier men's basketball league in both countries.

Its season runs in parallel with the domestic PAF Korvpalli Meistriliiga series, to which can be added the European North Basketball League (ENBL), with two Estonian clubs represented, and the FIBA Champions League, which BC Kalev/Cramo has been taking part in this season.

Raudla also noted somewhat of a correlation between success and the number of overseas players a team has on its roster.

Speaking to Vikerraadio after Sunday's last day of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League regular season, Raudla noted only two Estonian teams made it to the playoffs this year, compared with six from Latvia (the quarterfinals make up the first phase of the knockout round).

BC Kalev/Cramo was the highest-placed Estonian club in the league, finishing second in the table

Raudla said: "Whether they finish first, second, or third, we can evaluate Kalev/Cramo based on their final position at the end of the season," including the playoffs.

"It's difficult to judge them just by the regular season, especially since they also had a coaching change. But they still achieved their expected result," he added.
Last year, Kalev/Cramo reached the league final but lost to Ukrainian team BC Prometey.

Prometey was invited to join the league following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, playing two seasons – the side did not compete this season just finished.

As for Kalev/Cramo's showing this year, Raudla said: "They did their job. One could complain that they didn't win the regular season, and home-court advantage was given to Riga VEF if they meet in the final."

The only other team to progress to the playoffs, which start Friday, is Tartu Ülikool Maks & Moorits, with a 17:11 record.

However, in their last game of the season, the Tartu club suffered a painful defeat against the league's bottom team, Latvijas Universitate.

Had Tartu won, they would have secured fourth place and home-court advantage for the quarterfinals, yet now they have to start their series away against Riga Zelli.

"Tartu's performance this season has been very up and down. At the beginning and in the middle of the season, there were very tough periods. During the cup week, they rose from the ashes, played very well, reached the final, and the cup victory was not far off," Raudla said.

"However, now, the team has completely imploded, and I would dare say that losing to Latvijas Universitate is the biggest blunder in Estonian club basketball this season," he continued.

"The fact is, birds are singing, the sun is relatively strong outside, yet Tartu still hasn't found its game."

"Of course, we look at it through Estonian lenses and want that opportunity to be there. But let's be honest, how can I see an opportunity when they just lost to the last-place team, a squad of schoolboys," he went on.

"This was not just a game that didn't matter; it was crucial for Tartu."
"We are hoping for a minor miracle because Zelli has played very well. It would be a tremendous feat of overcoming oneself and an event belonging to the realm of miracles if Tartu managed to advance from this pair," he added.

The highest-placing Estonian team to miss out on advancing was TalTech/Alexela, who won half of their 28 games.

Latvian side Ventspils also finished with a 14:14 record, but head-to-head games favored the latter, hence they went through.

"It's a peculiar situation that the third seed in the Estonian championship does not qualify for the top eight in the Estonian-Latvian league," Raudla said.

"This sentence actually illustrates how unfortunate this regular season was for Estonian clubs."

"You could say they did their job, but if a team has declared their goal of reaching the playoffs — which, looking at the roster, was a realistic goal — then can this result really be considered satisfactory?" he added.

"But they have to be satisfied with securing a strong finish and earning the crucial third seed in the Estonian championship. If they succeed in the quarterfinals, they will avoid Kalev/Cramo in the semifinals," he added, referring to the domestic league.

Utilitas Rapla finished with the same winning percentage and still had a chance to qualify in the final round too.

The team also received help from Riga VEF, who beat Ventspils in overtime, but failing to secure a victory at home against Ogre (Latvia) meant the Estonian side had to settle for tenth place.

This was: "Undoubtedly a disappointment. Rapla finished with a 50 percent win rate, which is not a bad figure, but the biggest letdown was that in the final round, everything was in their own hands and on their home court," Raudla said.

"Ogre is no VEF, nor Zelli either. Other games also went in Rapla's favor, yet they failed to win the crucial home game."

"The outcome of this match alone shows the reality of this season — more than two Estonian teams simply did not belong in the top eight in terms of playing level," he added.

Pärnu Sadam finished the season 11:17 and also was not in contention for a playoff spot.

However, the biggest shadow hanging over their season, Raudla said, was the decision to part ways with Ukrainian head coach Vitali Stepanovski, which happened right at the beginning of the season.

"Unfortunately, I have to say that they were the biggest flop of the regular season," Raudla went on. "If you take part in a European competition and end up finishing 11th in the domestic league's regular season among 15 teams, there's nothing more to be said."

"The coaching change was a financially harsh one, and it seems they are still licking those wounds. It is hard to see how [current coach] Kristjan Evart could defeat Rapla in the quarterfinals with the current lineup," Raudla added.

Keila Coolbet started the season solidly but also competed in the ENBL, in tandem with the Estonian-Latvian league.

"For this franchise, the two leagues were too much," Raudla said.

"From my perspective, them taking part in the European competition meant they stretched themselves too thinly. This is the point where their 13-game losing streak started. I understand illnesses and injuries, but those also are the result of constantly traveling through airports and across Europe," Raudla added.

"I just fear that this club is not yet ready for two competitions," he said. "I do admire their ambition and desire to compete at a high level, but at some point, you have to face facts."

The next team in the table, Viimsi, was 5:23.

This youthful team was expected to take a developmental leap, but in October, talented young player Stefan Vaaks joined Kalev/Cramo.

Additionally, guard Oliver Suurorg left the club before the season, and moved to Pärnu.

Raudla said: "It is difficult to assess Viimsi. Their win percentage was lower than last year, but Vaaks left, and last season they had Oliver Suurorg as their point guard. This season, he was replaced by the clearly younger Kaspar Kuusmaa."

"After Vaaks' departure, the team was significantly weaker in terms of roster, but still, I would have liked to see a few more wins from them," he added.

"What's most disappointing is the situation Viimsi finds itself in — Vaaks left for Cramo, so they received some compensation for that, but in the end, they did not bring in a replacement. The most disheartening aspect is that the financial situation is so modest that they cannot assemble a sufficiently competitive team."
Keila Korvpallikool, which played in the league for the first time this season and was assembled in the summer, went 4:24, though still finished ahead of Latvia's University (3:25) in the standings.

On the newcomers, Raudla said: "They didn't finish with zero wins, and more importantly, they saw the season through to the end. There have been no warning signs that the team might fold."

"But let us not forget that three of their four wins came when they had four foreign players in the squad," he continued.

"When their chances at the start of the season were first assessed, they had one overseas player. Back then, it was assumed they would finish at the bottom of the standings. Ultimately, like other Estonian teams, they got four foreign players. So from that perspective, four wins are not surprising," he added.

Of the seven teams that failed to make the playoffs, six were Estonian, which raises the question of whether there will ever come a time when Latvian teams no longer need Estonian clubs.

"I think this is a question many basketball people have pondered after the regular season. I dare say that, at the moment, this is not a concern," Raudla said on this.

"There are currently seven Latvian teams. On the Latvian side, there are talks that Latvijas Universitate will not compete next season because their new leadership is more football-oriented," he said.

At the same time, teams on Latvia's west coast, Ventspils and Liepaja, are not happy with the long journeys to play Estonian clubs.

"If, for some reason, more Latvian clubs emerge — just as Riga Zelli did last season — then this could indeed become a topic of discussion," Raudla added.

Ultimately, Raudla said, Estonian teams do get a lot out of playing Latvian teams.

"From our side, the Latvians are at present invaluable, especially in light of this year's regular season. They help to keep us on our toes, pushing us to step up in terms of budget and everything else. We need to start narrowing the gap and steadily but surely catching up with our neighbors in club basketball," he concluded.

The Optibet Estonian-Latvian Basketball League quarterfinals begin on Friday, with Kalev/Cramo facing Liepaja.

Tartu University will play its opening game against Riga Zelli on Saturday evening.

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