Ventspils celebrate historic 10th title in Latvia

RIGA (Latvian Basketball League) - After three years in the shadows, BK Ventspils are once again the dominant force in Latvia, defeating VEF Riga in the Finals of the Latvian Basketball League.

The Roberts Stelmahers-coached side wrapped up the proceedings with an 81-78 road victory at Arena Riga on Wednesday, taking the gold-medal series 4-2.

Having lifted the LBL trophy for the historic 10th time, Ventspils set a milestone in Latvian basketball by becoming the first team in the country with a double-digit number of championship titles.

Latvia international Aigars Skele received Finals MVP honors, averaging 10.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and leading the team by example in the closing contest of the series with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Julius Jucikas helped Ventspils secure the trophy with a team-high 15 points in Game 6, while Rihards Lomazs and Dominez Burnett chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

For VEF Riga, Kendrick Brown collected a game-high 22 points. Alex Perez had 16, while Kaspars Vecvagars was the only other player in double figures with 13 points.

Having enjoyed most of their success at the turn of the century with seven consecutive titles, Ventspils have only claimed the throne on three occasions since the 2008-09 season.

After transferring to the FIBA Europe Cup following the conclusion of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, Ventspils were surprisingly eliminated by Danish champions Bakken Bears in the Round of 16.

FIBA