Rīgas Zeļļi
| Rīgas Zeļļi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | Zeļļi | ||
| Leagues | Latvian–Estonian Basketball League Latvian Basketball League | ||
| Founded | 2023 | ||
| Arena | Daugavas Sporta Nams Xiaomi Arena | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 12,500 | ||
| Location | Riga, Latvia | ||
| Team colors | Pink, blue | ||
| President | Edgars Buļs | ||
| General manager | Artūrs Šēnhofs | ||
| Head coach | Juris Umbraško | ||
| Website | rigaszelli | ||
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Rīgas Zeļļi is a professional basketball team based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in the summer of 2023.[1]
History
News of the planned team began appearing in April 2023 with Kristaps Janičenoks voicing support for their inclusion in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.[2] The team was intended as a privately financed club with key sponsors including Riga Technical University, Betsafe, Sportland, Dienas Bizness, Sporta Avīze, and Cēsu pilsētas sporta skola identified.[2]
On July 13, 2023, it was announced that a new team named Rīgas Zeļļi will take part in Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, Latvian Basketball League and Latvian Basketball Cup. Its president is sports manager Edgars Buļs and former player Artūrs Šēnhofs is taking the role of a general manager. Previously, both worked together as hosts of a basketball show "Ūdenszeļļi" on television.
Club offers everyone to become its member by donating money, in return having a word in teams' decisions. It has also created a mobile app for a team to communicate with teams' management. It presents itself as the most innovative sports organizations in Latvia.[3]
On July 14, 2023, it was announced that the head coach of the team will be Juris Umbraško.[4]
On September 19, Andris Biedriņš, the first Latvian basketball player ever drafted in the NBA, joined the club as its ambassador.[5]
On September 30, 2023, Zeļļi played the first official game in a team's history beating Keila Coolbet in Arena Riga.[6]
The first foreign player signed by Zeļļi was Georgian forward George Natsvlishvili.[7] After the start of debut season Rīgas Zeļļi signed an American point guard Nigel Johnson.[8] Later he was replaced by Canadian shooting guard Isiah Osborne.[9]
On January 20, 2024, Rīgas Zeļļi announced that the team was joined by Aleksandrs Samoilovs, a two-time European silver medalist in Beach volleyball.[10] It was meant to be a marketing campaign and he actually played in only one game, scoring two points against KK Viimsi.[11]
On February 29, 2024, Rīgas Zeļļi signed a long-standing center of the Latvian national team Mārtiņš Meiers until the end of the season.[12] 10 days later team also signed Australian center Jordan Hunter.[13]
Players
Current roster
| Rīgas Zeļļi roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: August 4, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | |||
| PF | Rodijs Mačoha | Frank Champion | |
| SF | Dāvids Vīksne | Frankie Fidler | Uģis Pinete |
| SG | Roberts Bērziņš | Rolands Šulcs | |
| PG | Toms Skuja | Juris Vītols | Raivo Kudrjavcevs |
Squad changes for the 2025–26 season
InNote: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.
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OutNote: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.
|
Historical rosters
| 2024–25 season roster | |||
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| C |  #7 Krišs Helmanis |
#24 Rolands Freimanis |
|
| PF | #14 Zigmārs Raimo |
#22 Francis Lācis |
#12 Kristers Skrinda
|
| SF | #32 Dāvids Vīksne |
#15 Uģis Pinete C |
#17 Dans Galdiņš
|
| SG | #8 Roberts Bērziņš |
#10 Rolands Šulcs |
|
| PG | #3 Toms Skuja |
 #20 Robert Ford III |
#1 Juris Vītols
|
Coaches
- Juris Umbraško 2023–present
Honours
- Latvian League:
- Latvian Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 2024
- Latvian–Estonian League
- Runners-up (1): 2025
Season by season
| Season | Tier | Division | Pos. | Latvian Cup | Regional competitions | European competitions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 1 | LBL | Runner-up | Runner-up | Estonian-Latvian Basketball League | 6th | ||
| 2024–25 | 1 | LBL | Bronze | Semifinal | Estonian-Latvian Basketball League | Runner-up | ||
References
- ^ "Team profile". September 13, 2023.
- ^ a b "Janičenoks: ja 'Rīgas Zeļļu' projekts būs sakārtots, tad jāļauj viņiem spēlēt LIBL". www.delfi.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-11-06.
- ^ "Par un ap komandas izveidi | "Rīgas Zeļļi" podkāsts EP. 1". 28 September 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Debitanti "Rīgas Zeļļi" ar galveno treneri Umbraško paraksta trīs gadu līgumu". Sportacentrs.com. July 14, 2023.
- ^ Andris Biedriņš atgriežas basketbolā, kļūstot par "Rīgas Zeļļu" biedru un vēstnesi
- ^ "Results". www.estlatbl.com.
- ^ Official announcement on Rīgas Zeļļi Instagram account
- ^ 'Rīgas Zeļļi' pēc Skujas savainojuma piesaista amerikāni Džonsonu
- ^ "Rīgas Zeļļi" veic izmaiņas sastāvā – pievienojas Osborns, komandu atstāj Džonsons
- ^ "Zeļļi" nolūko papildinājumu: Samoilovs debitēs profesionālajā basketbolā
- ^ Box Score
- ^ Ilggadējais Latvijas izlases centrs pastiprina "Rīgas Zeļļu" groza apakšu
- ^ Kings centre Jordi Hunter has signed a short-term deal in Latvia
External links
- Official website (in Latvian)