Jānis Gailītis: 17 seasons in VEF ranks
There are only six players in NBA history who have played 17 or more seasons with one club – Dirk Nowitzki (21), Kobe Bryant, Udonis Haslem (both 20), Tim Duncan, John Stockton (19) and Reggie Miller with 18 seasons.
The history of the Latvian Basketball League stretches for 33 seasons and we have our heroes. Gints Fogels spent 40 years in Ventspils basketball, including three seasons as a player of BK “Ventspils” (1994-1997) and fourteen seasons as a coach (from 2010, head coach from 2020).
Ralfs Pleinits has been the general manager of the Ventspils basketball club since August 1995. Apart from steering the Latvian basketball leagues in 2010, he is the most successful official in the country’s basketball – the people of Kurzeme have finished in the “Top 3” places 27 (!) seasons in a row.
Adding the time spent in the leadership of the LBL, Pleinica has 28 awards with the Ventspils club. Kurzemnieki remained outside the top three only in 1997, while in March 2020, the classification of the tournament was determined by the decision of the board of the Latvian Basketball Association.
The LBS decision at the time can be rightly criticized, but also in the unfinished season, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) continued to count points in the national ranking. Latvian clubs received nine points for the 2020 international season, while VEF collected 17 points in the following campaign.
As long as the decision of the LBS board is valid, seasons and titles must also be counted in the absolute rating. Mathematics convinces – Jānis Gailītis defended the colors of the renewed VEF for 17 seasons as a player, technical manager, assistant and head coach. It’s an impressive feat.
Gailitis is the sixth head coach of the renewed club and has been in the chair longer than his predecessors combined. Before him, Valdis Valters, Rims Kurtinaitis, Ramūns Butauts, Nikolajs Mazurs and Carlos Frade worked with the “men in black”.
Jānis Gailīš’s record in the Latvian basketball league, as well as in the Latvian and Estonian basketball leagues, is 222-53. 55-16 in LBL playoffs. In addition to that, he has three triumphs in the Latvian Cup. Adding six Latvian and one Latvian-Estonian title, until May 21 earned 10 trophies as a head coach.
Jānis Gailītis in the main tournament and play-off games
SeasonLAT-ESTPlay-offTotalLBL202427-86-133-9TBD202327-77-334-10First place202227-37-134-4First place202124-37-031-3First place202023-2-23-2First place201929-37-136-4First place—- -201819-45-424-8Second place201714-47-021-4First place201610-39-619-9Second place
Notes. 1) Starting from the moment of the establishment of the Latvian-Estonian league in 2018, the results of the LAT-EST playoffs have been added to the main tournament. 2) Only LBL playoffs are taken into account in the “Play-off” column. 3) Games in the Latvian Cup are not included.
Evgeny Kosushkin: Most titles in LBL history
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Han Solo and Chewbacca. Batman and Robin. Chip and Dale. Fairy tale characters often act in pairs. Professional teams usually have more coaches, but the VEF duo have been working together for 11 seasons.
Yevgenijs Kosuškins joined the Riga club as the European U20 vice-champion and one of the three assistants of Ramūns Butautas. After the Lithuanian’s departure, he worked under the leadership of Nikolaj Mazur and Carlos Frada, but from mid-December 2015 he works in tandem with Jānis Gailītis.
Žeņa became a five-time Latvian champion in the ranks of BK “Ventspils” (2000-2004), but later represented Valmiera, “Baron”, “Liepājas lauvas” and Jūrmala. During his coaching career with VEF, he added seven more national titles (2015, 2017, 2019-2023).
Last year, Kosuškins earned his twelfth Latvian title, becoming the absolute LBL record holder. In the players’ competition, Kristaps Purnis is in first place with 11 gold medals. The third place is shared by Ventspils boss Ralfs Pleinics and Jānis Gailītis – both with 10 Latvian titles each.
Māris Gulbis: the eleventh Latvian final
VEF’s oldest player has not been on the field since the second match of the Latvian semi-final on April 28 in Liepāja, but it would be incorrect not to mention him. Māris Gulbis has reached the final of the Latvian Basketball League for the eleventh time in his career and is one success away from the fifth title.
The power forward made his debut in the national championship in the ranks of “LainERS”, playing under the leadership of Aivars Brigmanis in the 2001 season. Apart from one winter in Portugal and playing in the well-known Šiauliai club, Māris has been in the circuit for twenty-third seasons.
Gulbis played for the first time in VEF together with Jānis Gailītis, while his younger brother Mārtiņš was in the first golden team of the Riga players. Eight and a half seasons followed in Ventspils, becoming a two-time champion of Latvia (2014, 2018) and the first champion of the Latvian-Estonian league in the ranks of Kurzemnieki.
Māris Gulbis fought in the golden series in 2005, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Māras Gulbja coaches in LBL clubs
SeasonsClubTreneris2000-2001LainERSAivars Brigmanis2002-2005BaronsGundars Vētra2005-2006ValmieraVaris Krūmiņš2006-2007Baron/LMTGundars Vētra2007-2009VEFValdis Valters2009-2010ZemgaleVaris Krūmiņš2010-2011Ventspils Alģirds Brazis/Guntis Endzels2012-2013Barons kvartalsMārtiņš Gulbis2013-2015VentspilsRoberts Štelmahers2015-2017VentspilsKārlis Muižnieks2017-2019VentspilsRoberts Štelmahers2019-2020VentspilsArtūrs Visockis-Rubenis2020-2021VentspilsGints Fo gels2021-2024VEFJānis Rooster
Resources used:
Māris Gulbis – the monstrous wild man of Ventspils
How much does anyone have?
Some great men: unique facts about VEF and Ventspils series
Gints Fogels: Ventspils in basketball since 1984
The LBL final series will return to the Daugava sports house after an 11-year break
