Men in Pink ready to surprise: welcome, Riga Zelli!

Riga Zelli is the third club from Latvia to play in the European North Basketball league.

Valmiera Glass ViA and Liepāja entered the competition in 2021.

Latvia is a co-host of EuroBasket 2025 together with Cyprus, Finland and Poland.

Latvians won the EuroBasket 1935 and finished fifth at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

TTT Rīga is the most successful club team from Latvia, winning 12 straight European Champions Cup for Women titles from 1964 until 1975.

Two clubs – VEF Rīga and Ventspils – have dominated the men`s club scene for the last 15 years.

A new hegemon – VEF – has played in every Latvian final from 2010.

Ventspils won seven consecutive titles 2000-2006, and added three more trophies in 2009, 2014 and 2016.

One hit wonder in face of Valmiera Ordo interrupted the double reign in 2016, only ceasing to exist a year later.

There were only six clubs in the Latvian higher division between 2020 and 2023.

Riga Zelli shaked the relatively calm waters of a local league from the start.

Edgars Buļs, club`s president and co-founder, has a rich experience in professional sports.

Buļs was the first general manager of a renewed TTT Rīga squad as club re-joined EuroLeague Women in fall of 2007.

Latvian Women`s national team advanced to the EuroBasket Women 2007 semifinals a few weeks earlier and next summer won the ticket to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Buļs became the most influential manager in Latvian sports, working with athletes like 2017 French Open winner in singles, Aļona Ostapenko, 2021 Tokyo Olympics 3x3 basketball champions Nauris Miezis, Kārlis Lasmanis, Edgars Krūmiņš and Agnis Čavars, and successful beach volleyball duos Samoilovs/Smedins & Graudina/Samoilova.

A lifelong fan of Michael Jordan dreamed to found his own basketball club.

And Riga Zelli were born in spring of 2023.

Club has a distinct identity – starting with pink (purple) uniforms and wide online presence, followed by good results on the floor.

Riga Zelli defeated VEF for the first time on Third Christmas day of 2023.

Two months later they advanced to their first Latvian Cup final game in Jelgava and five months later reached their first Latvian finals.

VEF remained at the top this and the following season, but the challenge was real.

Riga Zelli continued to push forward and reached the 2025 Optibet Estonia and Latvia league final for the first time.

VEF won the final on April 13 but the margin of victory was smaller than before, 82-88.

2024 Paris Olympians in 3x3 basketball – Francis Lācis and Zigmārs Raimo – joined the team.

Kristers Skrinda, the most promising young player, was recruited by Stanford University.

Riga Zelli also recruited the most impressive foreigner, a former North Carolina, Virginia and Hawaii forward Justin McCoy.

McCoy received a good offer from Israel and moved to the Winners league in January 2025.

He joined the Portland Trail Blazers in recent NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Without McCoy, Riga Zelli dropped the Latvian league semifinals against Ventspils.

But they rebounded with a bronze medal after series against Valmiera Glass ViA.

Riga Zelli head coach Juris Umbraško is a former Latvia National team player.

He has played in Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Norway from 1998 until 2015.

A two time Latvian champion with Ventspils (2002, 2009), Umbraško kicked off his coaching career in Estonia, working with Tarvas Rakvere.

Riga Zelli is very active outside court. In first two seasons club has won five marketing awards, including Trademark of the Year 2024 and best attendance in LATEST league in last season.

Rīga Airport (RIX) is the biggest hub in the Baltic States.

Club`s website: www.rigaszelli.lv