Author: Boris Karebin

Ralphs Iesalnieks arrived today at South Georgia Technical College in the United States, where he will play his second season with the college basketball team.

During the summer, Ralphs put in a tremendous amount of intensive work in training. He significantly improved his physical conditioning, with a strong focus on strength and fitness work in the gym. At the same time, he continued to develop and improve his individual basketball skills.

Ralphs also competed in several stages of 3×3 basketball tournaments during the summer. He won Ghetto Basket 3×3 tournaments in Jēkabpils and Krāslava, playing a leading role for his team.

Ralphs also delivered a very strong performance at a basketball tournament in Gulbene. In a hard-fought final, his team narrowly lost to the experienced players from Valmiera after the opponents hit a successful shot in the final seconds of the game.

Ralphs is now ready to prove himself on the basketball courts in the United States in the upcoming season.

Best Baltic Basketball League Finals — Santa Ozola: 12 Points, 9 Rebounds, 3 Assists

Best Baltic Basketball League Finals showcased the depth and future of Latvian basketball as the final games were held in Riga at the prestigious Arena Riga, where Latvia’s national teams play their home games.

The battles at the U18 Women’s European Championship had barely come to an end when the final games of the Best Baltic Basketball League began. The games were extremely demanding, and, as expected, the final brought together Ridzene and Riga Basketball Center.

In yesterday’s game, Santa Ozola stood out for Riga Basketball Center, while Arta Ulle was one of the key performers for Ridzene.

Today, Ridzene completely refreshed its lineup, demonstrating the remarkable depth of its roster. Riga Basketball Center, meanwhile, started the game with essentially the same starting five, with its main players playing approximately 25–30 minutes.

Once again, Santa Ozola was one of the standout players, finishing with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Keita Jakobsona also contributed 12 points and 5 rebounds.

For BS Riga/Centrs 2, Monta Culkstena stood out with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Riga Basketball Center played almost exclusively with its starting five, and by the later stages it was clear that the players were running out of energy. At times, it became a very low-scoring game, as both teams appeared to have completely exhausted their physical resources.

However, this also created an excellent opportunity to see many young players in action.

Both teams showed an impressive depth of young talent, giving us the chance to watch players from different age groups and different stages of development. The overall picture was extremely encouraging and shows that Latvian basketball has a very bright future.

After the Latvian U16 boys won the European Championship, the Latvian U18 girls are currently competing at the European Championship, and today we also had an opportunity to see the depth of the U19 and U17 programs.

There are many very promising young players in these groups, and several of them have the potential for a very successful future in basketball.

Congratulations to the Latvia U-16 Boys National Team, its players, and coaching staff on becoming European Champions! 🏆🇱🇻

In the championship game, the Latvia U-16 Boys National Team defeated France 75–69 to capture the European title.

Congratulations to all the players and coaches of the Latvia U-16 Boys National Team on this outstanding achievement! 🇱🇻🏆

BK-CENTRE continues to introduce the basketball world to a new generation of young Lithuanian talent — players who are already showing potential and could become important names in the future of Lithuanian basketball.

Today, we are proud to introduce Urtė Gotautė, a very young and promising basketball player who is just 15 years old.

Urtė is from Lithuania, and her coach is her mother, Rimantė Gotautė. Despite her young age and the fact that Urtė was not selected for the Lithuanian U16 national team, we believe she is undoubtedly one of the interesting and promising players of her generation. With the right development and a consistent training process, she has the potential to become a very intriguing high-level basketball player.

Lithuanian basketball has a long tradition of developing talented young players and regularly producing new standout names. Today, we are already seeing members of a new generation who have the potential to continue that tradition.

One of the brightest examples is Danielė Paunksnytė, a leader of the Lithuanian U20 national team. At the 2026 FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket, she averaged an impressive 20.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, establishing herself as one of the tournament’s most influential players.

The next step in her career will be NCAA basketball, where she will play for Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Her journey is another example of how talented Lithuanian players can progress from youth basketball to the international and collegiate levels.

Another outstanding example of the new generation is Gabija Galvanauskaitė.

In 2025, Gabija was named MVP of the FIBA U16 Women’s EuroBasket Division B and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. She had an outstanding tournament, averaging 19.0 points and 15.6 rebounds per game. In the championship game, she delivered an especially impressive performance with 21 points and 21 rebounds, helping Lithuania win the title and earn promotion to Division A.

These examples demonstrate that a strong new generation of young female basketball players is developing in Lithuania. A major part of this progress comes from the work of youth coaches and basketball academies that continue to develop players systematically not only in Vilnius, but throughout the country.

This is why BK-CENTRE is closely following young talents such as Urtė Gotautė. At just 15 years old, her basketball journey is only beginning, and this is the stage when consistent, intelligent and high-quality development is especially important.

We hope Urtė will continue her systematic development, improve her game step by step and, in the future, earn an opportunity to play for a top NCAA program. Equally important, we hope she will prove that she deserves to represent Lithuania at the international level and help Lithuanian national teams reach new heights at European Championships and, potentially, World Championships.

BK-CENTRE wishes Urtė Gotautė continued success, hard work and confidence in her journey. Lithuanian basketball has a bright future — and Urtė Gotautė may become one of the next bright names in that future.

Latvian player Robert Mačs of Riga Juniors has arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is currently participating in the training camp at South Georgia Technical College.

Mačs comes from the Riga Juniors program under head coach Gundars Vetra and is taking part in the college team’s preseason training, getting familiar with the coaching staff, players, and program.

Beginning next week, Mačs will start full-time training with the South Georgia Tech College team as he continues his transition to the American college basketball environment.

His arrival in Georgia marks an important next step in his basketball development and his pursuit of a college basketball opportunity in the United States.