Latvian vice-champions' forward Amands Urkis heads to Iceland's top league
BK Ventspils player Amands Urkis, 27, will join Icelandic club Stjarnan for the upcoming season. His former Ventspils teammates have already found new clubs elsewhere in Europe.
27-year-old Lithuanian player Amands Urkis was a quiet but important contributor for BK Ventspils last season. While teammates Cameron Shelton and Bryant Thomas stood out with strong statistics, Urkis mainly focused on organizing the team's defense and setting up fast breaks.
In the joint Latvian-Estonian league's regular season, Urkis appeared in 29 games, averaging 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds. In the Latvian championship playoffs, where the team played 11 matches, his averages were 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.
New club in Iceland
Next season Urkis will play for Icelandic club Stjarnan, which won the national championship two seasons ago. Last season, however, Stjarnan failed to defend the title, losing 2-3 in the semifinals to Tindastoll, whose roster includes Latvian player Davis Geks (Dāvis Geks).
Other Ventspils legionnaires
Ventspils' other foreign players from last season had already secured new clubs earlier. Cameron Shelton joined Slovenian club Ilirija Ljubljana, Bryant Thomas moved to Hungarian club Sopron (Soproni), and Aaron Johnson-Cash continued his career with Finnish club Kouvot.
Several Latvian basketball players currently compete in Iceland's league – besides Geks, Linards Jaunzems and Roberts Bērziņš play for KR, Mārtiņš Meiers for Sindri, and Mārtiņš Laksa for Alftanes.
