February 08, 2012
VEF RIGA grabs 3 for next season
Raitis Grafs - ASK Riga (Photo: askriga.lv)VEF Riga announced on Tuesday some roster moves involving three players. Guard Sandis Valters (193, 32) extended his contract with the team while big man Raitis Grafs (210, 29) and guard Dairis Bertans (192, 21) are new arrivals. Valters arrived in VEF Riga in January of 2010 in time to play 19 Latvian League games to average 13.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He was also the fourth best ranked player in steals with 1.6. He has played most of his career in teams from Riga, with six years at Broceni to start, until the last three seasons at ASK. He also had a three-year stint abroad, playing two years in Germany with Trier and Wuerzburg, and then some months in Ukraine with Azovmash Mariupol before being back in Latvia. He has won four Latvian League titles in 1997, 1998, 1999 with Broceni and in 2007 with ASK Riga.

Big man Grafs arrives from BC Siauliai of the Lithuanian League where last season he averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in the Eurocup. He started his career in his native Latvia but soon played college ball in Valparaiso from 1999 to 2003, being a consistent member of the starting five. After that, he moved to Belgium to play with Telindus Oostende and in 2004-05 he joined Slask Wroclaw of Poland with which he won the Polish Cup. After that, he was back to Latvia to join BK Ventspils, and in 2006 he joined ASK Riga, where he played three seasons. He has won three Latvian League titles: 1999 with Broceni (where he shared team with Valters), 2006 with Ventspils and 2007 with ASK. He is also a member of the Latvian national team.

The last addition for VEF Riga is Dairis Bertans. He arrives from BK Ventspils, where last season he averaged 8.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 6 Eurocup appearances. He made his debut in 2004 with Reinis Valmiera and in 2006 he joined the junior categories of ASK Riga, also making his European debut in the ULEB Cup with the first team in the 2007-08 campaign averaging 3.6 points. In 2008-09 he was also in ASK Riga, allowing him to take his first national league title, but last season he moved to Ventspils in order to keep progressing in Europe. One of the most promising Latvian players, Bertans will have the chance to keep improving against the best European teams this season also in the Eurocup.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Eurocupbasketball.com
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