Helsinki Seagulls

Finnish professional basketball club

Helsinki Seagulls

Nickname| Gulls
Leagues| Korisliiga
Founded| 2013; 12 years ago (2013)
History| Helsinki Seagulls
(2013–present)
Arena| Töölö Sports Hall
Capacity| 1,600
Location| Helsinki, Finland
Team colors| Navy, Gold, Black

Head coach| Vesa Vertio
Team captain| René Rougeau
Ownership| Janne Kulvik
Sinikka Kulvik
Sami Hedberg
Website| www.helsinkiseagulls.com

Home

Away

|

Helsinki Seagulls is a professional basketball team, based in Helsinki, Finland. The club plays in the Korisliiga, the highest tier of basketball in Finland.

The Seagulls were founded in 2013 and made its debut in the Korisliiga in 2014, after promoting in its first season. The team has won the Finnish Cup three times. Seagulls won their first and only Korisliiga championship to date during the 2022–23 season.

## History

[edit]

The team was established in 2013 and it acquired its place on the second level of Finnish basketball in Division I A after the dissolution of the Torpan Pojat men's team. The license of Torpan Pojat was then transferred to the Gulls, along with the remaining players.[1][2]

The Seagulls opened their 2013–2014 season in the Division I A with winning 10 matches in a row. The team won a total of 25 of their 28 regular season games placing first in their division with Josh Gonner leading their offense with an impressive 20.5 points per game. Seagulls earned the promotion to Korisliiga after dismissing first Tampereen Pyrintö II and then BC Nokia in the division playoffs.[3]

The first ever team picture of Helsinki Seagulls in September 2013.

Seagulls started the 2022–23 season with the strongest team to date, with Americans Rene Rougeau and Jeffrey Carroll Jr. adding to an already strong team. Seagulls finished the 2022–23 regular season with a record of 25–7, and in second place behind Kauhajoki. After dominant quarter and semifinal performances against BC Nokia and Kataja Basket respectively, they advanced to the final against the defending champions Kauhajoki Karhubasket, where the Seagulls claimed their first title; defeating Karhubasket 4–2.

## Honours

[edit]

Korisliiga

* Winners (1): 2023
* Runners-up (1): 2024
* Third place (4): 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022

Finnish Cup

* Winners (4): 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
* Runners-up (1): 2023

## Season by season

[edit]

Season  | Tier  | League  | Pos. | Finnish Cup

|
|
|
|

2013–14  | 2  | First Division A  | 1st  |
2014–15 | 1  | Korisliiga | 8th  |
2015–16 | 1  | 4th  |
2016–17 | 1  | 3rd  |
2017–18 | 1  | 3rd  |
2018–19 | 1  | 7th  |
2019–20 | 1  | 2nd  |
2020–21 | 1  | 3rd  |
2021–22 | 1  | 3rd  |

## Arena

[edit]

The Töölö Sports Hall

The Seagulls play their home games in the Töölö Sports Hall.

## Players

[edit]

### Current roster

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Helsinki Seagulls roster

Players | Coaches
| Pos. | No. | Nat. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Age |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

G | 00 |  | Chukwuma, Chrysostom | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)  |  |  28 – (1996-06-12)12 June 1996  |
F | 0 |  | Mennander, Henri | 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)  |  |  21 – (2003-10-07)7 October 2003  |
F | 1 |  | Hopkins, Shawn | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)  |  |  29 – (1995-05-09)9 May 1995  |
G | 2 |  | Olison, Tevin | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)  |  |  26 – (1998-09-28)28 September 1998  |
F | 3 |  | Hollis, Curtis | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)  |  |  26 – (1998-04-25)25 April 1998  |
PF | 4 |  | Rougeau, Rene | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)  |  |  38 – (1986-03-25)25 March 1986  |
F | 5 |  | Leskinen, Elias | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)  |  |  23 – (2002-01-01)1 January 2002  |
F | 7 |  | Sajantila, Erik | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)  |  |  24 – (2001-01-29)29 January 2001  |
F | 8 |  | Heinonen, Timo | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)  |  |  43 – (1981-11-26)26 November 1981  |
F | 10 |  | Laakso, Sakari | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)  |  |  27 – (1997-04-30)30 April 1997  |
F | 11 |  | Härsilä, Tuukka | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)  |  |  21 – (2004-02-21)21 February 2004  |
PG | 13 |  | Nikkarinen, Lassi | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)  |  |  28 – (1997-03-11)11 March 1997  |
F | 22 |  | Boone, Kalib | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)  |  |  24 – (2000-11-30)30 November 2000  |
G | 25 |  | Hervola, Lenni | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)  |  |  22 – (2003-02-01)1 February 2003  |
F | 47 |  | Waxlax, Ricky | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)  |  |  26 – (1999-02-12)12 February 1999  |
SG |  |  | Kantonen, Henri | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)  |  |  27 – (1997-08-20)20 August 1997  |

Head coach

* Vesa Vertio

Assistant coach(es)

* Kimmo Kujansivu
* Timo Saukkola

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* Injured

* * *

* Roster

Updated: October 10, 2024

### Depth chart

[edit]

Pos.  | Starting 5  | Bench 1  | Bench 2  |  |

|
|
|
|
|

C |  Kalib Boone  |  Timo Heinonen  |  |  |
PF |  Rene Rougeau  |  Henri Mennander  |  Elias Leskinen  |  |
SF |  Shawn Hopkins  |  Ricky Waxlax  |  Henri Kantonen  |  |
SG |  Tevin Olison  |  Erik Sajantila  |  Tuukka Härsilä  |  |
PG |  Lassi Nikkarinen |  Curtis Hollis  |  Lenni Hervola  |  |

colours: Finnish players; foreign players

## Notable players

[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
* Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
* Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

* Tuukka Kotti
* Carl Lindbom
* Antti Kanervo
* Gerald Lee Jr.
* Jason Conley
* Raymond Cowels III
* Shawn Huff
* Petteri Koponen

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "ToPo jäi ilman liigalisenssiä" Iltasanomat, Retrieved 2014-9-24 (in Finnish)
2. ^ "Nostaako tämä seura Helsingin takaisin Korisliigaan?" Iltasanomat, Retrieved 2014-9-24 (in Finnish)
3. ^ "Seagulls otti ratkaisevan voiton Nokialla - helsinkiläiset palaavat Korisliigaan" YLE, Retrieved 2014-9-24 (in Finnish)

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Finnish)
* 2018-19 Korisliiga team page (in Finnish)

* v
* t
* e

Korisliiga

Clubs|

| 2021–22|

* Bisons Loimaa
* Helsinki Seagulls
* Kataja
* Karhu
* Kobrat
* Korihait
* Kouvot
* KTP
* Lahti
* Nokia
* Pyrintö
* Salon Vilpas

|

Former clubs|

* Espoo United
* Lappeenrannan NMKY
* Namika Lahti
* Tapiolan Honka
* Ura

Seasons|

* 1938–39
* 1939–40
* 1940–41
* ~~1941–42~~
* ~~1942–43~~
* 1943–44
* 1944–45
* 1945–46
* 1946–47
* 1947–48
* 1948–49
* 1949–50
* 1950–51
* 1951–52
* 1952–53
* 1953–54
* 1954–55
* 1955–56
* 1956–57
* 1957–58
* 1958–59
* 1959–60
* 1960–61
* 1961–62
* 1962–63
* 1963–64
* 1964–65
* 1965–66
* 1966–67
* 1967–68
* 1968–69
* 1969–70
* 1970–71
* 1971–72
* 1972–73
* 1973–74
* 1974–75
* 1975–76
* 1976–77
* 1977–78
* 1978–79
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–00
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10 [fi]
* 2010–11 [fi]
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24

Awards|

* Most Valuable Player
* Finals MVP
* Defensive Player of the Year
* Finnish Basketball Hall of Fame

* Category

*[Pos.]: Position(s)
*[No.]: Jersey number
*[Nat.]: Nationality
*[Ht.]: Height
*[Wt.]: Weight
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