The current health situation and requirements have hampered efforts for many leagues to return to normal, but the Baltic Handball League (BHL) has been in full swing in the past six months.

Twelve teams have taken part in this season’s competition, four each from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with the BHL Final Four hosted by the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda.

Three Lithuanian teams and one Estonian side qualified for the Final Four, which took place on 10 and 11 April, with regular season winners, VHC Šviesa Vilnius, facing fellow Lithuanian side Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus, while hosts HC Dragunas Klaipeda met Estonian side Serviti Põlva.

VHC Šviesa Vilnius looked like the prime pick to win the title, after winning their semi-final against Alytus with a strong outing, 32:21, but they were facing another in-form side, as Dragunas also beat Serviti Põlva, 28:21.

Prior to the final, only one thing was clear: this was to be the first time the BHL trophy was going to a Lithuanian team, as the previous winners came from Belarus, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

With Šviesa Vilnius snatching two wins in the regular season against their Lithuanian counterparts, 31:28 and 36:26, it looked like the third was on its way. However, boasting the crucial home court advantage, Dragunas took an early lead, 10:5, and never looked back.

Dragunas led by as many as seven in the second half, only for Šviesa Vilnius to mount a comeback in the final minutes, cutting the gap to three goals, and that’s how it would end, when the final whistle was blown at 33:30.

Deividas Virbauskas scored nine goals and Žanas Gabrielius added seven for the winners, while Karolis Antanavičius scored 12 times for the losing side.

“This is the biggest win in the club history! We have advanced to the Last 16 of the EHF European Cup Men this season, but it is not a trophy. So it is definitely the best achievement for Dragunas and I am very happy for the club and for the players to have done this,” said Arturas Juškenas, Klaipeda’s coach.

Serviti Põlva, winners of the 2009/10 season, finished third in the competition, after they secured a 26:24 win against Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus in the bronze-medal game.

2020/21 season All-stars: Edmundas Peleda, Karolis Antanavičius, Valdas Drabavičius (all Šviesa), Gytis Šmantauskas (Dragunas), Mathias Rebane, Ülljo Pihus (both Serviti), Žygimantas Micevičius (Varsa-Stronglasas)

MVP: Deividas Virbauskas (Dragunas)

Top scorer: Karolis Antanavičius (Šviesa) 89 goals

Visit the BHL website for more information.

Photo: Baltic Handball League