The hosts lost 100–95 on the night, after things had been tied 90-90 with two minutes to go.

Shooting guard and Estonian national team player Martin Paasoja expressed his disappointment over the result, saying: "Today this is not a good feeling, though if someone had asked at the beginning of the season to play in the final in front of the home crowd... I would have taken up the offer. When you get to the final, even at home, you obviously want to win. It's a shame. We had a very stable regular season and playoffs as a team."

The University of Tartu team reached the final of the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League for the first time since its inception for the 2018-2019 season. Their highest finish up until this year was third place, in 2022-2023.

Only one other Estonian club has won the league so far: BC Kalev/Cramo, who defeated Riga VEF in the final five years ago.

Tartu got this season off to a strong start with 12 consecutive wins, and while they suffered three consecutive losses at the end of the regular season, they still finished in first place to make the playoffs. In the quarter-finals, Tartu defeated Pärnu Transcom over two games, but in the semi-finals they needed a decisive third game against Kalev/Cramo to make the final, which they duly did in front of more than 2,700 spectators to advance to the finals.

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This year's champion was to be determined in a single match instead of a series, piing the pressure on for the performance before the sellout home crowd of over 2,800 at the Tartu University Sports Hall starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday – as the league winner Tartu got to host the final.

Valmiera had finished third in the league.

On the night, while free throws by Paasoja and a three-pointer by Bryce McBride gave Tartu a 5–0 lead in under a minute, but the opening quarter remained even, as Valmiera stayed in the game through baskets from Dominykas Stenionis, Verners Kohs, and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones.

Tartu's center Dylan Painter thrilled home fans with two straight dunks, Markus Ilver also scored above the rim, but after a three-pointer by Andrew Pacher, the first quarter ended tied.

Midway through the second period, Malcolm Bernard's drive made it 41–44 for Tartu, but Valmiera answered with a 7–0 run to reach a double-digit lead and went into halftime up 55–43.

Stenionis scored 20 points in 11 minutes, hitting 4/5 from three, while Tait-Jones added 13 points and 7 rebounds for Valmiera's lead. Tartu shot at 38 percent, led by McBride (11), with Painter adding 8 points and 6 rebounds, and went 4/20 from three.

Both McBride and Bernard faced foul trouble, with McBride reaching four fouls by halftime and Bernard doing so shortly after the break.

Lips and Paasoja cut Tartu's deficit to six, then McBride and Ilver led an 8–0 run, including two McBride threes and an Ilver dunk, making it 71–66.

With two minutes left on the clock, the score was tied 90–90. Ilver made one free throw, but Stenionis gave Valmiera a 93–91 lead. Bernard scored, but Ate's late three sealed the Latvian team's 100–95 win.

In the stats, McBride led Tartu with 25 points (7/11 threes), Bernard had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and Lips added 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists. For Valmiera, Tait-Jones scored 27 points with 13 rebounds, and Stenionis added 26 points, 7 assists.

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