Lithuanian Basketball Cup 2022: schedule, teams, and everything else you need to know / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: BNS Credit BNS

All around Europe, it's the time for a little break in the domestic leagues, which will be filled by the local cups, and the Lithuanian Cup, also known as Karaliaus Mindaugo Cup is no exception.

Free throws this season

77%15,9Points made:15,9Accuracy:77,3%Place in standings:4Record max:19Record min:13Most made FTs:Ivan BuvaTeamBCLStatisticsSchedule

In just a few days, teams will fight for the first domestic title of the season. The tension and the excitement that the domestic cups generate are something that can't usually be found during the regular season of the local leagues.

If you're missing some info or details about these competitions, there's no need to worry because we've got you covered.

In this article, we will focus on the Lithuanian Cup. The final phase of the competition will be held in the capital city of Vilnius and will take place from February 19 to February 20.

Format & Teams

Teams

Lietkabelis Panevezys Siauliai 7-bet Rytas Vilnius Zalgiris Kaunas

The format is as simple as it could get. Two semifinals games will be played in which the final's participants will be determined.

Schedule

Semifinals

February 19: Zalgiris vs Siauliai (80-68) February 19: Rytas vs Lietkabelis (80-82)

Final

February 20: Zalgiris vs Lietkabelis 18:00 CET

Talking points

The current Lithuanian Cup format was introduced back in 2016, substituting LKF Cup, and was rebranded as Karaliaus Mindaugo Cup. It's a mix of the Cup tournament and All-Star weekend because on the day of the final 3-point contest takes place. As you could expect, Zalgiris reached the final on all six occasions, but the Lithuanian powerhouse won 4 titles out of 6 possible, losing both finals in 2016 and 2019 against Rytas. In 2019, the tournament also took place in Vilnius, so the hosts will be especially motivated to defend their home court once more. Credit BNS However, both Zalgiris and Rytas will need to qualify to the final first, and it's not going to be as easy as you would expect. So far, Zalgiris have a horrible season in the EuroLeague, and despite an almost perfect record (19-1) in the Lithuanian league, at least a few victories were achieved in a very dramatic fashion. Zalgiris will face Lietkabelis, which is having a successful campaign in EuroCup by their standards (6-6 record) and currently comfortably sit in third place in LKL. However, it's worth mentioning that recently Lietkabelis announced a couple of Covid cases, so it might affect their chances in the semifinal. Meanwhile, Siauliai are currently the Cinderella of the LKL. After being in the second part of the table for a few recent seasons, Siauliai are now the fourth-best team in the league and successfully making noise. Of course, Rytas are strong favorites in this pair, but that's the whole magic of the cup, and anything could happen.

Throwback to last year

In last year's final, Zalgiris beat Lietkabelis 76-69 as Joffrey Lauvergne was named the MVP of the tournament. Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.