Lithuanian giants Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas will face each other early in the season – today – after both teams defeated their opponents in the semi-finals of the BBL Cup. It is the second time when this pre-season tournament is arranged. Last year it was held under the name of BBL Presidents' Cup.
The first semi-final featured Lithuanian and Baltic Basketball League champions Lietuvos Rytas and Estonian champions Kalev/Cramo. Both teams got weaker compared to the last season but it was Rytas who crushed their opponents. The young Kalev squad was unable to respond to Rytas's shooting. The first quarter was relatively close with 6 points separating the teams. But the Rimas Kurtinaitis's men started to roll and recorded a massive 117-69 win.
Zalgiris, the host of BBL Cup, welcomed Latvian champions Ventspils in the second semi-final. Just as Rytas and Kalev, these two teams underwent a number of changes ion their squads during the summer. Ventspils is the only of Latvia's big clubs which will be playing in BBL this season. And the fact they will participate in Euroleague's qualifying rounds helped them to keep a competitive roster. The game was close but Zalgiris won all quarters to secure the win 81-69.
