The final stage of the Lithuanian Cup will also mark the opening of the reconstructed arena in Alytus, which has just had a massive overhaul to meet the standards for EuroBasket 2011, where the city will welcome what has already been called the Balkan championship, involving the national teams of Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as a team from the qualifying round.
Both semifinals will be played on Saturday, with the defending cup holders Lietuvos Rytas facing Neptunas from the third biggest Lithuanian city Klaipeda to start the event. Just a week ago, the teams faced each other in the Lithuanian League (LKL), where the Euroleague side was by far superior and ended up winning 100-65.
The second semifinal is has the potential to be a much closer game, as Zalgiris will be tested by an in-form Rudupis side, who are currently third in the LKL with an 11-4 record. Despite the fact that club from Kaunas defeated the underdogs Rudupis already twice this season, it has to be said that Zalgiris didn’t have an easy walk on both occasions, with one game coming right down to the wire. Zalgiris still won that match by six points, but it was the smallest margin of victory throughout their so-far undefeated season in the LKL.
Even though, Lietuvos Rytas is said to have an easier semifinal, but their main rivals Zalgiris are credited as the favorites of the competition and are given the edge take the Cup back to Kaunas, which would be the club's first official trophy of the season.
