Given the intense schedules of the two strongest Lithuanian clubs, the Lithuanian League (LKL) board meeting voted in favour of Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas playing only away fixtures in the domestic league.
The two clubs will play twelve games each, matching up with all the other
LKL clubs one time each as well as having two games against each other to
determine the top seed for the playoffs.
“Everyone would like both of the big clubs to play in a proper two-round
system, but the reality is what it is and we settled for a compromise,” said the
LKL president Sarunas Kliokys, who also revealed that there will likely be changes
in the playoff system.
Teams that will finish 5-8 in the regular season will play for a chance to
make the quarterfinals, with the fifth seed playing against the eighth seed and
the sixth seed playing against the seventh seed.
The winner of the first pair would play the team that finished fourth in
the regular season, while the winner of the second pair would play the
third-placed team, with Lietuvos Rytas and Zalgiris joining in the playoffs
only from the semifinals. However, these changes are yet to be approved by the
league.
