{"id":9063,"date":"2026-03-29T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T08:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/?p=9063"},"modified":"2026-03-29T19:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:08:15","slug":"top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP-8 KICKOFF IN VILNIUS: RYTAS VILNIUS INVITES YOU TO THE SEASON&#8217;S BIGGEST BASKETBALL CELEBRATION"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">On April 1st, one of the most significant basketball battles of the season begins at the Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius \u2014 Rytas Vilnius opens the FIBA Basketball Champions League Quarter-final stage. After finishing first in their Top 16 group and breaking into the tournament&#8217;s final eight for the first time, the Vilnius side earned a vital home-court advantage. They will look to capitalize on it in the first game of this best-of-three series against the Czech champions, ERA Nymburk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The massive basketball fiesta in Vilnius will begin long before the opening tip-off, so fans are encouraged to immerse themselves in the arena&#8217;s activities starting from 18:00 (6:00 PM). For this night only, the Twinsbet Arena concourses will transform into a vast entertainment zone, featuring interactive stands and specially prepared games from partners Oyakata, Olybet, HOMA, and Mano Bank. The youngest Rytas supporters can enjoy the &#8220;Gyvi \u017eaislai&#8221; animation zone, featuring face painting, coloring, and active entertainment. To ensure this historic evening is remembered forever, fans can capture the moment in the photo booth or get decorated with exclusive temporary Rytas tattoos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The evening&#8217;s climax begins even before the jump ball \u2014 at 19:24, fans will witness a brand-new and spectacular team presentation featuring a record-breaking number of fire installations, designed specifically for the playoff stage. During halftime, the arena will be rocked by a special musical performance from the rap group <\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Despotin Fam<\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">. Known for their innovation and bold presence, the group solidified their status as a cult Lithuanian act following their late-2024 album &#8220;Geros naujienos&#8221; and hit singles like <\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Grei\u010dio<\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">, <\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Visk\u0105 ai\u0161kint<\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">, and <\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Geros naujienos<\/span><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">, as well as standout performances at the M.A.M.A. and M1 awards. The group will not only fire up the crowd with their famous hits but will also perform a never-before-heard track from their upcoming album live for the first time. The action won\u2019t stop during the game either: after the first quarter, fans will be invited to join the Oyakata game, and after the third quarter, the Ballzy challenge will keep the excitement high.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">The evening will be special for another reason: Martynas Echodas, who has returned to the capital after an eighteen-month absence, is ready to help the team pursue victory. The center is fully prepared for this crucial stage, and it will be a perfect opportunity for Vilnius fans to see and support him live once again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">As this series is played to two wins, and the first home game sets the tone for the entire battle, fan support is more important than ever. Ticket sales are already well underway and seats are filling up fast, so we urge you not to delay and secure your spot in the arena as soon as possible. Tickets are available at bilietai.lt.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On April 1st, one of the most significant basketball battles of the season begins at the Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius \u2014 Rytas Vilnius opens the FIBA Basketball Champions League Quarter-final stage. After finishing first in their Top 16 group and breaking into the tournament&#8217;s final eight for the first time, the Vilnius side earned a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rytas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>TOP-8 KICKOFF IN VILNIUS: RYTAS VILNIUS INVITES YOU TO THE SEASON&#039;S BIGGEST BASKETBALL CELEBRATION - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TOP-8 KICKOFF IN VILNIUS: RYTAS VILNIUS INVITES YOU TO THE SEASON&#039;S BIGGEST BASKETBALL CELEBRATION - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On April 1st, one of the most significant basketball battles of the season begins at the Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius \u2014 Rytas Vilnius opens the FIBA Basketball Champions League Quarter-final stage. After finishing first in their Top 16 group and breaking into the tournament&#8217;s final eight for the first time, the Vilnius side earned a [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-29T08:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-29T16:08:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/03\/JEL_8907-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/top-8-kickoff-in-vilnius-rytas-vilnius-invites-you-to-the-seasons-biggest-basketball-celebration\/\",\"name\":\"TOP-8 KICKOFF IN VILNIUS: RYTAS VILNIUS INVITES YOU TO THE SEASON'S BIGGEST BASKETBALL CELEBRATION - 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