{"id":9596,"date":"2026-09-30T18:11:57","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T15:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/?p=9596"},"modified":"2026-10-02T12:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T09:53:18","slug":"champions-open-season-at-home-an-unmissable-week-of-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rytasvilnius.lt\/en\/news\/champions-open-season-at-home-an-unmissable-week-of-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions open season at home: an unmissable week of basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Returning with silver medals from the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Beijing, Rytas Vilnius tips off the new season on home hardwood, with an opening week promising everything fans have been waiting for since the historic triumph in Badalona.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">On Saturday, October 3, at 16:30, the Vilnius side opens its season in the LKL, sponsored by Betsson, against Garg\u017edai. Just three days later, on Tuesday, October 6, the team steps onto the court in the FIBA Champions League as defending champions for the first time in club history, hosting Azerbaijani champions Sabah Baku. The club&#8217;s objective is clear: to pack the arena for both fixtures and prove right from the opening tip that Vilnius boasts the best atmosphere anywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Due to their trip to China, Rytas Vilnius starts the domestic campaign later than the rest of the league, finally stepping into official action this Saturday. This first test on home soil will be far from straightforward: in just one year in the top flight, Garg\u017edai has already proven to be a stubborn adversary, having beaten Rytas Vilnius twice last season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">When the club from Garg\u017edai debuted in Lithuania\u2019s top division last season, Rytas Vilnius won the first encounter in the capital comfortably (99:73). However, Garg\u017edai answered by stunning Vilnius twice on their own home floor (82:78 and 103:98). Those upset victories helped the newcomers finish sixth and reach the playoffs. While their roster has undergone major changes this season under new head coach Paulius Mala\u0161auskas, they have already showcased their strength: defeating \u0160iauliai 90:79, with JaQuan Carlos delivering 23 points and 9 assists. Furthermore, in their opener against Nept\u016bnas Klaip\u0117da, Garg\u017edai erased a 17-point deficit to secure the win, making it clear they will be tough opponents. Saturday represents not only the start of the season for Vilnius, but also a prime opportunity to seek payback on home court for last year&#8217;s defeats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">\u201cWe are thrilled to have the opportunity to start our campaign both in the Lithuanian Basketball League, sponsored by Betsson, and in the FIBA Champions League at home in front of our fans. We already felt their incredible energy during the pre-season tournament in Vilnius, where the atmosphere was on a completely different level and helped us play two strong games. We hope for that same passionate support\u2014and even more\u2014because we genuinely need it,\u201d said head coach Nedas Pacevi\u010dius. \u201cWe clearly identified the areas we need to improve after China, and we hope that with the crowd behind us, we can successfully launch our campaign against both Garg\u017edai and Baku. We invite all the fans who might still be hesitating to come out and kick off this season together with us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Following Saturday\u2019s domestic opener, the team turns its focus on Tuesday to the competition they won for the first time in club history last year. The title defense begins against Sabah Baku. Although young, the Azerbaijani outfit is exceptionally ambitious: founded in 2022, they captured the national championship in their inaugural season and have won four consecutive domestic titles. The Baku club is currently coached by Serbian tactician Lazar Spasi\u0107. With Nanterre 92 from France and Trabzonspor from Turkey also looming in Group A, securing a victory in the first home fixture is a critical step toward advancing to the next round.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Last season, Rytas Vilnius lifted the Champions League trophy alongside the fans who stood behind them from the opening group match all the way to the final. The club now calls on its community to rally behind the team as the title defense officially begins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ng-star-inserted\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">Tickets are available at bilietai.lt. Secure your seat in the arena and let\u2019s open the season with authority across both matchups!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Returning with silver medals from the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Beijing, Rytas Vilnius tips off the new season on home hardwood, with an opening week promising everything fans have been waiting for since the historic triumph in Badalona. On Saturday, October 3, at 16:30, the Vilnius side opens its season in the LKL, sponsored by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9597,"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-9596","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>Champions open season at home: an unmissable week of basketball - 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\/champions-open-season-at-home-an-unmissable-week-of-basketball\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Champions open season at home: an unmissable week of basketball - Vilniaus \u201eRYTAS\u201c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Returning with silver medals from the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in Beijing, Rytas Vilnius tips off the new season on home hardwood, with an opening week promising everything fans have been waiting for since the historic triumph in Badalona. 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