2025–26 King Mindaugas Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Lithuania |
| City | Šiauliai |
| Venue | Šiauliai Arena |
| Dates | 1 October 2025 – 10 December 2025 (Group stage) 20 December 2025 – 18 January 2026 (Quarterfinals) 21–22 February 2026 (Final four) |
| Teams | 9 |
| Defending champions | Žalgiris |
The 2025–26 King Mindaugas Cup, also known as Citadele Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė for sponsorship purposes, will be eleventh edition of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas Cup. Final four will be held on 21-22 February 2026 in Šiauliai.[1]
Žalgiris are the defending champions.
Format
All 9 teams from 2025–26 LKL season will participate in this tournament. Four teams that participates in Euroleague Basketball and FIBA tournaments, have received bye's to quarterfinals stage, while the remaining teams will participate in round-robin stage, with the Top 4 teams advancing to the quarterfinals.[2]
For a place in the King Mindaugas Cup final four, clubs will play two matches each. The first matches will be played at the home arena of the club that finished lower in the previous 2024–25 LKL season. Second matches will be played at home arena of the club that finished higher in the previous LKL season.[3]
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification | NEV | JUV | SIA | JON | GAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas | 8 | 5 | 3 | 704 | 703 | +1 | Advance to Quarterfinals | — | 88–84 | 83–78 | 92–74 | 72–94 | |
| 2 | Juventus | 8 | 4 | 4 | 704 | 676 | +28 | 100–102 | — | 96–87 | 97–83 | 90–73 | ||
| 3 | Šiauliai | 8 | 4 | 4 | 699 | 705 | −6 | 95–92 | 93–85 | — | 86–76 | 89–83 | ||
| 4 | Jonava Hipocredit | 8 | 4 | 4 | 676 | 702 | −26 | 88–101 | 82–80 | 88–80 | — | 97–82 | ||
| 5 | Gargždai | 8 | 3 | 5 | 676 | 673 | +3 | 90–74 | 68–72 | 102–91 | 84–88 | — |
Quarterfinals
Four teams Žalgiris, Rytas, Lietkabelis and Neptūnas have received byes to the Quarterfinals stage due to participating in FIBA and Euroleague Basketball competitions. Mentioned teams make up the first quarterfinals basket according to their position in 2024–25 LKL season. The second quarterfinals basket will consist of the four best teams from the group stage.
The teams in the first basket will be paired with the teams in the second basket in the following order:[2]
- Žalgiris will play the team that finished fourth in the group stage.
- Rytas will play the team that finished third in the group stage.
- Lietkabelis will play the team that finished second in the group stage.
- Neptūnas will play the team that finished first in the group stage.
| Team | Pos |
|---|---|
| Žalgiris | 1 |
| Rytas | 2 |
| Lietkabelis | 3 |
| Neptūnas | 8 |
| Team | Pos |
|---|---|
| Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas | 1 |
| Juventus | 2 |
| Šiauliai | 3 |
| Jonava Hipocredit | 4 |
The club with better overall cumulative score after two quarterfinals matches will advance to the King Mindaugas Cup final four.[3] On 11 December 2025, the schedule of quarterfinals has been announced.[4]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Žalgiris | 118–73 | Jonava Hipocredit | 118–73 | 17 Jan |
| Rytas | 97–82 | Šiauliai | 97–82 | 18 Jan |
| Lietkabelis | 73–76 | Juventus | 73–76 | 18 Jan |
| Neptūnas | 87–76 | Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas | 87–76 | 17 Jan |
Žalgiris vs. Jonava Hipocredit
Rytas vs. Šiauliai
| 23 December 2025 Game 1
|
Šiauliai | 82–97 | Rytas | Šiauliai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 (EET) | Scoring by quarter: 25–32, 17–27, 24–19, 16–19 | |||
| Pts: Henderson 15 Rebs: Pleikys 9 Asts: McKnight 7 PIR: Pleikys 16 |
Boxscore | Pts: Walker 25 Rebs: Gudaitis 10 Asts: Walker 10 PIR: Walker 31 |
Arena: Šiauliai Arena Attendance: 3415 Referees: Juozas Barkauskas, Andžej Urbanovič, Jonas Lazauskas |
|
| 18 January 2025 Game 2
|
Rytas | vs. | Šiauliai | Vilnius |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:30 (EET) | ||||
| Boxscore | Arena: Twinsbet Arena Referees: TBA |
|||
Lietkabelis vs. Juventus
| 20 December 2025 Game 1
|
Juventus | 76–73 | Lietkabelis | Utena |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:30 (EET) | Scoring by quarter: 18–15, 23–15, 14–18, 21–25 | |||
| Pts: Vraneš 20 Rebs: Uleckas 6 Asts: Valinskas 4 PIR: Vraneš 24 |
Boxscore | Pts: Flowers 22 Rebs: Danusevičius 8 Asts: Maldūnas, Kullamäe 3 PIR: Flowers 25 |
Arena: Utena Arena Attendance: 1864 Referees: Artūras Šukys, Aurimas Borusas, Darius Šomka |
|
| 18 January 2025 Game 2
|
Lietkabelis | vs. | Juventus | Panevėžys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 (EET) | ||||
| Boxscore | Arena: Kalnapilio Arena Referees: TBA |
|||
Neptūnas vs. Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas
| 23 December 2025 Game 1
|
Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas | 76–87 | Neptūnas | Kėdainiai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 (EET) | Scoring by quarter: 15–26, 28–15, 13–23, 20–23 | |||
| Pts: Miguel 17 Rebs: Marcinkevičius 8 Asts: Miguel 3 PIR: Muila 17 |
Boxscore | Pts: Kozys, Lomažs 17 Rebs: Majauskas 8 Asts: Velička 4 PIR: Waterman 23 |
Arena: Kėdainiai Arena Attendance: 918 Referees: Gytis Vilius, Gabrielius Simonavičius, Deividas Mačiulskis |
|
| 17 January 2025 Game 2
|
Neptūnas | vs. | Nevėžis–Paskolų klubas | Klaipėda |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 (EET) | ||||
| Boxscore | Arena: Švyturys Arena Referees: TBA |
|||
References
- ^ "Atskleista, kur vyks KMT finalinis ketvertas". basketnews.lt (in Lithuanian). 17 September 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Paaiškėjo Citadele KMT formatas bei tvarkaraštis". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 23 September 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Paaiškėjo visos Citadele KMT ketvirtfinalio poros". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 10 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
- ^ "Paaiškėjo Citadele KMT ketvirtfinalio tvarkaraštis". lkl.lt (in Lithuanian). 11 December 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.