It`s time to play as Šiauliai will face ENBL newcomer CSO Voluntari on Tuesday, September 19. Tipoff at 18:30 Lithuanian time.
Series history: it`s the first meeting between the two teams. Šiauliai played at the 2022 ENBL final and finished 11th in 2023.
Key matchup: two experienced Latvian coaches – Nikolajs Mazurs and Ainars Bagatskis – will lead teams from Lithuania and Romania into the first game of season.
Both coaches have worked in the ENBL towns before – Bagatskis was the head coach of Valmiera Glass ViA predecessor BK Valmiera while Mazurs coached at the Tartu University from 2021 until 2023.
Bagatskis – the Golden hand during his playing days – is known for his fast paced offense style basketball, while Mazurs teams often show defensive prowess.
Ainars Bagatskis guided the Latvian National team to the fifth place finish at the EuroBasket 2017. Mazurs earned a silver medal at the 2014 European U16 championship.
National championships: Betsafe LKL campaign started on Saturday, September 16. Šiauliai lost a home opener against BC Wolves, 66-68, on Sunday clash.
LKL teams are playing three full rounds (33 games) from September 16, 2023 until May 6, 2024.
Liga Nationala de Baschet Masculin – LNBM – feature 18 teams, split in groups A and B with regular season to start on Friday, September 22.
CSO Voluntari will host ABC Bucuresti on September 24.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FEvU5fuFTM .
REFEREES NOMINATION
Crew Chief: Mr. Gabrielius Simonavicius (Lithuania)
Umpire 1: Mr. Vlad-Theodor Cotrobas (Romania)
Umpire 2: Mr. Jonas Lazauskas (Lithuania)
Observer: Mr. Oskars Lucis (Latvia)
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 1 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.
ENBL teams 2023/2024
Belgium: Royal Liège Basket
Bulgaria: Spartak Pleven
Czechia: Basket Brno
Estonia: Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits, Keila KK
Israel: Hapoel Beer Sheva-Dimona
Kosovo: KB Prishtina
Latvia: Valmiera Glass/ViA
Lithuania: Šiauliai, Uniclub Casino-Juventus Utena
Netherlands: Landstede Hammers
Poland: Enea Zastal BC Zielona Gora, Polski Cukier Start Lublin
Romania: CSO Voluntari
United Kingdom: Bristol Flyers, Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles