Domestic cup roundup

It is domestic cup time around Europe as many nations around the continent take a break from league action and focus on the season’s first silverware. While Sunday will be the day when many cup’s will be decided, Saturday threw up its fair share of winners, while there were also plenty of semi-final dates to be played.

Italy
Banco Sardegna Dinamo Sassari and EA7 Armani Milano will contest the Italian domestic cup final after both clubs progressed from the semi-final stage. Current Coppa Italia champions Sassari will be looking to double up on their maiden title last year and will be hoping for two consecutive wins after winning out against Reggio Emilia (77-65). However, current Serie A league champs Milan will prove a potent test after they overcame Enel Brindisi 76-65. Milan has not won this competition since 1996, but as a four time winner the club will be looking to make it 5.

Turkey
A mouth-watering clash awaits Turkish fans as the country’s two form teams will come head to head to decide the title. TBL topping Fenerbahce will fight it out against Anadolu Efes in what will also be another ferocious Istanbul derby. Both clubs are going well domestically (Efes sits second in the TBL), while both are doing the business in the Euroleague too. Fenerbahce outlasted Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir to punch its final ticket with a 74-69 win, while Efes eased past Darussafaka 88-73 to progress. Fenerbahce has won three of the last four Turkish Cup’s and is the current holder, so the club will be looking to maintain its iron grip on the trophy against an Anadolu Efes team that last won the competition in 2009. However, Efes has won the cup more than any other team, nine in total.

Lithuania
The two giants of Lithuanian Basketball, Zalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius will clash in the LKF Cup final. Despite dominating the Lithuanian scene, neither club has won the domestic cup since 2012, when Zalgiris collected its second consecutive and fourth overall title. Since then the trophy has been won by Prienai, while Lietuvos Rytas has not won since 2010. The Vilnius based club will be looking to right that and win LKF Cup number three after defeating Siauliai 71-61 to reach the final. As for Zalgiris Kaunas, the Euroleague stalwarts crushed Juventus 91-65 to take its place in the showpiece game.

Czech Republic
The top two teams in the Czech NBL standings played out the final. However, it was second place Ariete Prostejov that was left celebrating after crushing current league leader Decin 84-51 in the cup final. The eventual winners looked comfortable throughout and never looked back after taking a 20-12 lead from the first quarter. Dylan Talley offered 22 points for the winners, while Cup MVP Radek Necas was quiet but still produced 10 points in the victory.

Bulgaria
Bulgarian giant Lukoil Academic Sofia looks posed to add more silverware to its bulging collection after booking passage to the Bulgarian Cup final. The club demolished Yambol 105-56 in a game that sent a message to fellow finalist Cherno More. Cherno is currently having an indifferent season, but the club could win a trophy after reaching the final at the expense of Rikski Sportist (75-73).