LAKTASI (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - Back in May 2023, when Rytas Vilnius won the Third-Place Game against Hapoel Jerusalem 78-73, very few would have had any idea how dominant the Lithuanians would end up being in this competition.
Fast forward to 2026 and they are the back-to-back champions after beating Oostende in last year's Final by over 30 points.
The transformation from also-rans to unstoppable force has been remarkable to say the least.
They face a foe in this Semi-Finals who they have never met in the YBCL: Telekom Baskets Bonn.
The Germans entered for the first time last year and went 2-2 on their way to a respectable sixth-place finish. Their only defeats came at the hands of the eventual finalists, Oostende, and a Pallacanestro Reggiana team that was stacked with Italian internationals and elite talent.
Despite the lack of history between these two clubs, there can be no question that the Lithuanians will come into this game as the firm favorites. But nothing can be taken for granted in this competition.
Rytas' standard bearers from last year's team, Kornelijus Snitka and Gabrielius Buivydas spoke about the standards expected when wearing the Rytas jersey. They will need all of those to get to the Finals again.
How did they get here?
Rytas opened their 2026 campaign with all of the dominance they ended 2025 with. Game 1 of Group C saw them take on EWE Baskets Oldenburg on April 8. The Lithuanians have never lost to a German club in the YBCL, and they weren't about to start in the Group Phase.
They led the game for 39 minutes, shot 60 percent from the field and dropped a century on their way to a 105-59 win.
Game 2 was a very similar story against Galatasaray MCT Technic. Just the 37 minutes in the lead and 50 percent shooting from the field on this occasion. The 96-57 win was more evidence of the level this iteration of Rytas can reach.
For Bonn, the journey has been more of an adventure. They took their first steps out the door against a strong Spartak Office Shoes team. Bonn won three out of the four quarters but needed to score 27 points in the final stanza to stem the flow of the Serbian's comeback.
Eventually, the score read 72-62 to the Baskets, but a 10-point margin reads as a more comfortable margin than it may have been.
The other opponent in Group D were perennial Semi-Finalists, Tofas Bursa.
The nature of the competition structure meant that because Tofas had lost their first game, Bonn knew they could lose and still go through, as long as the margin was less than 9 points.
Maybe that led to them taking their foot off the gas, but regardless, a 75-70 loss was enough to see them the Baskets into their first Semi-Final.
What worked well?
For Rytas, the answer to this question is pretty much everything. They lead the competition for points scored at 105, shooting at 55 percent, three-point shooting at 41.5 percent, and efficiency rating at 119. All twelve players on the roster average over 14 minutes of burn on the court, and they all average over four points.
They have five players averaging double-digit scoring and six of them shooting over 40 percent from deep.
In fact, the 11 made three-pointers per game as a team, at the percentage they make them, has this team on track to be the best three-point shooting team ever in the YBCL.
The scoring leaders for this team are Buivydas and Trivoka on 14 points, with Buivydas also dishing 8 assists. Snitka is just behind on the scorers table with 13.5 points and 6.5 assists. Bonn can't afford to sleep on Gabrielius Krivas either. He puts up 13 points, doing most of his work in the paint.
For Bonn, the fruits have all come from labor. This is a hard-working team that runs and crashes the glass. They shoot the ball well from inside the arc at 58 percent, which is enough to rank them second in the competition this year.
They lead the competition for rebounds at 53.5 per game, with 16.5 of those coming on the offensive glass. Only Igokea can match that number amongst the Semi-Finals teams.
Tom Viehofer leads the team in scoring at 16.5 points, and he uses the extra attention he also crashes the glass to pull 6 rebounds from the guard spot.
As a combo forward, they have Maximilian Von Saldern putting up 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, and on the wing, Tyrese Steinig uses his athleticism to cause all kinds of chaos for the defense. He averages 11 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Key matchup
The backcourt is almost certainly where this game will hinge. Rytas have their two leaders in Buivydas and Snitka running the show in the back court.
The likes of Jonas Trivokas and Benas Birzinis on the wings do some damage to opposition defenses, but Bonn will need to cut off the blood supply from Buivudas and Snitka if they want to stop them. It wouldn't be a surprise to Bonn throw size and athleticism in the form of Tyrese Steinig at defending either of them.
The same is true for Bonn. Viehofer will use his shifty handles to get to the bucket all game if he's allowed to. Will Rytas also use a wing defender on him to save the energy of their two primary ball-handlers?
Von Saldern will need to keep Rytas wings and forwards busy if they are too cause an upset. The good news for Bonn is that his best game was against their toughest opponent, Tofas, when he had 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
X-Factors
For Rytas the X-Factor will likely come from their shooters on the wing like Trivokas, Birzinis, but it wouldn't be a shock to see 2009-born Dominik Lavrinovich continue his growth within the team.
The son of Lithuanian legend Ksytsof, the 2.04m forward has has shown flashes of an ability to stretch the floor and cause defenses issues to cover him.
For Bonn, the player they need to do something out of the ordinary is more than likely Tyrese Steinig.
Rytas play at a pace and level of intensity that nobody else has even gotten close to yet. Steinig is the kind of athlete and grafter that will thrive in the kind of environment the Lithuanians will enforce on the game.