Regional Basketball League (Lithuania)
| Founded | 2005 |
|---|---|
| First season | 2005–06 |
| Country | Lithuania |
| Confederation | FIBA Europe |
| Number of teams | 56 (2026-27) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | NKL |
| Website | rkl.lt |
The Regional Basketball League (RKL) (Lithuanian: Regioninė krepšinio lyga), also known as Nostra.lt-RKL for sponsorship reasons, is the third-tier men's league in the Lithuanian basketball pyramid. The RKL engages in promotion and relegation with the second-tier National Basketball League (NKL).
History
[edit]The RKL started play in 2005 after the now-defunct second division LKAL (Lithuanian Basketball A League) was abolished and functionally split up into two new leagues: the new second-tier NKL, its direct successor, and the lower-tier RKL. Today, the league includes independent clubs and reserve squads of major Lithuanian clubs.
Competition
[edit]The RKL has an A division and B division that use promotion and relegation between themselves. For the 2026-27 season, the A division will have 18 clubs and the B division will have a league record 38 clubs.[1] In the A division, every team faces each other twice in the regular season, once home and once away, before the season ends with a 12-team playoff for the RKL championship. The top four regular season finishers automatically make the quarterfinals while teams 5-12 play an extra qualifying series.
In the B division, teams go through a draw process into groups of 9-10 teams each, from which they compete for qualification for either the "Big Cup" or "Small Cup" playoff depending on their finish within their group. In 2027-28, the format will be changed; 16 Big Cup teams will form "B1" and 16 Small Cup teams will form "B2", and if more than 16 teams play in the Small Cup, the ones below 16th place drop out of the RKL entirely. As the B division is currently thought of as the unofficial "fourth tier" of Lithuanian basketball, the creation of B2 will create a similar unofficial "fifth tier".
Teams
[edit]A division
[edit]There are 18 teams competing in the RKL's A division in 2026-27.[2]
| Team | Arena | City |
|---|---|---|
| Akmenes Patriotas | Akmenė District Sports Centre | Naujoji Akmenė |
| BC Druskininkai | Druskininkai Sports Centre | Druskininkai |
| BC Sendvaris | Sendvaris "Saulė" School multifunctional centre | Sendvaris |
| Birstono Milasta | Birštonas Sports and Wellness Centre | Birštonas |
| Delikatesas Joniskis | Joniškis "Saulė" Basic School sports hall | Joniškis |
| Kazlu Rudos SC Ataka-Danilus | Kazlų Rūda Sports Centre | Kazlų Rūda |
| KK Kupiskis | L. Stuoka-Gucevičius Gymnasium sports hall | Kupiškis |
| KK Trakai-Traku SC | Trakai Sports Centre | Trakai |
| Klaipedos LCC Tarptautinis Universitetas | LCC Michelsen Center | Klaipėda |
| Prienu Tikodenta | Prienai Arena | Prienai |
| Raseiniu Raseiniai | Karpynė | Raseiniai district/Gabšiai |
| Rinkuskiu alus BirzuBirzai-KKSC | Biržai "Saulė" Gymnasium sports hall | Biržai |
| Silales Lusis | Šilalė Sports School | Šilalė |
| Sirvintos UHB Group | Širvintos Sports Centre | Širvintos |
| Vilniaus rajono KK | Skaidiškės sports complex | Vilnius district/Skaidiškės |
| Vilniaus Rytas-MRU | Active Vilnius Arena | Vilnius |
| Vytauto Didziojo Universitetas | President Valdas Adamkus Sports Centre | Akademija |
| Zalgiris Kaunas-3 | Žalgiris Youth Training Centre | Kaunas |
B division
[edit]There are 38 teams competing in the RKL's B division in 2026-27, drawn into four groups.[3]
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| LKSK "Gijos Klinikos" | VDU-2 | Šiaulių KA "Saulė-ŠSG" | Klaipėdos universitetas-KKM |
| Utenos "Dauniškio prekyba-Juventus" | Ukmergės SC-"Jusema" | Klaipėdos VKKM-"Neptūnas" | KA "Žalgiris-Nordclinic" |
| Jonavos sporto centras | Lazdijų "Briedis-Pietų Megrame" | Pakruojo SC-"Lygumų ŽŪB" | Skuodo KKSC-"Kuršasta" |
| Kaišiadorių "Savingė" | Anykščių KKSC-"Elmis" | Kauno kolegija | Kauno technologijos universitetas |
| Prienų sporto centras | Kauno r. "Tornado-Tauras" | BC Radviliškis | Panevėžio sporto centras |
| Vilniaus krepšinio mokykla | Vilkaviškio NKA "Perlas-GO" | LSU | Šilutės "Šilutė" |
| Vilniaus rajono sporto centras | Varėnos KRS | Tauragė-2 | Telšių SRC |
| Vilniaus KA "Sanit" | Sostinės krepšinio mokykla | Kelmės krepšinis | BC Domeikava |
| Rokiškio JVN | Kėdainių sporto centras | Palangos sporto centras | Pajūrio "Jūra" |
| Švenčionėlių "Rida" | Baltic Sharks |
League champions
[edit]- 2005–06 season: BC Mažeikiai
- 2006–07 season: BC Juventus
- 2007–08 season: Šiaulių ABRO-Saulė
- 2008–09 season: BC Radviliškis
- 2009–10 season: BC Ežerūnas-Karys
- 2010–11 season: BC Ežerūnas-Karys
- 2011–12 season: BC Olimpas Plungė
- 2012–13 season: BC Trakai
- 2013–14 season: BC Rasai
- 2014–15 season: BC Telšiai
- 2015–16 season: KTU
- 2016–17 season: BC Tauragė
- 2017–18 season: BC Gargždai-SC
- 2018–19 season: BC Lūšis[4]
- 2019–20 season: KK Perlas Vilkaviškis
- 2020–21 season: BC Kretinga
- 2021–22 season: BC Rivile
- 2022–23 season: BC Jurbarkas-Karys
- 2023–24 season: KK Olimpas
- 2024-25 season: Kėdainių Sporto Centras
- 2025-26 season: Birštono Milasta
References
[edit]- ↑ "Nostra.lt-RKL visuotinėje konferencijoje ištraukti B diviziono burtai ir patvirtintos čempionato starto datos". Nostra.lt-RKL. 2026-08-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
- ↑ "Komandos". Nostra.lt-RKL. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
- ↑ "Nostra.lt-RKL visuotinėje konferencijoje ištraukti B diviziono burtai ir patvirtintos čempionato starto datos". Nostra.lt-RKL. 2026-08-24. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
- ↑ Indriliūnas, Vaidas (26 April 2019). "Sezono sensacija tapusi „Lūšis" pasidabino RKL A diviziono auksu!" (in Lithuanian). RKL. Retrieved 5 October 2019.