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 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 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. 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
A division There are 18 teams competing in the RKL's A division in 2026-27. +2026-27 RKL A DivisionTeamArenaCityAkmenes PatriotasAkmenė District Sports CentreNaujoji AkmenėBC DruskininkaiDruskininkai Sports CentreDruskininkaiBC SendvarisSendvaris "Saulė" School multifunctional centreSendvarisBirstono MilastaBirštonas Sports and Wellness CentreBirštonasDelikatesas JoniskisJoniškis "Saulė" Basic School sports hallJoniškisKazlu Rudos SC Ataka-Danilus Kazlų Rūda Sports Centre Kazlų RūdaKK Kupiskis L. Stuoka-Gucevičius Gymnasium sports hallKupiškisKK Trakai-Traku SC Trakai Sports CentreTrakaiKlaipedos LCC Tarptautinis Universitetas LCC Michelsen CenterKlaipėdaPrienu Tikodenta Prienai ArenaPrienaiRaseiniu Raseiniai KarpynėRaseiniai district/GabšiaiRinkuskiu alus BirzuBirzai-KKSC Biržai "Saulė" Gymnasium sports hallBiržaiSilales Lusis Šilalė Sports SchoolŠilalėSirvintos UHB Group Širvintos Sports CentreŠirvintosVilniaus rajono KK Skaidiškės sports complexVilnius district/SkaidiškėsVilniaus Rytas-MRU Active Vilnius ArenaVilniusVytauto Didziojo UniversitetasPresident Valdas Adamkus Sports CentreAkademijaZalgiris Kaunas-3Žalgiris Youth Training Centre Kaunas
B division There are 38 teams competing in the RKL's B division in 2026-27, drawn into four groups. +2026-27 RKL B DivisionGroup AGroup BGroup CGroup DLKSK "Gijos Klinikos"VDU-2Šiaulių KA "Saulė-ŠSG"Klaipėdos universitetas-KKMUtenos "Dauniškio prekyba-Juventus"Ukmergės SC-"Jusema"Klaipėdos VKKM-"Neptūnas"KA "Žalgiris-Nordclinic"Jonavos sporto centrasLazdijų "Briedis-Pietų Megrame"Pakruojo SC-"Lygumų ŽŪB"Skuodo KKSC-"Kuršasta"Kaišiadorių "Savingė"Anykščių KKSC-"Elmis"Kauno kolegijaKauno technologijos universitetasPrienų sporto centrasKauno r. "Tornado-Tauras"BC RadviliškisPanevėžio sporto centrasVilniaus krepšinio mokyklaVilkaviškio NKA "Perlas-GO"LSUŠilutės "Šilutė"Vilniaus rajono sporto centrasVarėnos KRSTauragė-2Telšių SRCVilniaus KA "Sanit"Sostinės krepšinio mokyklaKelmės krepšinisBC DomeikavaRokiškio JVNKėdainių sporto centrasPalangos sporto centrasPajūrio "Jūra"Švenčionėlių "Rida"Baltic Sharks
League champions 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 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