Both semifinal matches, played in a best-of-three format, begin tonight at 7:30 PM, with the higher-seeded teams from the regular season hosting the first games and potentially the decisive matches for a spot in the finals.
The Lions finished the regular season in first place with a record of 20-2; Jumper came in second with 18-4, Čelik third with 16-6, and the Orlovi also had 16-6, placing fourth. However, Čelik had a better head-to-head record against the Orlovi, securing third place while the Orlovi took fourth.
In the first part of the season, the Zenica team celebrated a 61:39 victory at home, while the Orlovi won 73:59 on their court in the second part of the season.
With a win in Zenica against Jumper (77:75), the Orlovi have already defended the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup trophy this season, which they have won for the past five seasons. Now they are also defending the Bosnian championship title, which they have claimed for the last three seasons and a total of four times in the past five seasons.
Jumper and Čelik each recorded one win in their city derby matches during the championship. Čelik celebrated a 73:66 victory as the host in the 16th round in early February, while Jumper won 69:58 in the first part of the season.
However, Jumper also performed better in the final match of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup for the Zenica-Doboj Canton area, eliminating Čelik from further competition, where they reached the final but lost to the Orlovi.
This season, the Lions have won both championship matches against the Orlovi—in the first, during the 9th round in mid-December last year, they celebrated a 56:51 victory in Banja Luka, and about 10 days ago, in the 20th round of the regular season, they won narrowly at home with a score of 61:60. This guarantees that this matchup will be highly interesting and unpredictable.