Article by David Istrate – Published Monday, February 16, 2026, 2:42 p.m. / Updated Monday, February 16, 2026, 2:44 p.m.
CSM CSU Oradea – CSM Târgu Mureș, the second semifinal of the Romanian Men's Basketball Cup. Starting at 19:45, the duel in Oradea Arena can be watched liveTEXT on GSP.ro and live on Digisport 3 and Prima Sport 2.
As the host of the Final 8 for the second year in a row, CSM CSU Oradea wants to qualify for the 9th Cup final and get the first trophy in this competition. But, first, the Bihors have to overcome a Mureș team with a lot of experience.
Live from 19:45. CSM CSU Oradea – CSM Târgu Mureș, second semifinal of the Romanian Cup
CSM Oradea has already taken an important first step: it got its revenge against CSO Voluntari and, after overtime, managed to eliminate the trophy holder, score 84-80. After a first half in which they threw a lot from distance, the red-blues penetrated more, defended better and, in the end, had the extra inspiration needed for the victory.
CSM Târgu Mureș is the “underdog” of this semifinal, even if it had many positive results in the National League. Also, the morale of Peter Farago's players is high because they won, in the “quarters”, against SCM U Craiova, a team that had defeated them twice this season: 96-86.
In the championship, tonight's two opponents met only once in the current season, on December 4, 2025, in a match played in Târgu Mureș. The first half was balanced, but then CSM Oradea took control and won 101-82.
The absolute leader of the winner was Thomas Bropleh, who scored 30 points in that game. On the other side, the best player of the host was the Romanian Bogdan Popa (21 points, 7 rebounds).
CSM Oradea and CSM Târgu Mureș, ups and downs in the 2025-2026 season
Both CSM Oradea and CSM Târgu Mureș have so far had a season with ups and downs. Cristian Achim's team dominated domestically and is in first place, but did not have the desired results in the FIBA Europe Cup, an aspect that triggered the dissatisfaction of the fans.
The pressure gathered, and the long-serving technician of the “Red Lions” recently announced that he will no longer continue on the Oradea bench after the 2025-2026 season.
On the other hand, the white-blues had a complicated start to the season, which led Farago to publicly declare that unless something changed in the game he would resign. His students got the message and good results were more and more frequent, so the Hungarian coach kept his job.
It remains to be seen how tonight's semi-final will play out, between the home team, which has the pressure to qualify in the last act, having a more valuable lot, and the visiting team, which has nothing to lose and hopes to keep pace, from a physical point of view, with its opponent.
