LIVE CSU Oradea – U-BT Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Cup final

Even though the draw was made without seeds, the planets aligned for the most frequent final in Romanian basketball in the last 10 years. CSM CSU Oradea and U-BT Cluj-Napoca have passed the “quarters” and semifinals and will duel tonight for the Romanian Cup.

Live from 19:00. CSM CSU Oradea – U-BT Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Cup final

The hosts of the Final 8 did not have an easy path to the final. In the “quarters”, CSM Oradea gave away CSO Voluntari, the team that defeated it in the last act of the previous seasonand needed overtime to get revenge.

Then, in the semi-final, Cristian Achim's band managed an impressive comeback in the last minutes of the duel with CSM Târgu Mureș, the team that controlled the second half. CSM Oradea adjudged victory and qualified for the 9th time in the final of the Romanian Cup, wanting to get the first trophy after 8 lost finals.

On the other side, U-BT Cluj-Napoca easily won against “eternal rivals” Steaua Bucuresti and Dinamo Bucuresti. Having a very valuable lot and several naturalized players or with a Romanian passportMihai Silvășan's group dominated its opponents and is the favorite to win the Romanian Cup.

U-BT Cluj-Napoca passed, on the way to the final, CSA Steaua Bucharest and CS Dinamo Bucharest/Photo: CSM Oradea

Iverson Molinar: “It will be good for us to have the pressure to win against a rival”

“I feel great. It's a very important game for us and what we constantly hear is that it's a really important game for the club as well. So we're excited and happy to have come this far,” said Iverson Molinar, exclusively for GSP.ro.

“Pressure should be a privilege for us. I have the impression that in most situations this season, in the EuroCup or in the ABA League, when we played under pressure we managed to raise our level. So I think it will be good for us to have the pressure of winning against a rival. As I said, we have to go on the court and play our best basketball,” added the Panamanian, who was happy that his wife and child had just arrived in Oradea to be with him in the race for the second trophy in the jersey of U-BT.

“I think we will have to play at a high level. Oradea is a very good team. They have a lot of very good players in the squad. We will have to play a very good match, organize ourselves and be aggressive. I think we looked good during the tournament and I hope we have kept our best for this match, for the final”, he added Jeffery Taylor, basketball player who was not included in the team in the first two games of the Final 8. It remains to be seen whether the Swede will play on Wednesday.

Iverson Molinar, the Panamanian in his first season at U-BT Cluj-Napoca/Photo: CSM Oradea

Thomas Bropleh, veteran of CSM Oradea: “I showed a lot of mental resistance”

The visitors had a training session on Tuesday evening, in the Oradea Arena, after 19:00, about half an hour after the home team's training session. Thomas Bropleh and Kris Richard, veterans of CSM Oradea, also spoke to Gazeta Sporturilor.

“It's one more game. We've won two and the third game is coming, that's all I'm thinking about, the opportunity to play again. I know it's the last game before the break, but it's very important here in Romania. It's a historic rivalry between the two teams so I think it will be a good matchBropleh said.

“I showed a lot of mental strength, I always played 40 minutes, and I think that's the key. Sometimes teams or players think in terms of runs, but you have to play all 40 minutes and I think we did a good job. In both games, the other teams could win but sometimes that's the sport and I think we managed to take advantage of our moments in both games and prevail,” the American said about the “quarters” and semi-finals.

Thomas Bropleh, veteran of CSM Oradea/Photo: CSM Oradea

Kris Richard, home team leader: “We don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves”

Kris Richard, the naturalized American of the Red-Blues, prefaced Wednesday's final in simple terms:

“Honestly, we just want to make sure we perform for our fans and ourselves first and foremost.. We don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves and we want to play our game.”

“No matter how things happened, we made sure to get the victory. We had tough matches and congratulations to Voluntari and Târgu Mureș. They fought very hard and they were great matches for the fans, that's what they came to see. We stayed true to the game plan. We managed to overcome many challenges in both matches and that brought us the victory. We will try to get better at everything we need and hope for the same result (no in the final Cups),” concluded Richard.

Kris Richard, the naturalized American of the Bihoren/Photo: CSM Oradea

5th Cup final between CSM Oradea and U-BT Cluj-Napoca

CSM CSU Oradea and U-BT Cluj-Napoca have met 4 times in the final of the Romanian Cup, all duels being won by black and white. Here are the results recorded between the two teams in the last act of this competition:

• 2016 (“Antonio Alexe” Hall, Oradea) » CSM CSU Oradea vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca: 75-82

• 2018 (Arena Sepsi, Sfântu Gheorghe) » CSM CSU Oradea vs. U-BT Cluj-Napoca: 61-64

• 2020 (Horia Demian Hall, Cluj-Napoca) » U-BT Cluj-Napoca vs. CSM CSU Oradea: 68-61

• 2023 (Sala Sports “Simona Amânar”, Constanța) » U-BT Cluj-Napoca vs. CSM CSU Oradea: 78-65

CSM CSU Oradea played the final of the Romanian Cup 4 times, in 2014, 2019, 2021 and 2025, being defeated each time.

Instead, U-BT Cluj-Napoca performed in the last act and in 2017 and 2024, managing to win the trophy.

16finals were played by U-BT Cluj-Napoca under the command of Mihai Silvășan and all were won

The final of the Romanian Cup will be played in the beautiful Oradea Arena, and the organizers have announced that all the tickets have been sold. A large turnout from U-BT supporters is also expected, despite the final being played in midweek.

The duel can be watched liveTEXT on GSP.ro and live on Digisport 3 and Prima Sport 2. Good news for the people of Bihor is that Jaizec Lottie, the team's defender, who did not perform in the first two matches since the Final 8, will be on the field on Wednesday, in the final of the Romanian Cup.