The Bulgarian basketball season's semi-final game between Lokomotiv Sofia and Rilski Sportist (Samokov) is at risk due to the football final between Lokomotiv Plovdiv and CSKA Sofia on May 20th at 7 PM. The match will be played at the National Stadium "Vasil Levski." The fifth and deciding game of the basketball 1/2-final between Lokomotiv and Rilski Sportist is set for the same time, leading Plovdiv officials to request the game be postponed by 24 hours.

In Plovdiv, many tickets have already been sold for the football final, but the number is still far from the 25,000 tickets purchased by CSKA fans.

The match is of critical importance for both teams, with the losing side almost certain to miss the European tournaments in the summer.

This will not be well received, especially by CSKA supporters, as the previous season's final was nullified.

For the first time in years, there will be no joint press conference between the two coaches before the match.

CSKA officials stated that Hristo Yanev will not meet with the media, which could harm the club's image and shows a serious fear of the match.

This season, the two teams have exchanged victories. Lokomotiv's win in Plovdiv was during the coaching of Dushan Kerkez. After Hristo Yanev took over, CSKA has scored more points than the champion Levski, but some supporters remain unsatisfied.

Yanev made a rotation in the lineup, as many CSKA players are at risk of suspensions and need to clear their records. In the past, players received a cup of warnings, while their rivals were left untouched. This situation persists, with some players being suspended despite joining mid-season.

However, all suspended players have returned to the lineup and are ready for the cup clash. Particularly valuable is James Eto'o. When the Cameroonian is absent, the rest of CSKA's midfield struggles to find their footing, leading to a significant decline in play. This was evident in the last two matches when he was suspended for the second time this season, having accumulated nine yellow cards. Facundo Rodriguez also returns to the starting lineup, having been saved in the eternal derby to avoid a suspension.

The record holder in the eternal derby, Marian Grebencharski, has been appointed as the main referee for the Lokomotiv (Pd) - CSKA match. He has previously overseen several key matches including CSKA's victory over Dobrudzha, and a 2:1 victory over Lokomotiv (Sf) in the 1/8-final cup match.

Grebencharski will be assisted by Martin Venev and Ivo Kolev. The fourth official is Vasil Minev. The VAR officials are Dimitar Dimitrov and Luboslav Lubomirov, with Cvetan Krastev as the referee observer.