VILNIUS, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian Prienai-Birstonas basketball club Vytautas announced unexpectedly on Saturday it withdraws from this season's games at the Baltic Basketball League (BBL).
"The team will return to BBL battles next season with even stronger composition and will fight for the highest title," BC Vytautas said in a statement.
On the eve of the announcement, the club officially welcomed two American basketball players, brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball.
The club announced it will instead focus on series of exhibition games named after Big Baller Brand Challenge Games in order to get the brothers Ball extensive playing time.
BC Vytautas said it signed a contract with Facebook and its Ballslife account and will broadcast each of the show game on the social network.
American Facebook users will be able to watch the games via Facebook Watch platform, while in other countries the matches will be broadcasted by Ballislife HS Basketball Weekly Showcase show website.
All the games will take place in Prienai, a small southern Lithuanian town where BC Vytautas is based.
The schedule of the exhibition games is announced only for January.
LaVar Ball, father of the two players, claimed at a press conference on Friday that LiAngelo and LaMelo will finish season in Lithuania.
Lithuanian sports experts suggested earlier that Ball brothers will merely stay at BC Vytautas for a few weeks in order to shoot a part of their Facebook reality show Ball in the Family.
The members of Ball family are media celebrities in the U.S., due to their reality show and bold public statements of LaVar Ball, founder of sports apparel company Big Baller Brand.
