Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

POSTED BY: Eurobasket News

Jon Elmore

There will be only one (last) round of the Regular Season in LKL. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 33 in the LKL took place in Siauliai. This derby game ended with only one-point defeat on the road of 8th ranked Dzukija (11-19) to sixth ranked Siauliai (14-15) 84-83 on Monday evening. Siauliai dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Dzukija’s 30. 25 personal fouls committed by Dzukija helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American guard Jon Elmore (190-1995, college: Marshall) stepped up and scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and his fellow American import forward Isaiah Armwood (206-1990, college: GWU) chipped in 13 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was Serbian Aleksandar Aranitovic (195-1998) with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Siauliai maintains sixth place with 14-15 record. Dzukija lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 19 games lost. Siauliai are looking forward to face P.Zvaigzdes (#9) in Pasvalys in the next round. Dzukija will have a break next round.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Panevezys. Third ranked host Lietkabelis (22-7) defeated second-best Zalgiris (25-4) 85-67. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Zalgiris. The former international guard Kristupas Zemaitis (192-1996) nailed 12 points and 9 assists for the winning side and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis accounted for 15 points. French center Joffrey Lauvergne (211-1991, agency: BeoBasket) came up with 14 points for Zalgiris in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Lietkabelis maintains third place with 22-7 record having four points less than leader Rytas. Defending champion Zalgiris keeps the second position with four games lost. Lietkabelis will play against Nevezis (#10) in Kedainiai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Zalgiris will play on the road against Juventus (#5) in Utena and hopes to get back on the winning track.
LKL top team – Rytas (26-3) had no problems winning another game on Saturday. This time they crushed eighth ranked Dzukija (11-19) in Vilnius 88-68. The best player for the winners was Kenneth Smith who scored 16 points and 8 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Dylan Frye who recorded 16 points and 5 rebounds. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Rytas have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 26-3 record. Dzukija lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 19 games lost. Rytas will meet Neptunas (#7) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Dzukija will have a break next round.

In the last two games of round 33 Neptunas won against P.Zvaigzdes on the opponent’s court 82-69. Juventus outscored Nevezis in a home game 96-73.

Rytas – Dzukija 88-68

LKL top team – Rytas (26-3) had no problems winning another game on Saturday. This time they crushed eighth ranked Dzukija (11-19) in Vilnius 88-68. They outrebounded Dzukija 45-30 including 30 on the defensive glass. Rytas looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Kenneth Smith (190-1993, college: Louisiana Tech) who scored 16 points and 8 assists. Croatian power forward Ivan Buva (207-1991) chipped in 19 points and 7 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Dylan Frye (188-1997, college: BGSU) who recorded 16 points and 5 rebounds and the other American import point guard Josh Newkirk (185-1994, college: Indiana) added 20 points respectively. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Rytas have an impressive series of eleven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 26-3 record. Dzukija lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 19 games lost. Rytas will meet Neptunas (#7) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Dzukija will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Rytas: I.Buva 19+7reb, K.Smith 16+4reb+8ast, J.Williams 11+6reb+1ast, M.Normantas 11+1reb+3ast, E.Kairys 9+3reb, M.Girdziunas 9+3ast
Dzukija: J.Newkirk 20+2ast, D.Frye 16+5reb+3ast, J.Furmanavicius 13+6reb+1ast, M.Pocevicius 6, M.Lukauskis 4+5reb+1ast, V.Cepukaitis 4+7reb

gschID: 908729

P.Zvaigzdes – Neptunas 69-82

Rather expected game in Pasvalys where 9th ranked P.Zvaigzdes (9-20) was defeated by seventh ranked Neptunas (12-16) 82-69 on Sunday. Neptunas looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international forward Deividas Gailius (200-1988) who had a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds. The former international guard Zygimantas Janavicius (193-1989, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 12 points and 7 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Ukrainian center Dmytro Skapintsev (216-1998) who recorded 11 points and 8 rebounds and American point guard Randy Culpepper (183-1989, college: UTEP) added 12 points respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Neptunas maintains seventh place with 12-16 record. P.Zvaigzdes at the other side keeps the ninth position with 20 games lost. Neptunas will meet at home league’s leader Rytas in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. P.Zvaigzdes will play against Siauliai (#6) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Neptunas: D.Gailius 24+10reb+1ast, E.Zelionis 14+7reb+1ast, Z.Janavicius 12+3reb+7ast, M.Mazeika 10+3reb+2ast, J.Jucikas 9+6reb+1ast, T.Leimanis 6+5ast
P.Zvaigzdes: M.Johnson 13+3reb+1ast, R.Culpepper 12+3reb+3ast, Z.Skucas 11+4reb+2ast, D.Skapintsev 11+8reb+1ast, P.Petrilevicius 7+4reb+1ast, A.Berucka 7+1reb+1ast

gschID: 908730

Lietkabelis – Zalgiris 85-67

The game between Top Four teams took place in Panevezys. Third ranked host Lietkabelis (22-7) defeated second-best Zalgiris (25-4) 85-67. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Zalgiris. Lietkabelis shot the lights out from three nailing 13 long-distance shots on high 54.2 percentage. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. The former international guard Kristupas Zemaitis (192-1996) nailed 12 points and 9 assists for the winning side and Greek swingman Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (197-1999, agency: Octagon Europe) accounted for 15 points. Four Lietkabelis players scored in double figures. French center Joffrey Lauvergne (211-1991, agency: BeoBasket) came up with 14 points and international power forward Regimantas Miniotas (208-1996) added 8 points and 6 assists respectively for Zalgiris in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Lietkabelis maintains third place with 22-7 record having four points less than leader Rytas. Defending champion Zalgiris keeps the second position with four games lost. Lietkabelis will play against Nevezis (#10) in Kedainiai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Zalgiris will play on the road against Juventus (#5) in Utena and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Lietkabelis: G.Orelik 16+1reb+1ast, P.Kalaitzakis 15+4reb+3ast, D.Gagic 14+1ast, K.Zemaitis 12+2reb+9ast, K.Berzins 11+1reb, G.Maldunas 8+7reb
Zalgiris: J.Lauvergne 14+3reb+2ast, J.Nebo 11+2reb+1ast, E.Ulanovas 9+5reb+2ast, K.Lukosiunas 9+2reb+1ast, R.Miniotas 8+4reb+6ast, N.Giffey 7+6reb+1ast

gschID: 908731

Juventus – Nevezis 96-73

Very predictable result in Utena where fifth ranked Juventus (15-14) smashed 10th ranked Nevezis (7-22) 96-73 on Monday. They outrebounded Nevezis 43-24 including a 29-16 advantage in defensive rebounds. Juventus looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was Ukrainian center Vladyslav Koreniuk (210-1994, agency: BIG) who had a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds. Power forward Rokas Gustys (206-1994, college: Hofstra) chipped in 9 points and 10 rebounds. Juventus’ coach Zydrunas Urbonas felt very confident that he used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. At the other side the best for losing team was Senegalese power forward Amar Sylla (206-2001) who recorded 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks and point guard Dominykas Stenionis (178-2002) added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists respectively. Juventus maintains fifth place with 15-14 record. Nevezis at the other side keeps the tenth position with 22 games lost. Juventus will meet at home league’s second-placed Zalgiris in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Nevezis will play against Lietkabelis (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Juventus: V.Koreniuk 17+11reb+2ast, I.Vaitkus 12+4reb+2ast, V.Sulskis 10+4reb+1ast, T.Lekunas 9+1reb+2ast, R.Gustys 9+10reb+2ast, J.Airington 9+2reb+6ast
Nevezis: A.Sylla 22+7reb, D.Vilys 12+2reb+2ast, R.Kuksiks 11+3reb+2ast, S.Dominykas 9+6reb+10ast, J.Ugnius 8+2reb, D.Darryl 6+3reb+2ast