Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most exciting game of round 16 in the NKL took place in Telsiai. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of their biggest opponent Telsiai (11-5) to third ranked Palanga (11-2) 88-86 in the game for the second place. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Mindaugas Stasys (179-1986) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 16 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Center Julius Jucikas (204-1989, agency: BIG) contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Gediminas Lesciauskas (197-2001) replied with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Telsiai. Telsiai’s coach Sandis Buskevics rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Palanga have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place. Telsiai at the other side dropped to the third position with five games lost. Palanga are looking forward to face Silute (#13) at home in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Telsiai will play against Kretinga (#15) and is hoping to win this game.
Worth to mention about the upset in a game between Neptunas-Akv. (9-7) and Vilkaviskis (8-8), which took place in Vilkaviskis. Higher ranked Neptunas-Akv. lost to ninth ranked Vilkaviskis in a road game 78-93. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Mantvydas Zukauskas (192-1998) who helped to win the game recording 21 points and 7 assists and Giedrius Stankevicius who added 10 points and 10 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side guard Radvilas Kneizys (193-2003, college: Panola JC) responded with 24 points and 5 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Vilkaviskis maintains ninth position with 8-8 record. Neptunas-Akv. at the other side dropped to the seventh place with seven games lost. They share the position with Zalgiris II. Vilkaviskis will play against higher ranked Suduva-Mantinga (#4) in Marijampole in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Neptunas-Akv. will play at home against P.Olimpas and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Another upset was a game between Suduva-Mantinga (10-5) and Kretinga (5-11), which took place in Kretinga. Higher ranked Suduva-Mantinga lost to fifteenth ranked Kretinga in a road game 78-93 on Saturday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Suduva-Mantinga. The winners were led by Mantvydas Staniulis who scored that evening 9 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Even 18 points and 6 assists by Domantas Vilys did not help to save the game for Suduva-Mantinga. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Kretinga maintains fifteenth position with 5-11 record. Loser Suduva-Mantinga keeps the fourth place with five games lost. Kretinga will meet higher ranked Telsiai (#3) on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Suduva-Mantinga will play against Vilkaviskis and hope to secure a win.
Other games in round 16 were not that significant. Silute smashed Delikatesas on the road 94-75. P.Olimpas lost to Zalgiris II on its own court 70-86. Alytus managed to outperform Rytas 2 in a road game 96-86. Omega-Tauras managed to beat Stekas at home 92-77.
The most impressive performance of 16th round was 11 points and 8 rebounds by Ignas Juskevicius of Omega-Tauras.
Vilkaviskis – Neptunas-Akv. 93-78
Worth to mention about the upset in a game between Neptunas-Akv. (9-7) and Vilkaviskis (8-8), which took place in Vilkaviskis. Higher ranked Neptunas-Akv. lost to ninth ranked Vilkaviskis in a road game 78-93. Vilkaviskis dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Neptunas-Akv.‘s 28 and made 16-of-21 charity shots (76.2 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Mantvydas Zukauskas (192-1998) who helped to win the game recording 21 points and 7 assists and Giedrius Stankevicius (207-1996) who added 10 points and 10 rebounds during the contest. Five Vilkaviskis players scored in double figures. At the losing side guard Radvilas Kneizys (193-2003, college: Panola JC) responded with 24 points and 5 rebounds and guard Ernestas Jonkus (187-1999, agency: BIG) scored 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Vilkaviskis maintains ninth position with 8-8 record. Neptunas-Akv. at the other side dropped to the seventh place with seven games lost. They share the position with Zalgiris II. Vilkaviskis will play against higher ranked Suduva-Mantinga (#4) in Marijampole in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Neptunas-Akv. will play at home against P.Olimpas and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Vilkaviskis: M.Zukauskas 21+3reb+7ast, B.McBride 17+1ast, T.Pazarauskas 14+3reb+2ast, R.Stankevicius 12+8reb, G.Stankevicius 10+10reb+3ast, A.Vilkas 9+4reb
Neptunas-Akv.: R.Kneizys 24+5reb+1ast, M.Runkauskas 13+3reb+1ast, E.Jonkus 10+5reb+4ast, K.Metrikis 8+9reb, R.Maciulis 5+1ast, R.Sakaitis 5+3reb+4ast
gschID: 1216982
Delikatesas – Silute 75-94
No shocking result in a game when thirteenth ranked Silute (6-10) crushed bottom-ranked Delikatesas (1-15) in Joniskis 94-75 on Saturday. The winners were led by Ukrainian power forward Vadym Prokopenko (206-1995, agency: BIG) who scored that evening 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists and forward Tomas Lekunas (200-1993) supported him with 17 points. Five Silute players scored in double figures. Even a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds by Tomas Balciunas (204-2000) did not help to save the game for Delikatesas. Ukrainian center Valerii Anisimov (208-1990, agency: KAM) added 13 points and 5 rebounds (perfect from the field making all six shots) for lost side. Delikatesas’ coach Zilvinas Petraitis tested ten players seeing no chance for a win. Silute moved-up to eleventh place, which they share with Rytas 2 and Alytus. Loser Delikatesas stay at the bottom position with 15 games lost. Silute will meet league’s second-placed Palanga on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Delikatesas will play against Zalgiris II (#7) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Silute: T.Lekunas 17+2reb+3ast, V.Prokopenko 14+9reb+6ast, J.Harris 14+2reb+2ast, F.Cleveland Jr. 13+2reb+3ast, L.Balkunas 13+1reb, A.Urbonas 12+4reb+3ast
Delikatesas: T.Balciunas 24+11reb+2ast, A.Morton 13+3reb+1ast, V.Anisimov 13+5reb+1ast, G.Mulevicius 8+1reb+2ast, D.Jackson 7+1reb+5ast, K.Miller 5+7reb+3ast
gschID: 1216983
P.Olimpas – Zalgiris II 70-86
Very expected game when 14th ranked P.Olimpas (6-13) lost to eighth ranked Zalgiris II (9-7) in Plunge 70-86 on Saturday. Zalgiris II forced 19 P.Olimpas turnovers. The winners were led by swingman Dovydas Buika (197-2007) who scored that evening 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and forward Mantas Juzenas (199-2006) supported him with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Zalgiris II players scored in double figures. Even 20 points and 5 rebounds by American swingman Jared Small (201-1997, college: CMU) did not help to save the game for P.Olimpas. Center Ernestas Narusevicius (207-2001) added 13 points for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zalgiris II moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Neptunas-Akv. Newly promoted P.Olimpas keeps the fourteenth position with 13 games lost. Zalgiris II will meet bottom-ranked Delikatesas (#16) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. P.Olimpas will play against Neptunas-Akv. in Klaipeda and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Zalgiris II: A.Bieliauskas 19+7reb+1ast, D.Buika 18+5reb+5ast, M.Juzenas 12+11reb+4ast, M.Laurencikas 11+5reb+4ast, M.Bulanovas 9, G.Gicevicius 8+1reb+2ast
P.Olimpas: J.Small 20+5reb+1ast, E.Narusevicius 13+3reb, T.Cherry 9+5reb, R.Kreismontas 9+2reb+3ast, J.Stropus 5+6reb, T.Kymantas 5+1reb+2ast
gschID: 1216984
Rytas 2 – Alytus 86-96
There was a small surprise when fourteenth ranked Alytus (6-10) won against 11th ranked Rytas 2 (6-10) in Vilnius 96-86 on Saturday. Alytus forced 19 Rytas 2 turnovers. The winners were led by American Donnell Cegers (197-1993, college: NMU, agency: KAM) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 23 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and guard Juozas Balciunas (188-1994, college: Trinity Christian) supported him with 25 points and 4 assists. Even 21 points and 7 rebounds by forward Danielius Kasparas (202-2004, agency: BIG) did not help to save the game for Rytas 2. Forward Gabrielius Jokubauskas (195-2006) added 13 points and 6 rebounds for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Rytas 2’s coach Gintaras Kadziulis tested eleven players, but that didn’t help to avoid defeat in this game. Alytus have a solid four-game winning streak. They moved-up to eleventh place, which they share with Silute and Rytas 2. Rytas 2 lost third consecutive game. Alytus will meet higher ranked Stekas (#10) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Rytas 2 will play against the league’s leader Jurbarkas having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Alytus: J.Balciunas 25+2reb+4ast, D.Cegers 23+13reb+4ast, M.Davis 12+2reb+4ast, I.Bytautas 11+5reb+2ast, R.Rutkauskas 9+3reb+6ast, T.Miholjcic 8+3reb
Rytas 2: D.Kasparas 21+7reb+1ast, I.Urbonas 15+3reb+3ast, G.Jokubauskas 13+6reb+3ast, G.Krizanauskas 10+4reb+3ast, N.Stuknys 7+1reb+1ast, D.Zukauskas 7
gschID: 1216985
Telsiai – Palanga 86-88
The most exciting game of round 16 in the NKL took place in Telsiai. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of their biggest opponent Telsiai (11-5) to third ranked Palanga (11-2) 88-86 in the game for the second place. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Mindaugas Stasys (179-1986) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 16 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Center Julius Jucikas (204-1989, agency: BIG) contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Gediminas Lesciauskas (197-2001) replied with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and point guard Ignas Razutis (185-1987) added 13 points and 5 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) in the effort for Telsiai. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Telsiai’s coach Sandis Buskevics rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Palanga have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place. Telsiai at the other side dropped to the third position with five games lost. Palanga are looking forward to face Silute (#13) at home in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Telsiai will play against Kretinga (#15) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Palanga: J.Jucikas 18+5reb+1ast, J.Kazakauskas 16+6reb+2ast, M.Stasys 16+5reb+10ast, N.Pabrieza 11+3reb+1ast, M.Ruikis 10+4reb+1ast, H.Kumpys 9+3reb
Telsiai: G.Lesciauskas 15+5reb+4ast, M.Gecevicius 15+2reb, I.Razutis 13+2reb+5ast, O.Kaminskis 11+3reb+1ast, N.Radzius 11+3reb+4ast, L.Valantinas 10+7reb+1ast
gschID: 1216986
Kretinga – Suduva-Mantinga 93-78
Another upset was a game between Suduva-Mantinga (10-5) and Kretinga (5-11), which took place in Kretinga. Higher ranked Suduva-Mantinga lost to fifteenth ranked Kretinga in a road game 78-93 on Saturday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Suduva-Mantinga. Kretinga made 19-of-22 free shots (86.4 percent) during the game. It was a great shooting night for Kretinga especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 52.6 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The winners were led by point guard Mantvydas Staniulis (186-1997) who scored that evening 9 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists and center Rytis Zabita (199-1994) supported him with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Four Kretinga players scored in double figures. Even 18 points and 6 assists by guard Domantas Vilys (188-2000) did not help to save the game for Suduva-Mantinga. Tautvydas Baltrusaitis (204-2003) added 15 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Kretinga maintains fifteenth position with 5-11 record. Loser Suduva-Mantinga keeps the fourth place with five games lost. Kretinga will meet higher ranked Telsiai (#3) on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Suduva-Mantinga will play against Vilkaviskis and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Kretinga: K.Sapiega 15+7reb, R.Zabita 14+7reb+2ast, E.Danys 12+4reb+7ast, G.Macionis 12+3reb+1ast, T.Budrys 11+3reb, E.Preibys 10+3reb+2ast
Suduva-Mantinga: D.Vilys 18+4reb+6ast, T.Baltrusaitis 15+5reb+1ast, I.Labutis 12+5reb+1ast, V.Sulskis 9+2reb, M.Jucikas 9+3reb, M.Zigmantavicius 5+1ast
gschID: 1216988
Omega-Tauras – Stekas 92-77
Not a big story in a game when 10th ranked Stekas (7-9) lost to fifth ranked Omega-Tauras (10-6) in Kaunas 77-92 on Saturday. Omega-Tauras looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The winners were led by point guard Dominykas Domarkas (192-1992) who scored that evening 16 points and 8 assists and Robert Subotkevic (203-1998) supported him with 21 points. Even 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists by point guard Paulius Semaska (184-1993) did not help to save the game for Stekas. The former international forward Darius Tarvydas (199-1991) added 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for lost side. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Stekas’ coach Justas Sinica let to play ten players saving starting five for next games. Newly promoted Omega-Tauras maintains fifth position with 10-6 record. Loser Stekas keeps the tenth place with nine games lost. Omega-Tauras will meet at home Vytis (#6) in the next round. Stekas will play against Alytus (#12) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Omega-Tauras: R.Subotkevic 21+3reb+1ast, D.Domarkas 16+4reb+8ast, R.Keliacius 14+5reb, T.Galeckas 14+3reb+4ast, I.Juskevicius 11+8reb+2ast, P.Karasov 10+5reb+2ast
Stekas: P.Semaska 19+6reb+4ast, D.Bucas 14+3reb+1ast, D.Tarvydas 12+8reb+7ast, M.Serksnas 11+4reb+1ast, K.Brusokas 11+4reb+2ast, K.Jonuska 4+1reb
gschID: 1216989
