Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 25 in the NKL took place in Vilkaviskis. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of 5th ranked Zalgiris II (12-12) to seventh ranked Vilkaviskis (13-12) 66-63 in the game for the sixth place. Strangely Zalgiris II outrebounded Vilkaviskis 40-21 including a 32-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Vilkaviskis made 25 blocks. American guard Kevin Anderson (196-1998, college: Delaware) fired 15 points for the winners. Modestas Zaunieriunas (189-1994) chipped in 10 points and 4 blocks. Dovydas Butka (204-2003) produced a double-double by scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks for lost side. Zalgiris II’s coach Vytautas Pliauga tried various players’ combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn’t help. Vilkaviskis moved-up to sixth place. Zalgiris II lost sixth consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with 12 games lost. They share it with Stekas. Vilkaviskis are looking forward to face higher ranked Vytis (#5) in Sakiai in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Zalgiris II will play at home against Silute and is hoping to win this game.
Leader Suduva-Mantinga delivered the twenty first victory. This time they beat 10th ranked Atletas (9-15) 86-78 in Kaunas. Worth to mention a great performance of guard Domantas Vilys (188-2000) who helped to win the game recording 18 points and 4 assists. Marijus Uzupis contributed with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Center Rokas Gadiliauskas (211-1998) answered with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks for Atletas. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Suduva-Mantinga have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain first place with 21-3 record. Atletas lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with 15 games lost. Suduva-Mantinga will play against Kretinga (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Atletas will play against Neptunas-Akv. in Klaipeda and hopes to get back on the winning track.
A very close game took place in Sakiai between Delikatesas and Vytis. Ninth ranked Delikatesas (11-13) got a very close victory on the road over 6th ranked Vytis (13-11). Delikatesas managed to escape with a 1-point win 81-80 on Thursday evening. Ronaldas Rutkauskas stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks for the winners. At the losing side Evaldas Dziaugys responded with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Vytis’ coach Erikas Kuciauskas tried various players’ combinations and tested in total eleven players, but that didn’t help to avoid defeat in this game. Delikatesas have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain ninth place with 11-13 record. Vytis at the other side dropped to the fifth position with 11 games lost. Delikatesas will meet at home Rytas 2 (#12) in the next round. Vytis will play against Vilkaviskis (#6) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Other games of round 25 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Jurbarkas was defeated by Kretinga in a road game 89-82. Silute was smashed by Stekas at home 58-79. Bottom-ranked Neptunas-Akv. lost to Telsiai on the opponent’s court 72-86. Palanga outscored Delikatesas in a home game 96-75. Vytis rolled over Rytas 2 on the road 91-70. Silute was defeated by Jurbarkas on its own court 77-82.
The best stats of 25th round was 23 points and 9 rebounds by Ignas Juskevicius of Jurbarkas.

Atletas – Suduva-Mantinga 78-86

Leader Suduva-Mantinga delivered the twenty first victory. This time they beat 10th ranked Atletas (9-15) 86-78 in Kaunas. Suduva-Mantinga brought some defensive toughness making 19 blocks. Atletas was plagued by 29 personal fouls down the stretch. Worth to mention a great performance of guard Domantas Vilys (188-2000) who helped to win the game recording 18 points and 4 assists. Marijus Uzupis (197-1993) contributed with 13 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Center Rokas Gadiliauskas (211-1998) answered with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks and Rokas Pocius (198-1996) added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks in the effort for Atletas. Four Suduva-Mantinga and five Atletas players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Suduva-Mantinga have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain first place with 21-3 record. Atletas lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with 15 games lost. Suduva-Mantinga will play against Kretinga (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Atletas will play against Neptunas-Akv. in Klaipeda and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Atletas: R.Pocius 16+5reb, R.Gadiliauskas 15+13reb+5ast, G.Sirutavicius 12+4reb+2ast, J.Liesis 12+2reb+3ast, D.Gedeon 10+1reb+2ast, R.Gediminas 5+2reb
Suduva-Mantinga: D.Vilys 18+2reb+4ast, M.Uzupis 13+9reb, D.Domarkas 11+3reb+3ast, A.Pukelis 10+3reb+2ast, E.Dimsa 9+1reb, Z.Simonis 8+2reb

gschID: 1111037

Kretinga – Jurbarkas 89-82

There was an upset when 4th placed Jurbarkas (14-11) was defeated on the road by eleventh ranked Kretinga (9-16) 89-82 on Thursday. Kretinga made 19-of-24 free shots (79.2 percent) during the game. Kretinga had a 28-17 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Kretinga especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 58.8 percentage. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kretinga made 24 blocks. Point guard Mindaugas Stasys (179-1986) stepped up and scored 28 points and 5 assists for the winners and Mantas Ruikis (197-1985) chipped in 16 points and 9 rebounds. Four Kretinga players scored in double figures. At the losing side center Ignas Juskevicius (200-1991) responded with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds and Karolis Kokoska (196-1992) scored 19 points and 4 assists. Kretinga maintains eleventh place with 9-16 record. Newly promoted Jurbarkas keeps the fourth position with 11 games lost. Kretinga will meet league’s leader Suduva-Mantinga in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Jurbarkas will play against Palanga having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Jurbarkas: K.Kokoska 19+3reb+4ast, I.Juskevicius 17+11reb+1ast, M.Lukauskis 14+4reb+1ast, M.Bulanovas 9+1reb+4ast, T.Delininkaitis 8+4ast, L.Zukauskas 7+1reb+1ast
Kretinga: M.Stasys 28+4reb+5ast, M.Ruikis 16+9reb+3ast, M.Jurkaitis 14+4reb+4ast, R.Zabita 12+8reb, Z.Justas 9+2reb+2ast, E.Alunderis 6+8reb+6ast

gschID: 1111038

Silute – Stekas 58-79

No shocking result in a game when ninth ranked Stekas (12-12) smashed on the road 13th ranked Silute (6-19) 79-58 on Thursday. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Stekas made 20 blocks. Forward Karolis Brusokas (202-1991) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 13 rebounds for the winners and point guard Paulius Semaska (184-1993) chipped in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Stekas players scored in double figures. At the losing side point guard Laurynas Balkunas (192-1999) responded with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and Ukrainian Yevgen Balaban (203-1996, agency: BIG) scored 13 points and 8 rebounds. Stekas moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Zalgiris II. Silute lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the thirteenth position with 19 games lost. Stekas will meet at home league’s second-placed Telsiai in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Silute will play against Zalgiris II (#7) in Kaunas and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Silute: Y.Balaban 13+8reb+1ast, L.Balkunas 12+7reb+4ast, C.Tadas 10+2reb, V.Prokopenko 9+3reb+2ast, I.Mykolas 7+7reb+1ast, P.Poska 5+2reb
Stekas: K.Brusokas 17+13reb+1ast, B.Dominykas 13+3reb, M.Serksnas 10+2reb+2ast, P.Semaska 10+6reb+5ast, T.Rinkunas 9+2reb+5ast, K.Jonuska 7+3reb+2ast

gschID: 1111039

Telsiai – Neptunas-Akv. 86-72

Very expected game when 14th ranked Neptunas-Akv. (3-22) was defeated on the road by second ranked Telsiai (21-4) 86-72 on Thursday. Telsiai dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Neptunas-Akv.‘s 34. Telsiai looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Telsiai made 17 blocks. Forward Rolandas Jakstas (202-1992) stepped up and scored 25 points and 5 rebounds for the winners and Gediminas Lesciauskas (197-2001) chipped in 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. At the losing side Gabrielius Mazeika (206-2003, agency: BIG) responded with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 13 rebounds and Lebanese forward Karim Rtail (198-2004) scored 12 points. Telsiai have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain second place with 21-4 record having just one point less than leader Suduva-Mantinga. Neptunas-Akv. lost eighth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 22 lost games. Telsiai will meet Stekas (#8) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Neptunas-Akv. will play against Atletas (#10) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Neptunas-Akv.: M.Gabrielius 22+13reb+2ast, R.Karim 12+3reb+1ast, N.Matas 9+1reb, B.Aringas 8+6reb, L.Kristupas 8+2reb+2ast, R.Matas 7+3reb+4ast
Telsiai: R.Jakstas 25+5reb+2ast, L.Gediminas 16+7reb+4ast, I.Razutis 13+1reb+9ast, O.Kaminskis 9+4reb+1ast, L.Kaveckis 9+3reb+1ast, V.Anisimov 8+1reb+1ast

gschID: 1111040

Vilkaviskis – Zalgiris II 66-63

gschID: 1111041

Palanga – Delikatesas 96-75

Very predictable result when third ranked Palanga (20-5) outscored at home 9th ranked Delikatesas (11-13) 96-75 on Thursday. Palanga looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Palanga made 16 blocks. Marius Runkauskas (186-1986, agency: BIG) stepped up and scored 16 points for the winners and power forward Karolis Guscikas (206-1992, agency: BIG) chipped in 18 points (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). Palanga’s coach Sandis Buskevics felt very confident that he used 10 players and allowed the starting five to rest. At the losing side Sarunas Kulevicius (193-1989) responded with 23 points and Ronaldas Rutkauskas (203-1992) scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Palanga have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain third place with 20-5 record behind leader Suduva-Mantinga. Delikatesas at the other side keeps the ninth position with 13 games lost. Palanga will meet Jurbarkas (#4) on the road in the next round. Delikatesas will play against Rytas 2 (#12) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Delikatesas: S.Kulevicius 23+4reb+3ast, V.Akucka 13+3reb+3ast, L.Kazlauskas 11+3reb+5ast, D.Hutchinson 10+3reb+5ast, R.Rutkauskas 8+7reb+5ast, M.Tamulevicius 6+5reb+1ast
Palanga: K.Guscikas 18+4reb+1ast, M.Runkauskas 16+4reb+3ast, B.Tadas 13+6reb, J.Kazakauskas 11+6reb+3ast, J.Vieversys 10+5ast, P.Danisevicius 9+2reb+4ast

gschID: 1111042

Rytas 2 – Vytis 70-91

Not a big story in a game in Vilnius where 12th ranked Rytas 2 (8-17) was outplayed by sixth ranked Vytis (13-11) 91-70 on Thursday. Vytis dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Rytas 2‘s 40. Vytis forced 23 Rytas 2 turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Vytis made 20 blocks. Evaldas Dziaugys (196-1996) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and forward Kajus Leliukas (203-2004) chipped in 15 points and 9 rebounds. Four Vytis players scored in double figures. At the losing side center Ernestas Narusevicius (207-2001) responded with 18 points and Gediminas Alisas (196-2004, agency: BIG) scored 8 points and 14 rebounds. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Vytis moved-up to fifth place. Rytas 2 at the other side keeps the twelfth position with 17 games lost. Vytis will meet at home Vilkaviskis (#6) in the next round. Rytas 2 will play against Delikatesas (#9) in Joniskis and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Rytas 2: N.Ernestas 18+4reb+1ast, K.Gantas 16+1ast, V.Paulius 12+2reb+4ast, R.Arunas 9+2reb+6ast, A.Gediminas 8+14reb+1ast, B.Modestas 5+7reb+1ast
Vytis: E.Dziaugys 21+12reb+5ast, J.Titas 16+2reb+4ast, L.Kajus 15+9reb+1ast, R.Maciulis 12+4reb, M.Augustinas 6+2reb+2ast, E.Zilius 6+1reb

gschID: 1111043

Vytis – Delikatesas 80-81

A very close game took place in Sakiai between Delikatesas and Vytis. Ninth ranked Delikatesas (11-13) got a very close victory on the road over 6th ranked Vytis (13-11). Delikatesas managed to escape with a 1-point win 81-80 on Thursday evening. Delikatesas forced 20 Vytis turnovers. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Delikatesas made 17 blocks. Ronaldas Rutkauskas (203-1992) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks for the winners and American Darion Rackley (187-1992, college: Jax State) chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Five Delikatesas players scored in double figures. At the losing side Evaldas Dziaugys (196-1996) responded with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and point guard Deividas Kumelis (188-1995) scored 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Vytis’ coach Erikas Kuciauskas tried various players’ combinations and tested in total eleven players, but that didn’t help to avoid defeat in this game. Delikatesas have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain ninth place with 11-13 record. Vytis at the other side dropped to the fifth position with 11 games lost. Delikatesas will meet at home Rytas 2 (#12) in the next round. Vytis will play against Vilkaviskis (#6) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Vytis: E.Dziaugys 17+8reb+4ast, L.Kajus 14+5reb+2ast, D.Kumelis 11+7reb+5ast, S.Vingelis 8+2reb+1ast, J.Titas 7+1reb, M.Augustinas 7+4reb+1ast
Delikatesas: R.Rutkauskas 20+10reb+1ast, D.Rackley 16+7reb+3ast, L.Kazlauskas 13+2reb+5ast, J.Nojus 12+3reb+1ast, D.Hutchinson 10+6reb, S.Kulevicius 5+6reb+4ast

gschID: 1149962

Silute – Jurbarkas 77-82

Everything went according to plan when fourth ranked Jurbarkas (14-11) won against on the road 13th ranked Silute (6-19) 82-77 on Friday. Jurbarkas forced 20 Silute turnovers. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Jurbarkas made 18 blocks. Center Ignas Juskevicius (200-1991) stepped up and scored 23 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and center Vytautas Sarakauskas (204-1982) chipped in 18 points and 7 rebounds. At the losing side Ukrainian Yevgen Balaban (203-1996, agency: BIG) responded with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks and point guard Karolis Babkauskas (185-1991, agency: BIG) scored 16 points and 4 assists. Newly promoted Jurbarkas maintains fourth place with 14-11 record. Silute lost sixth consecutive game. They keep the thirteenth position with 19 games lost. Jurbarkas will meet at home higher ranked Palanga (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Silute will play against Zalgiris II (#7) in Kaunas and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Silute: Y.Balaban 19+8reb+2ast, K.Babkauskas 16+3reb+4ast, C.Tadas 10+2reb, J.Warren 9+2reb+4ast, L.Balkunas 9+2reb+3ast, I.Mykolas 8+3reb
Jurbarkas: I.Juskevicius 23+9reb+2ast, V.Sarakauskas 18+7reb+1ast, T.Delininkaitis 15+1reb+4ast, M.Lukauskis 9+2reb+3ast, V.Vasylius 6+5reb+3ast, L.Zukauskas 5+1reb