Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The game between third ranked Wolves (14-9) and fifth ranked Lietkabelis (12-11) was the most important one in the last round on Sunday night. Wolves was defeated by Lietkabelis in Panevezys 78-64. Lietkabelis looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. It was a great evening for Serbian center Djordje Gagic (210-1990) who led his team to a victory scoring 16 points and 9 rebounds. Ukrainian point guard Oleksandr Kovliar (191-2002) helped adding 7 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. American point guard Anthony Cowan Jr (183-1997, college: Maryland) responded with 19 points. Lietkabelis moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Jonava. Wolves at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Lietkabelis is looking forward to face league’s leader Zalgiris in Kaunas in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Wolves’ supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Vilnius to the arena Rytas.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Wolves (14-9) against seventh ranked Siauliai (9-14) on Wednesday night. Visiting Wolves was crushed by Siauliai in Siauliai 110-89. It was an exceptional evening for American Gerry Blakes (193-1993, college: Arizona St., agency: BIG) who led the winners and scored 20 points and 5 assists. Eimantas Stankevicius accounted for 19 points. Siauliai’s coach Zydrunas Urbonas felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The former international forward Arnoldas Kulboka (208-1998) came up with 19 points and 7 rebounds for Wolves in the defeat. Siauliai maintains seventh place with 9-14 record, which they share with Neptunas. Wolves at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Siauliai will play against higher ranked Juventus (#6) in Utena in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Wolves’ supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Vilnius to the arena Rytas.
LKL top team – Zalgiris (21-2) managed to deliver another win on Sunday. This time they beat seventh ranked Neptunas (9-14) in Klaipeda 80-67. The best player for the winners was Sylvain Francisco who scored 15 points. Nate Johnson produced 22 points and 5 rebounds for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zalgiris have an impressive series of seventeen victories in a row. They maintain first place with 21-2 record. Loser Neptunas keeps the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with Siauliai. Zalgiris will meet at home Lietkabelis (#5) in the next round. Neptunas will play against Jonava and hope to secure a win.
There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 23: Nevezis lost to Jonava on the opponent’s court 89-96. Juventus managed to outperform Mazeikiai in a home game 80-77. Rytas rolled over Siauliai on the road 102-82.
Jonava – Nevezis 96-89
Very expected game when 9th ranked Nevezis (6-17) was defeated on the road by fourth ranked Jonava (12-11) 96-89 on Saturday. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was point guard Brandon Childress (183-1997, college: Wake Forest) who scored 21 points and 7 assists. Guard DJ Brewton (193-2000, college: CS Fullerton) chipped in 19 points and 7 rebounds. Four Jonava players scored in double figures. Forward Ed Croswell (203-1999, college: Providence) produced 32 points and 9 rebounds (on 13-of-16 shooting from the field) and guard Joseph Girard III (185-2000, college: Clemson) added 14 points and 4 assists respectively for the guests. Nevezis’ coach Gediminas Petrauskas rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn’t help. Jonava maintains fourth place with 12-11 record, which they share with Lietkabelis. Loser Nevezis keeps the ninth position with 17 games lost. Jonava will meet Neptunas (#8) in the next round. Nevezis will play against Mazeikiai and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Nevezis: E.Croswell 32+9reb+2ast, J.Girard III 14+2reb+4ast, A.Mikalauskas 12+6reb+1ast, N.Montvila 8+2reb, J.Zakas 6+1reb, M.Vaitkus 5+2ast
Jonava: B.Childress 21+2reb+7ast, D.Brewton 19+7reb+1ast, E.Venskus 14+4reb+1ast, M.Kirves 10+6reb+2ast, S.Jarumbauskas 9+3reb, L.Kreismontas 8+4reb+2ast
gschID: 1191280
Juventus – Mazeikiai 80-77
Rather predictable result in Utena where sixth ranked Juventus (11-12) edged bottom-ranked Mazeikiai (3-20) 80-77 on Saturday. However just three-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Juventus dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Mazeikiai‘s 30. The best player for the winners was American point guard Tookie Brown (180-1995, college: Georgia South) who scored 22 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Belgian Vincent Kesteloot (198-1995) chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds. Four Juventus players scored in double figures. Juventus’ coach Vytautas Buzas used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American center Sukhmail Mathon (208-1998, college: Boston U.) produced a double-double by scoring 17 points and 10 rebounds and the former international guard Vytenis Cizauskas (187-1992) added 18 points respectively for the guests. Juventus maintains sixth place with 11-12 record. Mazeikiai lost eighth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 20 lost games. Juventus will meet Siauliai (#7) on the road in the next round. Mazeikiai will play against Nevezis and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Mazeikiai: V.Cizauskas 18+3reb+2ast, S.Mathon 17+10reb+2ast, N.Mineikis 9+1reb+4ast, K.Kasemets 8, J.Jogminas 7+2reb, T.Zdanavicius 6+2reb
Juventus: T.Brown 22+5reb+8ast, V.Kesteloot 15+7reb, D.Green 15+5reb+1ast, L.Beliauskas 11+2reb+1ast, S.Beniusis 8+2reb+1ast, E.Saulys 4+3reb
gschID: 1191281
Siauliai – Rytas 82-102
Not a big story in a game when 7th ranked Siauliai (9-14) was rolled over at home by second ranked Rytas (18-5) 102-82 on Saturday. Rytas forced 20 Siauliai turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was international Gytis Radzevicius (197-1995) who scored 16 points and 6 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Armenian-American center Steven Enoch (208-1997, college: Louisville) chipped in 17 points. Swingman Lukas Uleckas (199-1999) produced 13 points and 9 rebounds and American Gerry Blakes (193-1993, college: Arizona St., agency: BIG) added 17 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Four Siauliai players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Defending champion maintains second place with 18-5 record having just three points less than leader Zalgiris. Loser Siauliai keeps the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with Neptunas. Rytas’ supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Vilnius Wolves.
Top scorers:
Siauliai: G.Blakes 17+5reb+3ast, S.Kulvietis 15+4reb+2ast, L.Uleckas 13+9reb+3ast, M.Valinskas 11+1reb+1ast, S.Buchanan 6+2reb+4ast, D.Romancenko 6+3reb
Rytas: S.Enoch 17+3reb+1ast, G.Radzevicius 16+4reb+6ast, R.Cole 13+2reb+1ast, G.Masiulis 13+2reb+1ast, A.Gudaitis 10+4reb+1ast, A.Tubelis 8+10reb
gschID: 1191282
Lietkabelis – Wolves 78-64
The game between third ranked Wolves (14-9) and fifth ranked Lietkabelis (12-11) was the most important one in the last round on Sunday night. Wolves was defeated by Lietkabelis in Panevezys 78-64. Lietkabelis looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. It was a great evening for Serbian center Djordje Gagic (210-1990) who led his team to a victory scoring 16 points and 9 rebounds. Ukrainian point guard Oleksandr Kovliar (191-2002) helped adding 7 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. American point guard Anthony Cowan Jr (183-1997, college: Maryland) responded with 19 points and Swedish-American Jeffery Taylor (201-1989, college: Vanderbilt) scored 15 points. Lietkabelis moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Jonava. Wolves at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Lietkabelis is looking forward to face league’s leader Zalgiris in Kaunas in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Wolves’ supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Vilnius to the arena Rytas.
Top scorers:
Wolves: A.Cowan Jr. 19+3reb+3ast, J.Taylor 15+3reb+1ast, G.Brooks 11+6reb+1ast, A.Kulboka 9+6reb+2ast, A.Andrews 5, K.Zemaitis 2+5reb+2ast
Lietkabelis: D.Gagic 16+9reb+1ast, M.Varnas 15+1reb+3ast, M.Rubstavicius 12+4reb+3ast, P.Danusevicius 9+7reb+3ast, D.Lavrinovicius 8+1reb+1ast, D.Bickauskis 7+4reb+5ast
gschID: 1191283
Neptunas – Zalgiris 67-80
LKL top team – Zalgiris (21-2) managed to deliver another win on Sunday. This time they beat seventh ranked Neptunas (9-14) in Klaipeda 80-67. The best player for the winners was French point guard Sylvain Francisco (185-1997) who scored 15 points. The former international guard Dovydas Giedraitis (193-2000) chipped in 15 points and 4 steals. American point guard Nate Johnson (193-1998, college: Xavier) produced 22 points and 5 rebounds and center Martynas Pacevicius (206-1997) added 10 points and 6 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Zalgiris have an impressive series of seventeen victories in a row. They maintain first place with 21-2 record. Loser Neptunas keeps the seventh position with 14 games lost. They share it with Siauliai. Zalgiris will meet at home Lietkabelis (#5) in the next round. Neptunas will play against Jonava and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Neptunas: N.Johnson 22+5reb+2ast, M.Girdziunas 12+3reb, M.Pacevicius 10+6reb+1ast, D.Buie 9+1reb+6ast, T.Pavelka 6+3reb, D.Gailius 3+5reb+2ast
Zalgiris: S.Francisco 15+1reb+3ast, D.Giedraitis 15+1reb+2ast, I.Wong 11+1reb+2ast, M.Mitchell 9+4reb+1ast, I.Brazdeikis 8+2reb, L.Birutis 7+8reb+2ast
gschID: 1191284
Siauliai – Wolves 110-89
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Wolves (14-9) against seventh ranked Siauliai (9-14) on Wednesday night. Visiting Wolves was crushed by Siauliai in Siauliai 110-89. Siauliai dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Wolves‘ 30. Siauliai players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. It was an exceptional evening for American Gerry Blakes (193-1993, college: Arizona St., agency: BIG) who led the winners and scored 20 points and 5 assists. Eimantas Stankevicius (192-1998, agency: Octagon Europe) accounted for 19 points for the winning side. Siauliai’s coach Zydrunas Urbonas felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The former international forward Arnoldas Kulboka (208-1998) came up with 19 points and 7 rebounds and American point guard Anthony Cowan Jr (183-1997, college: Maryland) added 14 points and 9 assists respectively for Wolves in the defeat. Four Siauliai and five Wolves players scored in double figures. Siauliai maintains seventh place with 9-14 record, which they share with Neptunas. Wolves at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Siauliai will play against higher ranked Juventus (#6) in Utena in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Wolves’ supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Vilnius to the arena Rytas.
Top scorers:
Wolves: A.Kulboka 19+7reb+1ast, A.Andrews 14+4ast, A.Cowan Jr. 14+1reb+9ast, R.Miniotas 12+6reb+2ast, T.Thurman 12+4reb+1ast, J.Taylor 8+1ast
Siauliai: G.Blakes 20+3reb+5ast, E.Stankevicius 19+1reb+2ast, S.Buchanan 13+3reb+5ast, S.Kulvietis 12+4ast, L.Uleckas 10+6reb+2ast, M.Valinskas 8+2ast
gschID: 1259888
