LKL Round 6 (Regular Season): Gargzdai defeats Lietkabelis in the closest game of the week

After 6 rounds played we can already see who rules in the LKL and who belongs to weaker ones. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 6 in the LKL took place in Gargzdai. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of 6th ranked Lietkabelis (3-4) to second ranked Gargzdai (5-2) 83-80 on Saturday evening. Gargzdai looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American point guard Jaquan Carlos (183-2002, college: Syracuse) had a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Canadian power forward Ben Krikke (206-2001, college: Iowa) chipped in 18 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was American swingman Keondre Kennedy (198-2000, college: UNCG) with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists (perfect from the field making all ten shots !!!). Lietkabelis' coach Nenad Canak rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Gargzdai maintains second position with 5-2 record having just two points less than leader Zalgiris. Lietkabelis at the other side dropped to the fifth place with four games lost. They share the position with Siauliai and Juventus. Gargzdai are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Nevezis (#10) in Kedainiai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Lietkabelis will play at home against Neptunas (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
LKL top team - Zalgiris (7-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed eighth ranked Jonava (2-4) in Kaunas 86-63. International guard Deividas Sirvydis (204-2000) notched 17 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and Marek Blazevic supported him with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Even 9 points by Matas Repsys (206-2002) did not help to save the game for Jonava. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Undefeated Zalgiris have an impressive seven-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position with 7-0 record. Jonava at the other side keeps the eighth place with four games lost. Zalgiris will play against Rytas (#3) in Vilnius in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Jonava will play at home against Juventus (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Nevezis (0-6) is still winless. This time they lost on the road their sixth consecutive match to ninth ranked Taurages (2-5) 80-76 on Saturday evening. The best player for the winners was James Blackmon Jr who scored 19 points. Taurages' coach Kestutis Narusevicius used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was Dylan Andrews who recorded 17 points. Newly promoted Taurages maintains ninth position with 2-5 record. Loser Nevezis still closes the standings with six games lost. Taurages will meet higher ranked Siauliai (#5) on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Nevezis will play against the league's second-placed Gargzdai (#2) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 6: Rytas won against Taurages on the opponent's court 79-71. Juventus unfortunately lost to Rytas in a home game 76-94. Siauliai was rolled over Neptunas on the road 88-110.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 21 points and 6 rebounds by Henri Drell of Neptunas.



Taurages - Rytas 71-79:
Very expected game when 9th ranked Taurages (2-5) was defeated at home by third ranked Rytas (4-1) 79-71 on Wednesday. Rytas outrebounded Taurages 46-34 including 32 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was American point guard Cassius Winston (185-1997, college: Michigan St.) who scored 11 points and 8 assists. Panamanian-American forward Ricardo Lindo Jr (203-2000, college: GWU) chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds. Four Rytas players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was center Benas Griciunas (210-1994, college: EWU, agency: LHZ Sport Agency) who recorded a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds and ex-international Vaidas Kariniauskas (199-1993) added 9 points and 5 assists respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Rytas have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain third position with 4-1 record having five points less than leader Zalgiris. Taurages lost fifth consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the ninth place with five games lost. Rytas will meet at home league's leader Zalgiris in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Taurages will play against Siauliai (#5) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Rytas: L.Ricardo 13+9reb, G.Arturas 13+4reb, M.Gytis 12+5reb, W.Cassius 11+3reb+8ast, P.Martynas 11+1reb, M.Augustas 6+3reb+2ast
Taurages: B.Griciunas 15+10reb+1ast, N.Mineikis 10+5reb, V.Kariniauskas 9+3reb+5ast, A.Voinalovych 8+1reb+1ast, D.Doualla 8+2reb+1ast, C.Hayes 7+1reb+5ast

Gargzdai - Lietkabelis 83-80:
The most exciting game of round 6 in the LKL took place in Gargzdai. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of 6th ranked Lietkabelis (3-4) to second ranked Gargzdai (5-2) 83-80 on Saturday evening. Gargzdai looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American point guard Jaquan Carlos (183-2002, college: Syracuse) had a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Canadian power forward Ben Krikke (206-2001, college: Iowa) chipped in 18 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. Four Gargzdai players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was American swingman Keondre Kennedy (198-2000, college: UNCG) with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists (perfect from the field making all ten shots !!!) and Serbian guard Ognjen Jaramaz (193-1995) scored 11 points. Lietkabelis' coach Nenad Canak rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Gargzdai maintains second position with 5-2 record having just two points less than leader Zalgiris. Lietkabelis at the other side dropped to the fifth place with four games lost. They share the position with Siauliai and Juventus. Gargzdai are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Nevezis (#10) in Kedainiai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Lietkabelis will play at home against Neptunas (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Gargzdai: C.Jaquan 20+3reb+11ast, K.Ben 18+8reb+1ast, D.Stanley 14+4reb+2ast, S.Evaldas 11+4reb+1ast, M.Arunas 9+4reb+2ast, S.Grant 4+4reb+3ast
Lietkabelis: K.Kennedy 24+6reb+4ast, O.Jaramaz 11+4reb+3ast, A.Schumacher 8+2reb+1ast, G.Maldunas 7+3reb+1ast, M.Ilic 6+5reb, I.Fevrier 6+3reb

Taurages - Nevezis 80-76:
Bottom-ranked Nevezis (0-6) is still winless. This time they lost on the road their sixth consecutive match to ninth ranked Taurages (2-5) 80-76 on Saturday evening. Taurages made 26-of-32 free shots (81.3 percent) during the game. Taurages outrebounded Nevezis 41-30 including 26 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was American guard James Blackmon Jr (193-1995, college: Indiana) who scored 19 points. Belgian center Haris Bratanovic (208-2001) chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds. Taurages' coach Kestutis Narusevicius used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was American guard Dylan Andrews (190-2002, college: Boise St.) who recorded 17 points and his fellow American import guard Xander Rice (190-2001, college: Monmouth, agency: Octagon Europe) added 17 points respectively. Newly promoted Taurages maintains ninth position with 2-5 record. Loser Nevezis still closes the standings with six games lost. Taurages will meet higher ranked Siauliai (#5) on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Nevezis will play against the league's second-placed Gargzdai (#2) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Taurages: B.James 19+2reb, V.Andrii 14+2reb+1ast, B.Haris 14+7reb, H.Cam 11+2reb+2ast, G.Benas 8+9reb, K.Vaidas 5+3reb+10ast
Nevezis: A.Dylan 17+3reb+3ast, X.Rice 17+3reb+2ast, F.Boardman-Raffett 11+1reb, A.Gray 8+3reb+2ast, D.Lavrinovicius 8+2reb, P.Petrilevicius 7+5reb+3ast

Juventus - Rytas 76-94:
Rather predictable result in Utena where third ranked Rytas (4-1) defeated 6th ranked Juventus (3-4) 94-76 on Sunday. Rytas looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international center Arturas Gudaitis (211-1993) who scored 18 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). International Gytis Radzevicius (197-1995) chipped in 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Rytas' coach Nedas Pacevicius used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was international Laurynas Beliauskas (194-1997) who recorded 18 points and 5 rebounds and Dutch power forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi (203-1997, college: ORU) added 18 points and 5 rebounds respectively. Five Rytas and four Juventus players scored in double figures. Rytas have a solid four-game winning streak. They maintain third position with 4-1 record having five points less than leader Zalgiris. Loser Juventus dropped to the fifth place with four games lost. They share the position with Lietkabelis and Siauliai. Rytas will meet at home league's leader Zalgiris in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Juventus will play against Jonava (#8) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Rytas: G.Arturas 18+6reb+2ast, W.Cassius 15+1reb+5ast, R.Gytis 15+5reb+4ast, M.Augustas 15+1reb+3ast, D.Michael 11+2reb+5ast, M.Gytis 7+7reb+1ast
Juventus: E.Nzekwesi 18+5reb+1ast, L.Beliauskas 18+5reb+3ast, J.Pagenkopf 16+5reb+2ast, C.Hunter 15+2reb+3ast, T.Jones 5+3reb, K.Pohto 4+7reb+2ast

Zalgiris - Jonava 86-63:
LKL top team - Zalgiris (7-0) had no problems winning another game. This time they crushed eighth ranked Jonava (2-4) in Kaunas 86-63. Zalgiris outrebounded Jonava 40-29 including 28 on the defensive glass. Zalgiris players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists. International guard Deividas Sirvydis (204-2000) notched 17 points and 5 rebounds to lead the effort and ex-international center Marek Blazevic (211-2001) supported him with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Zalgiris players scored in double figures. Even 9 points by Matas Repsys (206-2002) did not help to save the game for Jonava. Forward Martynas Arlauskas (203-2000, college: Gonzaga) added 6 points and 6 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. Zalgiris have an impressive seven-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position with 7-0 record. Jonava at the other side keeps the eighth place with four games lost. Zalgiris will play against Rytas (#3) in Vilnius in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Jonava will play at home against Juventus (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Zalgiris: S.Deividas 17+5reb+2ast, E.Carsen 12+2reb+4ast, L.Saben 12+2reb+4ast, B.Marek 11+5reb+4ast, E.Kaodirichi 11+2reb, U.Edgaras 7+5reb+3ast
Jonava: N.Johnson 13+1ast, D.Harrison 10+3reb+1ast, M.Repsys 9+4reb+2ast, R.Mesidor 8+1reb+1ast, M.Arlauskas 6+6reb+3ast, T.Lambrecht 5+6reb+3ast

Neptunas - Siauliai 110-88:
Everything could happen in Klaipeda at the game between two tied teams. Both fourth ranked Neptunas and 5th ranked Siauliai had identical 3-3 record. This time Neptunas used a home court advantage and rolled over the opponent from Siauliai 110-88 on Sunday night. Neptunas shot 62.7 percent from the field and made 25-of-32 free shots (78.1 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Icelandic point guard Elvar Fridriksson (182-1994, college: Barry) who had a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 assists. Estonian forward Henri Drell (205-2000, agency: Octagon Europe) chipped in 21 points and 6 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). At the other side the best for losing team was Dovydas Romancenko (206-1998) who recorded 12 points and 8 rebounds and center Martynas Pacevicius (206-1997) added 13 points respectively. Four Neptunas and five Siauliai players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Neptunas maintains fourth position with 4-3 record. Loser Siauliai keeps the fifth place with four games lost. They share the position with Lietkabelis and Juventus. Neptunas will meet Lietkabelis (#6) in the next round. Siauliai will play against Taurages and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Neptunas: D.Henri 21+6reb+2ast, F.Yannick 20+2reb+2ast, F.Elvar 18+4reb+10ast, T.Einaras 13+3reb, E.Martynas 11+2reb+1ast, T.Donatas 8+5reb+1ast
Siauliai: C.Henderson Jr. 13+1reb+2ast, M.Pacevicius 13+4reb+3ast, D.Romancenko 12+8reb, S.Fofana 11+1reb+2ast, K.Nicholson 11+6reb, T.Jogela 9+3reb