NKL Round 16: #1 Gargzdu is defeated by LSU-Atletas

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked Gargzdu (14-2) in Gargzdai on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by sixth ranked LSU-Atletas (9-7) 82-77. It ended at the same time the 12-game winning streak of Gargzdu. 24 personal fouls committed by Gargzdu helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international Martynas Linkevicius (197-85, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds and center Ignas Juskevicius (201-91) who added 17 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) during the contest. LSU-Atletas' coach Remigijus Bardauskas used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the losing side Marius Runkauskas (186-86, agency: BIG) responded with 28 points and 4 assists. Newly promoted LSU-Atletas maintains sixth position with 9-7 record. Gargzdu at the other side still keeps top place with two games lost. LSU-Atletas are looking forward to face Kretinga (#12) on the road in the next round where they are favorite. Gargzdu will play against Silute (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
The game in Silute was also worth to mention about. Fifth ranked Vilkaviskis (9-6) played at the court of 7th ranked Silute (7-8). Vilkaviskis managed to secure a 5-point victory 104-99. The winners were led by Mantas Serksnas (200-96, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored that evening 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Augustinas Venckus supported him with 20 points and 5 assists. Even 28 points by American Delante Jones (194-95, college: Seattle) did not help to save the game for Silute. Vilkaviskis maintains fifth position with 9-6 record. Silute at the other side keeps the seventh place with eight games lost. Vilkaviskis will play against Mazeikiai (#8) on the road in the next round. Silute will play against the league's leader Gargzdu and hopes to get back on the winning track.
An interesting game took place in Klaipeda where higher ranked Mazeikiai (6-9) was upset on the court of thirteenth ranked Neptunas-Akv. (4-11) 102-81 on Saturday. Oskaras Pleikys fired a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds for the winners. Neptunas-Akv.'s coach Simonas Serapinas felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Modestas Zaunieriunas produced 24 points and 6 assists (made all of his seven free throws) for lost side. Neptunas-Akv. maintains thirteenth position with 4-11 record. Loser Mazeikiai keeps the eighth place with nine games lost. Neptunas-Akv. will meet at home higher ranked Vytis (#10) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Mazeikiai will play against Vilkaviskis and hope to secure a win.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 16: Zalgiris II destroyed Delikatesas on the opponent's court 90-65. Telsiai managed to outperform Vytis in a home game 79-67. Palanga managed to beat Kretinga on the road 76-67.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 16 points and 8 rebounds by Laurynas Mikalauskas of Palanga.

Delikatesas - Zalgiris II 65-90

Very expected game in Joniskis where 10th ranked Delikatesas (5-11) was crushed by fourth ranked Zalgiris II (10-6) 90-65 on Saturday. Zalgiris II forced 19 Delikatesas turnovers and outrebounded them 47-29 including a 21-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. Liutauras Lelevicius (201-3) fired 18 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Center Motiejus Krivas (213-4) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points and 10 rebounds. Zalgiris II's coach Vytautas Pliauga felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American Donnell Cegers (197-93, college: NMU) produced 21 points and 7 rebounds and Tomas Balciunas (204-0) added 10 points and 11 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Zalgiris II and four Delikatesas players scored in double figures. Zalgiris II have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain fourth position with 10-6 record. Loser Delikatesas dropped to the eleventh place with 11 games lost. They share the position with Kretinga. Zalgiris II will meet at home bottom-ranked Vilnius (#14) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Delikatesas will play against Palanga and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Delikatesas: D.Cegers 21+7reb+2ast, D.Rackley 12+3reb+2ast, R.Arunas 11+2reb+2ast, T.Balciunas 10+11reb+1ast, J.Vieversys 8+4reb+1ast, V.Anisimov 3+2reb
Zalgiris II: L.Liutauras 18+6reb+3ast, K.Motiejus 12+10reb+1ast, M.Nedas 11+4reb+3ast, S.Titas 11+4reb+2ast, N.Gytis 10+7reb, R.Matas 7+3reb+2ast

Neptunas-Akv. - Mazeikiai 102-81

An interesting game took place in Klaipeda where higher ranked Mazeikiai (6-9) was upset on the court of thirteenth ranked Neptunas-Akv. (4-11) 102-81 on Saturday. Neptunas-Akv. looked well-organized offensively handing out 34 assists. Center Oskaras Pleikys (202-1, agency: BIG) fired a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Radvilas Kneizys (193-3) chipped in 18 points and 4 assists. Neptunas-Akv.'s coach Simonas Serapinas felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Modestas Zaunieriunas (189-94) produced 24 points and 6 assists (made all of his seven free throws) and center Jonas Paukste (220-0) added 15 points and 12 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) respectively for lost side. Five Neptunas-Akv. and four Mazeikiai players scored in double figures. Neptunas-Akv. maintains thirteenth position with 4-11 record. Loser Mazeikiai keeps the eighth place with nine games lost. Neptunas-Akv. will meet at home higher ranked Vytis (#10) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Mazeikiai will play against Vilkaviskis and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Mazeikiai: M.Zaunieriunas 24+3reb+6ast, J.Paukste 15+12reb+1ast, K.Babusis 13+3reb+4ast, M.Motuzas 13+7reb+3ast, R.Subotkevic 8+3reb+5ast, V.Vilius 4+1ast
Neptunas-Akv.: K.Radvilas 18+3reb+4ast, P.Oskaras 18+12reb+2ast, P.Petras 14+7reb+1ast, L.Gediminas 13+3reb+4ast, L.Kreismontas 11+1reb+10ast, V.Matas 11+4reb+9ast

Silute - Vilkaviskis 99-104

The game in Silute was also worth to mention about. Fifth ranked Vilkaviskis (9-6) played at the court of 7th ranked Silute (7-8). Vilkaviskis managed to secure a 5-point victory 104-99. Vilkaviskis shot 63.6 percent from the field and made 24-of-30 charity shots (80.0 percent) during the game. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. Silute was plagued by 25 personal fouls down the stretch. The winners were led by Mantas Serksnas (200-96, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored that evening 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Augustinas Venckus (190-97) supported him with 20 points and 5 assists. Even 28 points by American Delante Jones (194-95, college: Seattle) did not help to save the game for Silute. Linas Lekavicius (185-84, college: American) added 17 points and 5 assists for lost side. Four Silute players scored in double figures. Vilkaviskis maintains fifth position with 9-6 record. Silute at the other side keeps the seventh place with eight games lost. Vilkaviskis will play against Mazeikiai (#8) on the road in the next round. Silute will play against the league's leader Gargzdu and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Silute: D.Jones 28+2reb+1ast, L.Lekavicius 17+4reb+5ast, V.Vasylius 16+4reb+1ast, M.Dieninis 12+5reb, D.Anuzis 11+5reb+2ast, R.Maciulis 9+7reb+4ast
Vilkaviskis: M.Serksnas 32+6reb+4ast, A.Venckus 20+2reb+5ast, T.Tamosiunas 18+7reb, S.Valunta 9+4reb+6ast, K.Augustinas 9+3reb, R.Stankevicius 8+2reb+7ast

Telsiai - Vytis 79-67

Very predictable result in Telsiu where third ranked Telsiai (11-4) defeated 9th ranked Vytis (6-10) 79-67 on Saturday. Telsiai dominated down low during the game scoring 46 of its points in the paint compared to Vytis' 24. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Ovidijus Kaminskis (195-91) fired 16 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Ignas Razutis (185-87) chipped in 9 points and 8 assists. Four Telsiai players scored in double figures. Aurelijus Pukelis (205-94) produced 15 points and 6 rebounds and Paulius Beliavicius (196-88) added 21 points respectively for lost side. Vytis' coach Erikas Kuciauskas rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Telsiai maintains third position with 11-4 record having four points less than leader Gargzdu. Vytis lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the ninth place with ten games lost. They share the position with Palanga. Telsiai will meet league's second-placed Suduva-Mantinga in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Vytis will play against Neptunas-Akv. (#13) in Klaipeda and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Vytis: P.Beliavicius 21+1reb+2ast, A.Pukelis 15+6reb+3ast, M.Uzupis 9+9reb+4ast, P.Semaska 6+1reb+4ast, S.Vingelis 5+1reb+2ast, M.Augustinas 4+5reb+1ast
Telsiai: O.Kaminskis 16+6reb+3ast, E.Stanionis 13+3reb, L.Kaveckis 11+3reb+2ast, M.Norkus 11+3reb, D.Rasys 10+5reb+4ast, I.Razutis 9+4reb+8ast

Gargzdu - LSU-Atletas 77-82

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked Gargzdu (14-2) in Gargzdai on Saturday night. Hosts were defeated by sixth ranked LSU-Atletas (9-7) 82-77. It ended at the same time the 12-game winning streak of Gargzdu. 24 personal fouls committed by Gargzdu helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international Martynas Linkevicius (197-85, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds and center Ignas Juskevicius (201-91) who added 17 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) during the contest. Four LSU-Atletas players scored in double figures. LSU-Atletas' coach Remigijus Bardauskas used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the losing side Marius Runkauskas (186-86, agency: BIG) responded with 28 points and 4 assists and Mantas Ruikis (197-85) scored 13 points. Newly promoted LSU-Atletas maintains sixth position with 9-7 record. Gargzdu at the other side still keeps top place with two games lost. LSU-Atletas are looking forward to face Kretinga (#12) on the road in the next round where they are favorite. Gargzdu will play against Silute (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Gargzdu: M.Runkauskas 28+3reb+4ast, M.Ruikis 13+4reb, E.Bruzas 10+2reb, S.Galdikas 8+4reb+3ast, G.Sakalas 6+6reb+1ast, M.Stasys 5+7reb+4ast
LSU-Atletas: M.Linkevicius 21+11reb+1ast, G.Sirutavicius 18+2reb+4ast, I.Juskevicius 17+7reb+2ast, K.Babkauskas 10+5reb+8ast, J.Liesis 7, A.Kavaliauskas 5+1reb+5ast

Kretinga - Palanga 67-76

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both twelfth ranked Palanga and 11th ranked Kretinga had identical 5-10 record. But Kretinga was not able to use a home court advantage and was defeated by the opponent from Palanga 76-67 on Saturday night. Palanga shot 19 for 29 from the free-throw line, while Kretinga only scored three points from the stripe. Center Laurynas Mikalauskas (203-85, college: Virginia) fired 16 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. American guard DJ Hanes (185-95, college: Nebraska Chr., agency: One Motive Sports) chipped in 17 points and 5 assists. Four Palanga players scored in double figures. Palanga's coach Povilas Sakinis allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Eimantas Zilius (201-99) produced 15 points and 5 rebounds and center Rytis Zabita (200-94) added 10 points and 9 rebounds respectively for lost side. Palanga (6-10) moved-up to ninth place, which they share with Vytis. Newly promoted Kretinga keeps the eleventh position with 11 games lost. They share it with Delikatesas. Palanga will meet at home Delikatesas (#11) in the next round. Kretinga will play against LSU-Atletas and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Kretinga: E.Zilius 15+5reb+2ast, H.Saprykinas 12+2reb+1ast, R.Simkevicius 10+1reb+1ast, R.Zabita 10+9reb+2ast, E.Preibys 7+2reb+1ast, S.Mitchell 6+8reb
Palanga: D.Hanes 17+3reb+5ast, L.Mikalauskas 16+8reb+1ast, H.Kumpys 13+8reb, S.Karolis 10+3reb, V.Uzkuraitis 7+3reb+1ast, B.Tadas 7+5reb+1ast



Tags : MARTYNAS LINKEVICIUS, ATLETAS-LSU KAUNAS, LITHUANIAN BASKETBALL