LKL Round 18: Zalgiris lose to Wolves

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Top ranked Zalgiris (15-3) recorded its third loss in Vilnius on Monday night. Visitors were defeated by third ranked Wolves (13-5) 80-75. The best player for the winners was American guard Ahmad Caver (188-1996, college: ODU) who scored 26 points and 6 assists. The former international guard Adas Juskevicius (194-1989) chipped in 19 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international point guard Lukas Lekavicius (180-1994) who recorded 16 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). Zalgiris' coach Kazys Maksvytis tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Wolves have a solid four-game winning streak. Newly promoted Wolves maintains third position with 13-5 record having just two points less than leader Zalgiris, which they share with Juventus. Zalgiris at the other side still keeps top place with three games lost. Wolves is looking forward to face Siauliai (#7) on the road in the next round. Zalgiris will play against Prienai (#12) and is hoping to win this game.
The game in Jonava was also worth to mention about. Second ranked Rytas (13-4) played at the court of 5th ranked Jonava (10-7). Rytas defeated Jonava 75-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Jonava. It was a good game for the former international guard Margiris Normantas (194-1996) who led his team to a victory with 26 points. Jarvis Williams contributed with 14 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Rytas' coach Giedrius Zibenas allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. The former international guard Dovis Bickauskis (191-1993) replied with 17 points and 5 rebounds for Jonava. Rytas have a solid three-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains second position with 13-4 record having just three points less than leader Zalgiris. Jonava at the other side keeps the fifth place with seven games lost. Rytas will play against Gargzdu (#11) in Gargzdai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Jonava will play on the road against Nevezis (#8) in Kedainiai and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Eleventh-ranked Gargzdu (3-15) made lots of trouble for fourth ranked Juventus (13-5) in Utena on Monday. Juventus managed to secure only two-point victory 92-90. However their fans expected much easier game. Reggie Lynch scored 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners. The best for the losing side was Giedrius Staniulis with 24 points and 9 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field). Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Juventus moved-up to third place, which they share with Wolves. Newly promoted Gargzdu keeps the eleventh position with 15 games lost. Juventus will meet Neptunas (#9) in the next round where they are favorite. Gargzdu will play against the league's second-placed Rytas in Vilnius and hope to secure a win.

Rest of the games of round 18 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Nevezis defeated Prienai in Kedainiai 98-86. Lietkabelis was beaten by Siauliai at home 94-103. Neptunas lost to P.Zvaigzdes on the opponent's court 85-91.

Prienai - Nevezis 86-98

There was no surprise when 12th ranked Prienai (1-17) was defeated at home by ninth ranked Nevezis (8-10) 98-86 on Saturday. Nevezis dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to Prienai's 26. They outrebounded Prienai 37-25 including 22 on the defensive glass. Nevezis looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Guard Marius Valinskas (187-1999) scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners and American forward Deshawn Freeman (201-1994, college: Rutgers, agency: One Motive Sports) chipped in 21 points and 6 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) during the contest. The best for the losing side was American point guard Kyan Anderson (180-1992, college: TCU) with 18 points and 6 assists and the former international forward Darius Tarvydas (199-1991) scored 13 points and 9 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). Four Nevezis and five Prienai players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Nevezis moved-up to eighth place. Loser Prienai stay dead last with 17 lost games. Nevezis will meet at home higher ranked Jonava (#5) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Prienai will play against the league's leader Zalgiris (#1) where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Nevezis: D.Freeman 21+6reb+3ast, M.Valinskas 20+5reb+9ast, D.Lavrinovicius 18+3reb+4ast, B.Davison 17+2reb+3ast, T.Lambrecht 8+11reb+2ast, D.Darryl 5+4reb+1ast
Prienai: K.Giedraitis 18+1reb+1ast, K.Anderson 18+1reb+6ast, D.Tarvydas 13+9reb, J.Wilson 12+2reb+2ast, R.Keliacius 10+2reb+1ast, S.Keith 7+1reb+1ast

Jonava - Rytas 62-75

The game in Jonava was also worth to mention about. Second ranked Rytas (13-4) played at the court of 5th ranked Jonava (10-7). Rytas defeated Jonava 75-62. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Jonava. They outrebounded Jonava 36-24 including 23 on the defensive glass. It was a good game for the former international guard Margiris Normantas (194-1996) who led his team to a victory with 26 points. American power forward Jarvis Williams (203-1993, college: Murray St.) contributed with 14 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Rytas' coach Giedrius Zibenas allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. The former international guard Dovis Bickauskis (191-1993) replied with 17 points and 5 rebounds and Serbian center Goran Huskic (210-1992, college: Howard Col., TX) added 14 points and 4 steals in the effort for Jonava. Rytas have a solid three-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains second position with 13-4 record having just three points less than leader Zalgiris. Jonava at the other side keeps the fifth place with seven games lost. Rytas will play against Gargzdu (#11) in Gargzdai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Jonava will play on the road against Nevezis (#8) in Kedainiai and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Rytas: M.Normantas 26+4reb+1ast, M.Foster 14+2reb+3ast, J.Williams 14+5reb+1ast, G.Masiulis 6+7reb, B.Varadi 6+5reb+1ast, M.Echodas 5+7reb+2ast
Jonava: D.Bickauskis 17+5reb+1ast, G.Huskic 14+3reb+2ast, J.Garrett 9+5reb, M.Laksa 8+1reb, E.Seskus 7+7reb+2ast, G.Watson Jr. 5+2reb+7ast

Lietkabelis - Siauliai 94-103

There was a small surprise in Panevezys where seventh ranked Siauliai (9-9) defeated 5th ranked Lietkabelis (10-8) 103-94 on Sunday. Siauliai looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. American guard Kyle Mangas (193-1999, college: IWU) scored 26 points to lead the charge for the winners and power forward Arminas Urbutis (206-1986, college: Hofstra, agency: Octagon Europe) chipped in 17 points and 5 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was forward Gediminas Orelik (199-1990) with 18 points and 7 rebounds and American guard Jamel Morris (193-1992, college: Fairmont St.) scored 15 points and 5 assists. Four Lietkabelis players scored in double figures. Lietkabelis' coach Nenad Canak let to play ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Siauliai maintains seventh position with 9-9 record. Lietkabelis lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the sixth place with eight games lost. Siauliai will meet at home higher ranked Wolves (#3) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Lietkabelis will play against P.Zvaigzdes in Pasvalys and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Siauliai: K.Mangas 26+3reb+2ast, M.Varnas 18+3reb+3ast, A.Urbutis 17+5reb+2ast, D.Paulius 11+4reb, J.Zohore 9+10reb+3ast, D.Sabeckis 8+2reb+10ast
Lietkabelis: K.Kullamaee 18+2reb+3ast, G.Orelik 18+7reb+3ast, J.Morris 15+3reb+5ast, N.Popovic 14+6reb, S.Peno 8+4reb+4ast, R.Mantas 7+1reb+3ast

P.Zvaigzdes - Neptunas 91-85

We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams in Pasvalys where 9th ranked Neptunas (7-10) was defeated by tenth ranked P.Zvaigzdes (4-13) 91-85 on Sunday. P.Zvaigzdes made 24-of-28 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. American guard Corey Allen (188-1998, college: Georgia St.) scored 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import guard Jared Cunningham (194-1991, college: Oregon St., agency: BeoBasket) chipped in 23 points (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) during the contest. The best for the losing side was swingman Matas Jogela (201-1998) with 23 points and 5 rebounds (went 9 for 9 at the free throw line !!!) and the former international guard Zygimantas Janavicius (193-1989, agency: Interperformances) scored 14 points and 7 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. P.Zvaigzdes maintains tenth position with 4-13 record. Loser Neptunas keeps the ninth place with ten games lost. P.Zvaigzdes will meet at home higher ranked Lietkabelis (#6) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Neptunas will play against Juventus and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
P.Zvaigzdes: J.Cunningham 23+1reb+2ast, C.Allen 21+6reb+4ast, I.Vaitkus 15+4reb+2ast, M.Pacevicius 10+8reb+3ast, E.Saulys 7+3reb+1ast, J.Furmanavicius 5+2reb
Neptunas: M.Jogela 23+5reb+1ast, D.Gailius 15+2reb+2ast, Z.Janavicius 14+4reb+7ast, P.Oskaras 11+6reb+2ast, N.Mineikis 6+1reb, M.Girdziunas 5+1reb+1ast

Juventus - Gargzdu 92-90

Eleventh-ranked Gargzdu (3-15) made lots of trouble for fourth ranked Juventus (13-5) in Utena on Monday. Juventus managed to secure only two-point victory 92-90. However their fans expected much easier game. Strangely Gargzdu outrebounded Juventus 33-20 including 21 on the defensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. American center Reggie Lynch (207-1994, college: Minnesota) scored 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import point guard Alex Hamilton (193-1993, college: Louisiana Tech) chipped in 14 points and 8 assists during the contest. The best for the losing side was Giedrius Staniulis (206-1991) with 24 points and 9 rebounds (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) and American point guard Josh Newkirk (185-1994, college: Indiana) scored 18 points and 6 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Juventus moved-up to third place, which they share with Wolves. Newly promoted Gargzdu keeps the eleventh position with 15 games lost. Juventus will meet Neptunas (#9) in the next round where they are favorite. Gargzdu will play against the league's second-placed Rytas in Vilnius and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Juventus: R.Lynch 21+5reb+6ast, M.Gecevicius 17+3reb+3ast, A.Hamilton 14+2reb+8ast, B.Brown 11+1reb+3ast, Z.Skucas 10+3reb, G.Matulis 8+4reb+2ast
Gargzdu: G.Staniulis 24+9reb, J.Newkirk 18+6ast, I.Osborne 14+2reb, J.Washington 12+6reb+2ast, J.Kazakauskas 9+3reb+1ast, A.Urbonas 6+6reb+4ast

Wolves - Zalgiris 80-75

Top ranked Zalgiris (15-3) recorded its third loss in Vilnius on Monday night. Visitors were defeated by third ranked Wolves (13-5) 80-75. The best player for the winners was American guard Ahmad Caver (188-1996, college: ODU) who scored 26 points and 6 assists. The former international guard Adas Juskevicius (194-1989) chipped in 19 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international point guard Lukas Lekavicius (180-1994) who recorded 16 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) and the former international Edgaras Ulanovas (199-1992) added 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Zalgiris' coach Kazys Maksvytis tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Wolves have a solid four-game winning streak. Newly promoted Wolves maintains third position with 13-5 record having just two points less than leader Zalgiris, which they share with Juventus. Zalgiris at the other side still keeps top place with three games lost. Wolves is looking forward to face Siauliai (#7) on the road in the next round. Zalgiris will play against Prienai (#12) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Wolves: A.Caver 26+2reb+6ast, A.Juskevicius 19+2reb+2ast, E.Zukauskas 12+6reb+3ast, M.Delia 6+2reb+1ast, K.Zemaitis 5+2reb+5ast, M.Lukauskis 5+3reb
Zalgiris: L.Lekavicius 16+1reb+3ast, E.Ulanovas 8+5reb+4ast, K.Hayes 8+6reb, I.Brazdeikis 8+3reb+3ast, R.Smits 8+1reb+3ast, L.Birutis 8+5reb+1ast



Tags : AHMAD CAVER, BC WOLVES VILNIUS, LITHUANIAN BASKETBALL