LKL Round 18 (Regular Season): Leader Zalgiris get another victory

The round 18 was rather boring as all games ended with very predictable results. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Leader Zalgiris delivered the fifteenth win on Sunday night. This time they crushed 7th ranked Mazeikiai (7-10) 103-75 in Kaunas. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Mazeikiai. Zalgiris shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 58.3 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Mazeikiai's players. The best player for the winners was the former international point guard Lukas Lekavicius (180-1994) who scored 20 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). American guard Edmond Sumner (198-1995, college: Xavier) chipped in 10 points and 6 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Martynas Paliukenas (191-1993) who recorded 18 points. 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 (15-2) have an impressive six-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position, which they share with Rytas. Newly promoted Mazeikiai keeps the seventh place with ten games lost. Zalgiris is looking forward to face Juventus (#4) in Utena in the next round. Mazeikiai will play on the road against Jonava and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Rest of the games of round 18 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Lietkabelis defeated P.Zvaigzdes in Panevezys 84-78. Rytas smashed Jonava at home 110-88. Neptunas was destroyed by Wolves on the opponent's court 92-73. Siauliai managed to outperform Nevezis in a home game 85-77.
The best stats of 18th round was 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists by Ignas Vaitkus of Nevezis.



P.Zvaigzdes - Lietkabelis 78-84

There was no surprise in Pasvalys where 9th ranked P.Zvaigzdes (5-12) was defeated by fifth ranked Lietkabelis (10-6) 84-78 on Saturday. Lietkabelis made 19-of-23 free shots (82.6 percent) during the game. They also forced 24 P.Zvaigzdes turnovers. The best player for the winners was the former international forward Gabrielius Maldunas (204-1993, college: Dartmouth) who scored 20 points and 7 rebounds (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field). The former international guard Dovis Bickauskis (191-1993) chipped in 20 points and 4 steals (went 10 for 10 at the free throw line !!!). At the other side the best for losing team was Simas Jarumbauskas (198-2000, agency: Octagon Europe) who recorded 23 points and 9 rebounds and American guard Jordan Watson (189-1995, college: West Liberty) added 18 points and 5 assists respectively. Five Lietkabelis and four P.Zvaigzdes players scored in double figures. Lietkabelis maintains fifth position with 10-6 record. P.Zvaigzdes lost third consecutive game. They keep the ninth place with 12 games lost. Lietkabelis are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Gargzdu (#12) in Gargzdai in the next round and are hoping to win another game. P.Zvaigzdes will play on the road against Wolves in Vilnius and is hoping to prove to their fans that they can break losing series.
Top scorers:
Lietkabelis: G.Maldunas 20+7reb, D.Bickauskis 20+1reb+3ast, V.Lipkevicius 11+3reb+8ast, M.Varnas 11+1reb+2ast, N.Popovic 10+1reb+1ast, D.Sirvydis 4+2reb+2ast
P.Zvaigzdes: S.Jarumbauskas 23+9reb+2ast, J.Watson 18+4reb+5ast, B.Tabb 15+1reb+2ast, M.Arlauskas 10+5reb+1ast, D.Johnson 7+4reb, A.Ate 3+2reb+1ast

Rytas - Jonava 110-88

No shocking result in a game in Vilnius where second ranked Rytas (15-2) smashed 8th ranked Jonava (7-11) 110-88 on Saturday. Rytas outrebounded Jonava 41-16 including a 33-16 advantage in defensive rebounds. Rytas shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 58.3 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Marcus Foster (191-1995, college: Creighton) who scored 30 points and 5 rebounds (on 10-of-13 shooting from the field). International Gytis Radzevicius (197-1995) chipped in 16 points and 5 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). At the other side the best for losing team was Serbian Strahinja Micovic (204-1992) who recorded 26 points and 6 rebounds and American-Qatari guard Mike Lewis II (186-1998, college: Duquesne) added 22 points and 4 assists respectively. Five Rytas and four Jonava players scored in double figures. Rytas have an impressive six-game winning streak. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Zalgiris. Jonava lost third consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with 11 games lost. Rytas is looking forward to face Siauliai (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Jonava will play against Mazeikiai and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Rytas: M.Foster 30+5reb+3ast, G.Radzevicius 16+3reb+5ast, M.Echodas 13+8reb, M.Normantas 12+6ast, J.Gorham 11+9reb+2ast, J.DeLaurier 10+8reb+2ast
Jonava: S.Micovic 26+6reb+2ast, M.Lewis II 22+1reb+4ast, I.Gandia-Rosa 17+3reb+4ast, L.Medford Jr. 12+1reb+5ast, A.Marelja 8+4reb+2ast, J.Tamulis 3+1reb+2ast

Wolves - Neptunas 92-73

Rather expected game in Vilnius where 6th ranked Neptunas (8-10) was rolled over by fourth ranked Wolves (13-5) 92-73 on Saturday. Wolves outrebounded Neptunas 45-24 including a 21-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was Swedish-American forward Jeffery Taylor (201-1989, college: Vanderbilt) who scored 23 points. International guard Kristupas Zemaitis (192-1996) chipped in 12 points and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was center Martynas Pacevicius (206-1997) who recorded 12 points and Hungarian forward Zsombor Maronka (207-2002) added 16 points respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Wolves moved-up to third place. Neptunas at the other side keeps the sixth position with ten games lost. Wolves are looking forward to face P.Zvaigzdes (#9) in Pasvalys in the next round where they are favorite. Neptunas will play on the road against Nevezis in Kedainiai and is hoping to prove to their fans that the loss was just an accident.
Top scorers:
Wolves: J.Taylor 23+2reb+3ast, K.Zemaitis 12+2reb+4ast, V.Kariniauskas 11+2reb+2ast, C.Mekowulu 10+7reb, E.Zukauskas 9+6reb+2ast, A.Berucka 8+5reb+2ast
Neptunas: M.Zsombor 16+1reb, M.Pacevicius 12+4reb+1ast, I.Sargiunas 11+3reb+1ast, Z.Janavicius 7+1reb+4ast, T.Lambrecht 7+4reb+1ast, A.Tubelis 6+3reb

Zalgiris - Mazeikiai 103-75

Leader Zalgiris delivered the fifteenth win on Sunday night. This time they crushed 7th ranked Mazeikiai (7-10) 103-75 in Kaunas. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Mazeikiai. Zalgiris shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 58.3 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Mazeikiai's players. The best player for the winners was the former international point guard Lukas Lekavicius (180-1994) who scored 20 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). American guard Edmond Sumner (198-1995, college: Xavier) chipped in 10 points and 6 assists. Four Zalgiris players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was Martynas Paliukenas (191-1993) who recorded 18 points and American point guard Kamau Stokes (183-1995, college: Kansas St.) added 13 points respectively. 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 (15-2) have an impressive six-game winning streak. Defending champion maintains first position, which they share with Rytas. Newly promoted Mazeikiai keeps the seventh place with ten games lost. Zalgiris is looking forward to face Juventus (#4) in Utena in the next round. Mazeikiai will play on the road against Jonava and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Zalgiris: L.Lekavicius 20+1reb+2ast, A.Butkevicius 11+4reb+1ast, B.Manek 11+2reb+2ast, K.Hayes 10+6reb, E.Sumner 10+3reb+6ast, L.Birutis 10+5reb
Mazeikiai: M.Paliukenas 18+4reb+3ast, K.Stokes 13+3reb+1ast, C.Collins 9+1ast, R.Jokubas 8+1ast, K.Bruhnke 7+4reb+1ast, G.Staniulis 7+5reb

Siauliai - Nevezis 85-77

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both tenth ranked Siauliai and 11th ranked Nevezis had identical 4-13 record. This time Siauliai used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Kedainiai 85-77 on Sunday night. Siauliai made 18-of-23 free shots (78.3 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was Eimantas Stankevicius (192-1998, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored 23 points and 8 rebounds. American guard Dachon Burke (193-1997, college: USA) chipped in 11 points and 4 assists. Four Siauliai players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was Ignas Vaitkus (197-1993) who recorded 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and American guard Sean McNeil (193-1998, college: Ohio St.) added 20 points respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Siauliai maintains tenth position with 5-13 record. Nevezis at the other side keeps the eleventh place with 14 games lost. Siauliai are looking forward to face league's second-placed Rytas in Vilnius in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Nevezis will play at home against Neptunas (#6) and is hoping to prove to their fans that the loss was just an accident.
Top scorers:
Siauliai: E.Stankevicius 23+8reb+2ast, B.Vander Plas 13+4reb, D.Paulius 11+6reb+1ast, D.Burke 11+4reb+4ast, L.Thorpe 9+1reb+5ast, B.Daniel 4+5reb
Nevezis: I.Vaitkus 23+9reb+5ast, S.McNeil 20+2reb+3ast, C.Ramey 13+2reb+2ast, Z.Waterman 8+8reb+1ast, J.Marcinkevicius 5+1reb, R.Keliacius 3+3reb+1ast