Round 5 (Regular Season): Kibirkstis-MRU hand first defeat to LCC Klaipeda

What a coincidence that all visitors won their games. Here is the last round review presented by LBM Management.

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of LCC Klaipeda (2-1) at the home court on Sunday night. Hosts were defeated by Kibirkstis-MRU (4-0) 101-88. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of LCC Klaipeda. Kibirkstis-MRU dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to LCC Klaipeda's 34 and made 24-of-28 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. Kibirkstis-MRU forced 88 LCC Klaipeda turnovers and outrebounded them 40-23 including a 26-12 advantage in defensive rebounds. Kibirkstis-MRU looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. The best player for the winners was center Giedre Labuckiene (192-1990) who had a double-double by scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds (was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line !!!). American guard Sydney Taylor (175-2001, college: Louisville) chipped in 27 points and 7 assists. Kibirkstis-MRU's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Latvian guard Elizabete Bulane (170-2003, college: Georgia Tech) produced 22 points for the hosts. Kibirkstis-MRU have a solid series of four victories in a row. Defending Lithuanian champion maintains first place with 4-0 record. LCC Klaipeda at the other side keeps the third position with one game lost. They share it with Neptunas and Daugavpils.
One of the most interesting games of round 5 was a derby match between two teams from Lithuania. The game took place in Vilnius where eighth ranked Panevezys outleveled host Oaks (0-2) 84-55. Guard Kriste Timofejeva (180-1992) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Urte Bukauskaite contributed with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. point guard Ausrine Belickaite (170-2001) answered with 13 points and 4 steals for Oaks. Oaks' coach gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Panevezys (2-2) moved-up to sixth place. Oaks at the other side still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 3 other teams.
Bottom-ranked Estonian TSA Tallinn (0-2) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 83-63 loss to sixth ranked Lithuanian Neptunas (2-1) in Tallinn on Sunday evening. Egle Sventoraite stepped up and scored 19 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winners. Janne Pulk responded with 17 points. TSA Tallinn's coach rotated twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Neptunas moved-up to third place, which they share with Daugavpils and LCC Klaipeda. Loser TSA Tallinn still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 3 other teams.

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LCC Klaipeda - Kibirkstis-MRU 88-101

The most crucial game of the last round was the first loss of LCC Klaipeda (2-1) at the home court on Sunday night. Hosts were defeated by Kibirkstis-MRU (4-0) 101-88. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of LCC Klaipeda. Kibirkstis-MRU dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to LCC Klaipeda's 34 and made 24-of-28 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. Kibirkstis-MRU forced 88 LCC Klaipeda turnovers and outrebounded them 40-23 including a 26-12 advantage in defensive rebounds. Kibirkstis-MRU looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. The best player for the winners was center Giedre Labuckiene (192-1990) who had a double-double by scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds (was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line !!!). American guard Sydney Taylor (175-2001, college: Louisville) chipped in 27 points and 7 assists. Kibirkstis-MRU's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Latvian guard Elizabete Bulane (170-2003, college: Georgia Tech) produced 22 points and forward Gabija Meskonyte (181-1998) added 19 points respectively for the hosts. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Kibirkstis-MRU have a solid series of four victories in a row. Defending Lithuanian champion maintains first place with 4-0 record. LCC Klaipeda at the other side keeps the third position with one game lost. They share it with Neptunas and Daugavpils.
Top scorers:
LCC Klaipeda: E.Bulane 22+2reb+3ast, G.Meskonyte 19+3reb+2ast, D.Paliulyte 12+5ast, G.Raulusaityte 10+3reb+1ast, M.Pereira 9+7reb+1ast, L.Loceniece 8+1reb+3ast
Kibirkstis-MRU: S.Taylor 27+3reb+7ast, G.Labuckiene 26+10reb+2ast, D.Use 15+5reb+3ast, A.Pana 10+3reb+6ast, U.Slavickaite 6+2reb+3ast, E.Policari 5+3reb+1ast

TSA Tallinn - Neptunas 63-83

Bottom-ranked Estonian TSA Tallinn (0-2) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 83-63 loss to sixth ranked Lithuanian Neptunas (2-1) in Tallinn on Sunday evening. They also forced 63 TSA Tallinn turnovers. Neptunas looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by TSA Tallinn's players. Center Egle Sventoraite (198-1991) stepped up and scored 19 points and 7 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winners and Ukrainian swingman Viktoriia Balaban (176-1997, agency: BIG) chipped in 15 points and 7 assists. Four Neptunas players scored in double figures. Janne Pulk (175-2000) responded with 17 points and point guard Sofia Kosareva (170-1998) scored 11 points. TSA Tallinn's coach rotated twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Neptunas moved-up to third place, which they share with Daugavpils and LCC Klaipeda. Loser TSA Tallinn still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 3 other teams.
Top scorers:
TSA Tallinn: J.Pulk 17+3reb, S.Kosareva 11+4reb+2ast, L.Vetesina 9+2reb, L.Grunmann 9+3reb, L.Lesina 5+1reb, K.Kangur 3+3reb+5ast
Neptunas: E.Sventoraite 19+7reb, V.Balaban 15+1reb+7ast, U.Cizauskaite 12+8reb+2ast, K.Vilka 11+3reb+4ast, S.Mikelionyte 7+2reb+2ast, T.Murray 7+3reb+5ast

Oaks - Panevezys 55-84

One of the most interesting games of round 5 was a derby match between two teams from Lithuania. The game took place in Vilnius where eighth ranked Panevezys outleveled host Oaks (0-2) 84-55. Panevezys forced 24 Oaks turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 26 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Oaks' players. Guard Kriste Timofejeva (180-1992) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Forward Urte Bukauskaite (180-1994) contributed with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Four Panevezys players scored in double figures. Point guard Ausrine Belickaite (170-2001) answered with 13 points and 4 steals and guard Emilija Mikoliunaite (168-2000) added 14 points in the effort for Oaks. Oaks' coach gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Panevezys (2-2) moved-up to sixth place. Oaks at the other side still closes the standings with two games lost. They share the position with 3 other teams.
Top scorers:
Oaks: E.Mikoliunaite 14+3ast, A.Belickaite 13+4reb+2ast, A.Lekeviciute-Kriunien 8+3reb, I.Belickaite 6+1reb+2ast, E.Grigaliunaite 6+7reb+1ast, G.Paplauskaite 5+4reb
Panevezys: K.Timofejeva 22+11reb+4ast, U.Bukauskaite 16+6reb+6ast, J.Oficerovaite 13+2reb, A.Garcinskaite 10+7reb+2ast, G.Sulske 8+7reb+8ast, A.Rauckyte 7+1reb