Betsafe-LKL's first two weeks - the instant success of A.J. English, and Neptūnas Klaipeda’s great run

The Betsafe-LKL kicked off last weekend. Together with Scorestars, we will bring you the most important bits of action in Lithuanian basketball.

The 32^nd season of the Betsafe-LKL was launched by 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevėžys and M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai. Both teams couldn’t introduce the new season better than offering us as thrilling game as it was. After the first half, which belonged to the 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevėžys, M Basket-Delamode Mažeikiai put in the next gear to make the game competitive. With D.Sabeckis and G.Staniulis leading the way, it wasn’t enough to take the win. Under the 1502 eye pairs, the game ended 82-78 in 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevėžys favor.

The second game of the season was played between the Betsafe-LKL champion Rytas Vilnius and Neptūnas Klaipeda. The title holders were shocked after the first quarter that ended 12-19 in Neptūnas favor. Rytas tried their best to compensate the first quarter but Neptūnas stayed close and with an impressive fourth quarter took the win back to Klaipeda by 90-84.

Žalgiris Kaunas faced Šiauliai – Casino Admiral the next day and left no surprises by winning the game 91-63. In this game, the Lithuanian international, D.Sirvydis made his Betsafe-LKL debut for Žalgiris and got 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on his name.

Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius hosted CBet Jonava in Vilnius. The newcomer, Anthony Cowan in the light-blue jersey made an impressive performance by scoring 20 points, giving 7 assists, and taking 3 rebounds. The game ended 103-90 for the hosts.

The game week continued on Wednesday with Žalgiris Kaunas and Cbet Jonava. The 24-time Betsafe-LKL champion Žalgiris Kaunas didn’t disappoint their fans and won it 93-72. Despite not belonging to the starting five, Laurynas Birutis took 4 rebounds and gathered 15 points to his name. The new-comer and well-known player for the Euroleague fans, Alen Smailagic made his mark with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and an efficiency rating of 21.

Nevėžis-Optibet Kėdainiai played on the same day against Uniclub Bet – Juventus Utena. Over 870 people went to witness the great matchup, which the home side lost 74-78, despite Joseph Girald 26-point game. The Kėdainai team struggled under the basket as Uniclub Bet-Juventus as able to take 42 rebounds compared to the 32 that the home side took.

Now the past weekend went off by Rytas Vilnius and Uniclub Bet – Juventus in Utena. After the strong first quarter by the Rytas Vilnius, Uniclub Bet-Juventus won the 3^rd and 4^th quarter but couldn’t win the game. The end result was 78-86 for Rytas Vilnius. On the same day, two medal contenders of the season, 7bet-Lietkabelis and Wolves Twinsbet played a thrilling game. After a strong start, the 7bet-Lietkabelis held the lead and won the game 83-81. A.Cowan’s 20 points and 6 assists weren’t enough this time as Georgios Kalaitzakis answered with 23 points and 4 rebounds.

On the 29^th of September, last Sunday, Neptūnas Klaipeda faced CBet Jonava. Nate Johnson’s 26 points led Neptūnas to win the game 90-87. In the second game, Amit Ebo scored 24 points against title contender Žalgiris Kaunas but Tyrone Wallace, the new signing for the green-and-white side from Türk Telekom, scored 23 points to help his team to take the win with a result of 76-89. The third game of the Betsafe-LKL Sunday was played between M Basket-Delamode and Šiauliai – Casino Admiral. The 2^nd round MVP A.J. English scored 33 points which yet wasn’t enough to demolish the Šiauliai team. The match ended 93-95 in Šiauliai’s favor. From the winning side, the best performers were Tauras Jogėla (16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) and Shaq Buchanan (12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals).

Results of the first two Betsafe-LKL weeks:

7bet-Lietkabelis 82 – 78 M Basket-Delamode

Rytas Vilnius 84 – 90 Neptūnas

Šiauliai – Casino Admiral 63 – 91 Žalgiris Kaunas

Wolves Twinsbet 103 – 90 Cbet-Jonava

Nevežis-Optibet 74 – 78 Uniclub Bet-Juventus

Cbet-Jonava 72 – 93 Žalgiris Kaunas

Uniclub Bet-Juventus 78 – 86 Rytas Vilnius

7bet-Lietkabelis 83 – 81 Wolves Twinsbet

M Basket-Delamode 93-95 Šiauliai – Casino Admiral

Nevežis Optibet 76 – 89 Žalgiris Kaunas

Neptūnas 90-87 Cbet-Jonava

Here‘s how the Betsafe-LKL standings look after 2nd week:

Žalgiris (3 GP, 3 W, 0 L)

Neptūnas (2 GP, 2 W, 0 L)

7bet-Lietkabelis (2 GP, 2 W, 0 L)

Rytas (2 GP, 1 W, 1 L)

Wolves Twinsbet (2 GP, 1 W, 1 L)

Uniclub Bet – Juventus (2 GP, 1 W, 1 L)

Šiauliai – Casino Admiral (2 GP, 1 W, 1 L)

M Basket-Delamode (2 GP, 0 W, 2 L)

Nevežis-Optibet (2 GP, 0 W, 2 L)

CBet (2 GP, 0 W, 2 L)

Scorestars Dream Team:

This week, the Weekly Dream Team Lineup includes A.J. English (28 EFF) and Donatas Sabeckis (26 EFF) at guard, Gytis Radževicius (19.5 EFF) and Aurimas Majauskas (17 EFF) at forward and Giedrius Staniulis (21.5 EFF) at center.

Which players will deliver great performances in the upcoming week? Create your ideal lineup on the Scorestars mobile app and engage in friendly competition with other Lithuanian basketball enthusiasts.