Dominating the decisive match, T. Delininkaitis and M. Lukauskis won the NKL title for “Jurbarka-Kari”

On Sunday evening, Jurbarka’s team beat “Kretinga” of Kretinga coached by Arimantas Mikaločius away 89:84 (18:13, 25:16, 15:22, 33:31) and triumphed in the series of the grand NKL final with a result (3-1).

We remind you that the Jurbarkas team coached by Povilas Valaitis won the Regional Basketball League (RKL) last year, which is considered the third strongest championship in Lithuanian club basketball, and only this year debuted in the second strongest Lithuanian Basketball League (NKL).

In addition, we remind you that the winners of the NKL receive a ticket to the Lithuanian Basketball League (Betsafe-LKL) championship of the next season (2024/25). True, it is not yet clear whether Jurbarka’s team will take advantage of this invitation.

In this match, 41-year-old T. Delininkaitis scored 21 points (4/6 doubles, 2/3 triples, 7/9 penalties), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and accumulated 27 utility points in this match.

44-year-old M.Lukauskis scored 19 points (2/2 doubles, 3/8 triples, 6/6 penalties), grabbed 7 rebounds, made 4 assists and collected 22 utility points in 36.5 minutes.

T. Delininkaitis (2006, 2011 and 2012) and M. Lukauskis (2006 and 2009) have also become champions of the Lithuanian Basketball League (Betsafe-LKL).

On the way to the final, the Jurbarkas club dealt with “Vyčius-VDU” and “Olimpus” of Palanga, while the Kretinga team dealt with “Žalgiris-2” of Kaunas, “Telšiai” and “Sūduva-Mantinga” of Marijampolė.

Ignas Juškevičius scored the first 9 points for Jurbarki and the fight started hard (9:8), but the visitors went ahead after an 11:2 run and gained a double-digit advantage (27:15). Tomos Delininkaitis had his say in the second quarter and scored 13 points, and the guests had a strong lead after the first half of the duel – 43:29.

In the first half of the match, both teams had a hard time making long shots – Jurbarka players nailed 2 out of 13 attempts (15%), while Kretingi responded with 2 out of 12 attempts (16%).

After the long break, the Kretingi team showed that they are not raising the white flag yet and started the half with a 10:2 score (39:45). The home team, which remained in the fight, had a 7-point difference from their rivals before the decisive 10 minutes – 51:58.

Less than 5 minutes left. Karolis Kokoška crowned the guests’ 11:2 run with a three-pointer (72:59). During the rest of the time, the team from Kretinga was unable to break through the course of the match and had to accept the superiority of the opponents.

Mindaugas Stašys did not save Kretinga from defeat. In 35 minutes, the defender scored 30 points (7/12 doubles, 2/7 triples, 10/11 penalties), made 7 assists, provoked 9 fouls and finished the match with 32 utility points.

“Cretinga”: Mindaugas Stašys 30, Nojus Pabrieža 12 (5/7 doubles, 2/2 penalties, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 20 points), Ernestas Bružas 10 (2/3 doubles, 2 /4 triples, 3 rebounds), Edgaras Danys 9 (3/4 doubles, 1/5 triples, 0/2 penalties, 3 assists), Modestas Jurkaitis (1/3 doubles, 2/3 triples, 3 rebounds) and Mantas Ruikis (2/4 doubles, 1/6 triples, 1/2 penalty, 4 rebounds) each.

“Jurbarkas-Karys”: Tomas Delininkaitis 21, Mindaugas Lukauskis 19, Karolis Kokoška 15 (6/6 doubles, 1/4 triples, 6 rebounds, 18 assists), Vytautas Šarakauskas 14 (3/5 doubles, 1/1 trit., 5/6 points, 8 points, 19 points), Ignas Juškevičius 9 (4/8 points, 1/2 points, 4 points).