2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė

The 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė, also known as SIL – Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė for sponsorship purposes,[1] was the third edition of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas Cup. On 7 December 2017 it was announced that Klaipėda would host the tournament.[2]

2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė

Tournament details
Arena	Švyturys Arena Klaipėda, Lithuania
Dates	13–18 February 2018
Final positions
Champions	Žalgiris (2nd title)
Runners-up	Lietuvos rytas
Third place	Lietkabelis
Awards and statistics
MVP	Edgaras Ulanovas

Žalgiris was the defending champions. Žalgiris successfully defended its title after beating BC Lietuvos rytas in the Final.

Format changes

After a lot of criticism during last year's tournament Lithuanian Basketball League changed distribution of quarterfinals games venues, awarding them directly to seeded teams instead of previously held open draw.[2] LKL Cheerleaders Battles final was added to complement the event alongside traditional Three-point and Slam Dunk contests.[1]

Draw

The draw of the 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė will be held on 16 January 2018.[1]

Qualified teams

Eight highest ranked teams after the first half of the 2017–18 LKL regular season will qualify to the tournament.[2]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	Žalgiris	18	16	2	1233	982	+251	Seeded
2	Neptūnas	18	15	3	1283	1157	+126
3	Lietuvos rytas	18	14	4	1263	1136	+127
4	Lietkabelis	18	12	6	1229	1159	+70
5	Juventus	18	7	11	1189	1225	−36	Non-seeded
6	Šiauliai	18	6	12	1115	1252	−137
7	Pieno žvaigždės	18	6	12	1187	1286	−99
8	Dzūkija	18	6	12	1109	1273	−164

Source: LKL

Bracket

	Quarter-finals 13–14 February				Semi-finals 17 February				Final 18 February
	Neptūnas	77
	Dzūkija	85
					Dzūkija	61
					Lietuvos rytas	81
	Lietuvos rytas	91
	Juventus	88
									Lietuvos rytas	62
									Žalgiris	81
	Lietkabelis	86
	Pieno žvaigždės	76
					Lietkabelis	74
					Žalgiris	88
	Žalgiris	85
	Šiauliai	78

Quarter-finals

Neptūnas Klaipėda vs. Dzūkija Alytus

Neptūnas Klaipėda v Dzūkija Alytus

13 February 2018	Neptūnas Klaipėda	77–85	Dzūkija Alytus	Klaipėda
18:00	Scoring by quarter: 17–19, 15–20, 25 −20, 20–26
	Pts: Šulskis, Želionis 13 Rebs: Želionis 12 Asts: Fields 5 PIR: Želionis 22	Boxscore	Pts: Stylianou 19 Rebs: Petty 11 Asts: Petty 6 PIR: Petty 37	Arena: Švyturio Arena Attendance: 2,300 Referees: Gytis Vilius, Andžej Urbanovič, Ignas Davainis

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 0 Brandon Fields 5 3 5 SG 10 Renaldas Seibutis 8 1 1 SF 88 Vytautas Šulskis 13 4 1 PF 11 Edgaras Želionis 13 12 2 C 21 Simas Galdikas 12 5 2 Reserves: G 5 Jerry Johnson (basketball) 5 1 4 F 7 Laimonas Kisielius 9 1 4 G 9 Tomas Delininkaitis 6 0 1 F 19 Laimonas Chatkevičius 0 1 0 F 23 Mindaugas Kačinas 4 0 0 C 25 Matas Jucikas DNP G 30 Laurynas Beliauskas DNP Head coach: Kazys Maksvytis

Neptūnas Klaipėda Dzūkija Alytus

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 9 Parrish Petty 17 11 6 SG 32 Gediminas Navickas 5 0 3 SF 19 Nikolaos Stylianou 19 1 3 PF 14 Paulius Petrilevičius 16 9 2 C 15 Povilas Čukinas 2 0 2 Reserves: G 10 Charles Callison DNP G 11 Paulius Danisevičius 8 0 2 F 12 Mindaugas Sušinskas 0 0 0 C 21 Anatoly Kashirov 2 3 2 F 31 Alan Wiggins 10 0 0 F 77 Gediminas Žalalis 6 2 0 Head coach: Alar Varrak

Lietkabelis Panevėžys vs. Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys

Lietkabelis Panevėžys v Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys

13 February 2018	Lietkabelis Panevėžys	86–76	Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys	Panevėžys
20:10	Scoring by quarter: 19–28, 21–12, 19 −14, 27–22
	Pts: Jasaitis 20 Rebs: Skučas 9 Asts: Williams 6 PIR: Jasaitis, Williams 21	Boxscore	Pts: Bobrov 19 Rebs: Olisevičius 6 Asts: Bobrov, Hughes 4 PIR: Bobrov, Hughes 15	Arena: Cido arena Attendance: 2,812 Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius, Vilius Mačiulaitis, Gintaras Mačiulis

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Lorenzo Williams 14 4 6 SG 6 Lukas Aukštikalnis 2 3 1 SF 13 Simas Jasaitis 20 3 1 PF 50 Žygimantas Skučas 5 9 3 C 14 Vaidas Čepukaitis 9 2 2 Reserves: F 1 Donatas Tarolis DNP C 7 Darjuš Lavrinovič 10 3 0 G 8 Gintaras Leonavičius 6 5 0 G 11 Arnas Velička 0 0 0 F 12 Kšyštof Lavrinovič 11 2 2 G 30 Dominik Mavra 7 2 3 F 31 Žanis Peiners 2 0 2 Head coach: Ramūnas Butautas

Lietkabelis Panevėžys Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 8 Trevon Hughes 11 3 4 SG 1 Jahenns Manigat 6 5 3 SF 14 Osvaldas Olisevičius 15 6 1 PF 13 Vyacheslav Bobrov 16 3 4 C 18 Lis Shoshi 10 1 1 Reserves: F 5 Steponas Babrauskas 11 1 1 G 6 Šarūnas Valunta DNP G 7 Tomas Galeckas DNP F 9 Ignas Fiodorovas 0 0 0 F 11 Tomas Lekūnas 4 2 1 C 21 Nikita Balashov 1 0 1 G 23 Martynas Varnas 2 5 3 Head coach: Gediminas Petrauskas

Žalgiris Kaunas vs. Šiauliai

Žalgiris Kaunas v Šiauliai

14 February 2018	Žalgiris Kaunas	85–78	Šiauliai	Kaunas
18:00	Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 26–19, 26 −21, 16–17
	Pts: Micić 14 Rebs: Ulanovas 8 Asts: Pangos 10 PIR: Micić 22	Boxscore	Pts: Birutis 35 Rebs: Birutis 11 Asts: Sabeckis 7 PIR: Birutis 43	Arena: Žalgiris Arena Attendance: 1,489 Referees: Artūras Šukys, Martynas Gudas, Aurimas Borusas

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Kevin Pangos 7 2 10 SG 66 Paulius Valinskas 3 3 1 SF 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 4 8 3 PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 9 3 2 C 0 Brandon Davies 8 4 1 Reserves: F 6 Axel Toupane 9 4 1 C 19 Martynas Sajus 0 0 0 F 20 Gytis Masiulis DNP G 21 Artūras Milaknis 13 1 0 G 22 Vasilije Micić 14 0 7 F 30 Aaron White 10 4 0 C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 8 4 3 Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Žalgiris Kaunas Šiauliai

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 8 Donatas Sabeckis 2 6 7 SG 2 Nick Zeisloft 17 1 3 SF 0 Akeem Wright 2 3 5 PF 15 Vytautas Šarakauskas 12 4 0 C 11 Laurynas Birutis 35 11 2 Reserves: C 10 Šarūnas Beniušis 2 2 1 G 19 Mantvydas Žukauskas 0 0 0 G 25 Evaldas Šaulys 2 1 1 G 30 Kristupas Žemaitis 0 0 4 F 34 Giedrius Stankevičius DNP F 35 Rytis Pipiras 6 3 3 Head coach: Antanas Sireika

Lietuvos rytas Vilnius vs. Juventus Utena

Lietuvos rytas Vilnius v Juventus Utena

14 February 2018	Lietuvos rytas Vilnius	91–880(OT)	Juventus Utena	Vilnius
20:10	Scoring by quarter: 19–11, 18–21, 17 -25, 23–20, Overtime: 14–11
	Pts: Madgen 18 Rebs: Jomantas 7 Asts: Kramer 7 PIR: Echodas 23	Boxscore	Pts: Kupšas 22 Rebs: Bičkauskis 11 Asts: Ireland 9 PIR: Bičkauskis 28	Arena: Lietuvos rytas Arena Attendance: 1,650 Referees: Andrius Maleckas, Gvidas Gedvilas, Juozas Barkauskas

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Chris Kramer 15 3 7 SG 1 Ben Madgen 18 1 1 SF 21 Artūras Jomantas 8 7 2 PF 12 Loukas Mavrokefalidis 13 5 5 C 14 Martynas Echodas 12 6 4 Reserves: F 0 Deividas Sirvydis DNP F 8 Mindaugas Lukauskis DNP G 18 Mindaugas Girdžiūnas 5 2 3 G 20 Jimmy Baron 5 1 2 F 31 Rokas Giedraitis 13 6 0 C 55 Egidijus Mockevičius 2 0 0 Head coach: Rimas Kurtinaitis

Lietuvos rytas Vilnius Juventus Utena

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 2 Dovis Bičkauskis 18 11 5 SG 24 Jonte Flowers 0 3 0 SF 6 Arvydas Šikšnius 3 2 2 PF 12 Maksym Korniyenko 0 1 0 C 49 Mindaugas Kupšas 22 5 0 Reserves: G 0 Kenny Gaines 21 2 1 G 3 Anthony Ireland 7 6 9 G 5 Tautvydas Paliukėnas DNP F 10 Karolis Guščikas 9 6 4 G 13 Simas Buterlevičius 0 0 0 C 23 LaRon Dendy 8 1 0 Head coach: Žydrūnas Urbonas

Semi-finals

Dzūkija Alytus vs. Lietuvos rytas Vilnius

Dzūkija Alytus v Lietuvos rytas Vilnius

17 February 2018	Dzūkija Alytus	61–81	Lietuvos rytas Vilnius	Klaipėda
14:00	Scoring by quarter: 9–21, 17–14, 18 -25, 17–21
	Pts: Petty, Stylianou 13 Rebs: Petty 8 Asts: Petty 4 PIR: Petty 19	Boxscore	Pts: Mavrokefalidis 19 Rebs: Echodas 14 Asts: Madgen 7 PIR: Echodas, Mavrokefalidis 23	Arena: Švyturio Arena Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Jurgis Laurinavičius, Artūras Šukys, Vilius Mačiulaitis

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 11 Paulius Danisevičius 12 3 1 SG 9 Parrish Petty 13 8 4 SF 77 Gediminas Žalalis 2 2 1 PF 14 Paulius Petrilevičius 12 2 1 C 15 Povilas Čukinas 4 2 0 Reserves: F 7 Tomas Pačėsas 0 0 0 G 10 Charles Callison 0 2 1 F 12 Mindaugas Sušinskas 0 1 0 F 19 Nikolaos Stylianou 13 2 1 C 21 Anatoly Kashirov 2 4 1 F 31 Alan Wiggins 3 5 1 G 32 Gediminas Navickas 0 1 2 Head coach: Alar Varrak

Dzūkija Alytus Lietuvos rytas Vilnius

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Chris Kramer 4 2 2 SG 1 Ben Madgen 11 5 7 SF 8 Mindaugas Lukauskis 9 2 0 PF 12 Loukas Mavrokefalidis 19 5 3 C 14 Martynas Echodas 15 14 0 Reserves: F 0 Deividas Sirvydis 0 0 0 G 18 Mindaugas Girdžiūnas 14 1 1 G 20 Jimmy Baron 0 0 1 F 21 Artūras Jomantas 0 1 1 F 31 Rokas Giedraitis 7 0 3 C 55 Egidijus Mockevičius 2 3 0 Head coach: Rimas Kurtinaitis

Žalgiris Kaunas vs. Lietkabelis Panevėžys

Žalgiris Kaunas v Lietkabelis Panevėžys

17 February 2018	Žalgiris Kaunas	88–74	Lietkabelis Panevėžys	Klaipėda
16:30	Scoring by quarter: 25–17, 29–17, 18 -24, 16–16
	Pts: Davies 17 Rebs: Davies, Kavaliauskas 7 Asts: Pangos 3 PIR: Davies 22	Boxscore	Pts: D.Lavrinovič 18 Rebs: D.Lavrinovič 3 Asts: Mavra, Peiners 4 PIR: D.Lavrinovič 14	Arena: Švyturio Arena Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Tomas Jasevičius, Gytis Vilius, Gintaras Vitkauskas

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Kevin Pangos 13 2 3 SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 9 2 0 SF 6 Axel Toupane 6 1 1 PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 4 3 1 C 0 Brandon Davies 17 7 1 Reserves: C 19 Martynas Sajus 0 0 0 F 20 Gytis Masiulis 2 0 2 G 21 Artūras Milaknis 5 2 0 G 22 Vasilije Micić 7 2 2 F 30 Aaron White 7 5 0 C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 4 7 1 G 66 Paulius Valinskas 14 1 2 Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Žalgiris Kaunas Lietkabelis Panevėžys

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Lorenzo Williams 8 1 3 SG 11 Arnas Velička 5 3 1 SF 31 Žanis Peiners 6 0 4 PF 50 Žygimantas Skučas 5 1 0 C 14 Vaidas Čepukaitis 4 1 1 Reserves: F 1 Donatas Tarolis 10 3 0 G 6 Lukas Aukštikalnis 3 0 3 C 7 Darjuš Lavrinovič 18 3 1 G 8 Gintaras Leonavičius 0 0 2 F 12 Kšyštof Lavrinovič 5 1 1 SF 13 Simas Jasaitis 2 1 0 G 30 Dominik Mavra 8 3 4 Head coach: Ramūnas Butautas

Slam Dunk Contest

Further information: LKL Slam Dunk Contest

Contestants[3]

Pos.	Player	Team	Height	Weight	First round	Final round
G	Kenneth Gaines	Juventus	1.91	94	94(45+49)	144(48+47+49)
G	Domantas Vilys^WC	Perlas (NKL)	1.88	74	89(44+45)	137(48+43+46)
C	Matas Jucikas	Neptūnas	2.05	91	82(43+39)	—
F	Vyacheslav Bobrov	Pieno žvaigždės	2.01	102	81(38+43)	—
F/C	LaRon Dendy	Juventus	2.06	104	80(43+37)	—
C	Šarūnas Beniušis^INJ	Šiauliai	2.06	98	–	—

^WC Selected as wild card participant.
^INJ Šarūnas Beniušis was unable to participate due to an illness[4]

Three-Point Contest

Further information: LKL Three-point Shootout

Contestants[5]

Pos.	Player	Team	Height (m)	Weight (kg)	First round	Second round	Final round
G/F	Mindaugas Lukauskis	Lietuvos rytas	1.98	90	17	22	22
G	Nick Zeisloft	Šiauliai	1.93	94	21	23	19
G	Lukas Aukštikalnis^REP	Lietkabelis	1.96	80	17	20	—
F	Valery Likhodey	Nevėžis	2.04	100	17	16	—
G	Laurynas Beliauskas	Neptūnas	1.92	78	16	–	—
G	Anthony Ireland^WC ^REP	Juventus	1.76	79	16	–	—
G	Paulius Valinskas	Žalgiris	1.91	83	14	–	—
F	Dovis Bičkauskis^REP	Juventus	1.91	88	13	–	—
G	Gediminas Navickas	Dzūkija	1.80	71	12	–	—
G/F	Steponas Babrauskas	Pieno žvaigždės	1.97	88	11	—	—
G	Edvinas Šeškus	Vytautas	1.96	80	8	–	—
G	LaMelo Ball^WC	Vytautas	1.91	75	–	–	—

^WC Selected as wild card participants.
^REP Lukas Aukštikalnis was selected as Adas Juškevičius replacement.[6]
^REP Dovis Bičkauskis was selected as Simas Buterlevičius replacement[7]
^REP Anthony Ireland was selected as Jerry Johnson replacement.[8]

Final

Žalgiris Kaunas v Lietuvos rytas Vilnius

18 February 2018	Žalgiris Kaunas	81–62	Lietuvos rytas Vilnius	Klaipėda
17:30	Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 13–16, 27–18, 21–9
	Pts: Ulanovas 13 Rebs: Ulanovas 4 Asts: Pangos 4 PIR: Ulanovas 28	Boxscore	Pts: Kramer 20 Rebs: Echodas 8 Asts: Baron 4 PIR: Madgen	Arena: Švyturio Arena Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Tomas Jasevičius, Jurgis Laurinavičius, Gytis Vilius

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Kevin Pangos 11 2 7 SG 92 Edgaras Ulanovas 21 8 0 SF 6 Axel Toupane 9 5 2 PF 13 Paulius Jankūnas 1 6 4 C 0 Brandon Davies 7 3 0 Reserves: C 19 Martynas Sajus 0 0 0 F 20 Gytis Masiulis 0 0 0 G 21 Artūras Milaknis 3 1 1 G 22 Vasilije Micić 3 3 3 F 30 Aaron White 14 5 1 C 44 Antanas Kavaliauskas 10 0 1 G 66 Paulius Valinskas 2 1 0 Head coach: Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Žalgiris Kaunas Lietuvos rytas Vilnius Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė MVP Edgaras Ulanovas Game rules Game was played under FIBA rules. 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė Winners Žalgiris Kaunas 2nd title

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 3 Chris Kramer 16 3 3 SG 1 Ben Madgen 8 4 0 SF 8 Mindaugas Lukauskis 1 0 0 PF 12 Loukas Mavrokefalidis 8 4 2 C 14 Martynas Echodas 7 6 1 Reserves: F 0 Deividas Sirvydis 0 0 0 G 18 Mindaugas Girdžiūnas 3 0 0 G 20 Jimmy Baron 7 3 4 F 21 Artūras Jomantas 0 4 1 F 31 Rokas Giedraitis 7 2 1 F 42 Travis Peterson 0 0 0 C 55 Egidijus Mockevičius 5 1 0 Head coach: Rimas Kurtinaitis

All-Tournament Team

• PG – Dominik Mavra
• SG – Ben Madgen
• SF – Edgaras Ulanovas (MVP)
• PF – Aaron White
• C – Martynas Echodas

References and notes

1. "SIL–Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė – per LRT televiziją". LKL.LT (in Lithuanian). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
2. "Karaliaus Mindaugo taurės turnyras – Klaipėdoje". LKL.LT (in Lithuanian). 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
3. ""Oro karaliaus" konkurse – ir etatinis dėjimų meistras, ir jaunasis talentas" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
4. ""Oro karalius" – be Beniušio" (in Lithuanian). Delfi (web portal). 18 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
5. "Three-point contest participants announced; LaMelo Ball receives wildcard". LKL.lt. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
6. ""Lietkabeliui" snaiperių konkurse atstovaus L. Aukštikalnis, L. Ballui tai nebus pirmas konkursas" (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos Krepšinio Lyga. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
7. https://www.krepsinis.net/naujiena/kmt-oro-karaliaus-ir-snaiperio-konkursuose-dar-du-pasikeitimai/282756
8. https://www.15min.lt/24sek/naujiena/lietuva/praradimas-klaipedoje-nebus-ir-lamelo-ballo-875-926668