The 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė, also known as SIL – Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė for sponsorship purposes, was the third edition of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas Cup. On 7 December 2017 it was announced that Klaipėda would host the tournament.
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. LKL Cheerleaders Battles final was added to complement the event alongside traditional Three-point and Slam Dunk contests.
Draw The draw of the 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė will be held on 16 January 2018.
Qualified teams Eight highest ranked teams after the first half of the 2017–18 LKL regular season will qualify to the tournament.
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Neptūnas Klaipėda vs. Dzūkija Alytus
Lietkabelis Panevėžys vs. Pieno žvaigždės Pasvalys
Žalgiris Kaunas vs. Šiauliai
Lietuvos rytas Vilnius vs. Juventus Utena
Semi-finals Dzūkija Alytus vs. Lietuvos rytas Vilnius
Žalgiris Kaunas vs. Lietkabelis Panevėžys
Slam Dunk Contest
+Contestants Pos. Player Team Height Weight First round Final round G Kenneth Gaines Juventus 1.91 94 144(48+47+49) G Domantas Vilys Perlas (NKL) 1.88 74 137(48+43+46) C Matas Jucikas Neptūnas 2.05 91 — F Vyacheslav Bobrov Pieno žvaigždės 2.01 102 — F/C LaRon Dendy Juventus 2.06 104 — C Šarūnas Beniušis Šiauliai 2.06 98 – —
Selected as wild card participant. Šarūnas Beniušis was unable to participate due to an illness
Three-Point Contest
+Contestants 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 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 Juventus 1.76 79 16 – — G Paulius Valinskas Žalgiris 1.91 83 14 – — F Dovis Bičkauskis 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 Vytautas 1.91 75 – – —
Selected as wild card participants. Lukas Aukštikalnis was selected as Adas Juškevičius replacement. Dovis Bičkauskis was selected as Simas Buterlevičius replacement Anthony Ireland was selected as Jerry Johnson replacement.
Final
Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė MVP Edgaras Ulanovas Game rules Game was played under FIBA rules. 2018 Karaliaus Mindaugo taurė Winners Žalgiris Kaunas2nd title
All-Tournament Team PG – Dominik Mavra SG – Ben Madgen SF – Edgaras Ulanovas (MVP) PF – Aaron White C – Martynas Echodas
References