He grabs the top honor after Zalgiris win first NextGen crown since 2007
Dominykas Grunkis takes home MVP trophy after ending Zalgiris's title drought
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Dominykas Grunkis etched his name in the annals of Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals history by claiming the Most Valuable Trophy as U18 Zalgiris Kaunas ended an 18-year doubt to capture the club’s third title in the illustrious competition.
Grunkis scored 11 points, grabbed 2 rebounds and had 7 assists in Zalgiris’s 89-81 victory over U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the NextGen Championship Game. The Zalgiris guard was joined on the All-Tournament Team by the Milan duo of Luigo Suigo and Achille Lonati, Ognjen Srzentic of U18 Mega Super Belgrade, and U18 Real Madrid's Sidi Gueye.
For the tournament, Grunkis, who was only four months old when Zalgiris celebrated title number two in 2007, averaged 13.2 points on 53 percent three-point shooting, 2.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists for a performance index rating average of 14.2. His biggest performance came in the team’s opening game – an overtime win over U18 Pole France INSEP Paris in which he scored 28 points with 6 three-pointers. Grunkis did not finish in the top 10 of any statistical category.
Suigo, for his part, collected 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for a PIR of 33 in Milan’s first-ever Championship Game. He finished with 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.2 blocks for an average efficiency of 21.5. Suigo ranked second in PIR, seventh in points and fourth in rebounds.
Lonati poured in 26 points with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block for a 22 PIR in the Championship Game. The guard averaged 23.8 points with 48 percent shooting, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks for a PIR average of 22.8. He was fourth in PIR, first in scoring, eighth in assists and second in steals.
Gueye tried all he could to lead Real to a third straight crown, but it wasn’t enough. The center tallied 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for a tournament-best 24.7 PIR. Gueye also was sixth in scoring and fourth in rebounds.
The other All-Tournament Team member was Srzentic, who tallied 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals for a PIR of 20.7. He ranked sixth in PIR and second in points.
