The FC Barcelona talent put up some monster numbers in lifting his team to the ANGT Finals.
ANGT Belgrade MVP Jakucionis has taken his leadership to another level
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5 Mins read
Kasparas Jakucionis already possessed an MVP award from a Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament last season. But the U18 FC Barcelona guard stepped up his all-around game to add another from the ANGT Belgrade.
Jakucionis showed just how versatile his game has become in nearly registering a triple-double in Barcelona’s 104-85 victory over U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the first-place game.
“I am happy that I can do my best, but I am more happy that the team won,” said Jakucionis, who scored 24 points to go with 11 rebounds and 9 assists for a performance index rating of 37 against Milan.
It would have been the eighth triple-double in ANGT history.
The Lithuanian averaged 17.0 points on 27-of-27 free-throw shooting, 7.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 6.0 fouls drawn for an average PIR of 29.2 in the tournament.
“I’m doing great. I can lead the team. But with only me, we would lose. We need the whole team,” said Jakucionis, who last season won the ANGT Zadar MVP after tallying 19.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals for a PIR of 25.0.
“He used to be a scorer but now he is an all-around player,” said Barcelona head coach Carlos Marin about Jakucionis. “He can get rebounds, he can score from three, He can lead the team, setting them up with good passes. He has developed his game at the highest level, trying to match the physicality of the first team. He keeps improving but also the other guys around him. He’s a great player.”
The 1.93-meter guard has dominated this season for Barcelona’s second team in the Spanish fourth division, averaging 20.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals. He also registered a triple-double of 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists against Navas on February 11.
That excellence along with injuries to Barcelona’s guards on the pro team resulted in Jakucionis getting some experience with the professionals. He made his Spanish ACB League debut last season on April 19, 2023, hitting a three-pointer for 3 points in 30 seconds against Granada. At 16 years, 10 months and 18 days old, Jakucionis was the third-youngest player to debut for Barcelona behind only Eric Vila (16 years and 6 months) and Dame Sarr (16 years, 6 months and 18 days).
This season he made his only three-point attempt in scoring 3 points in 3 minutes against Girona on November 26. On January 12, Jakucionis made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut, playing 1:34 minutes against Zalgiris Kaunas, hitting his only shot for 2 points to go with 1 rebound in front of the home fans at Palau Blaugrana.
“It was really nice to play against Zalgiris,” said Jakucionis, who hails from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and came to Barcelona in the summer of 2021. “I had practiced a few days before and they said I would be registered because there were no other players to play. I was really happy that I got the opportunity. I tried to use it.”
About hearing his name called to enter the EuroLeague game, he said: “It was weird. It was the first time in a EuroLeague game. There were a lot of people and it was just a different game - a professional game and atmosphere.”
Jakucionis played his second Spanish League game of the season nine days later and shot 2-for-2 on three-pointers for 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 3 minutes against Granada.
About playing with the pro team, Jakucionis said: “It was an amazing feeling. It’s a different level and I understand that I have to work a lot more to reach that level.”
“He used to be a scorer but now he is an all-around player.”
Jakucionis is practicing less often with the pro team now because Barcelona’s injured players have returned. Still, he learned a lot from his time with the top team, especially from his fellow Lithuanian Rokas Jokubaitis as well as Jabari Parker and Willy Hernangomez.
“They just give me more confidence and advice about what I should or shouldn’t do on the court and off the court. We also talk about life,” he said. “How to make better decisions, what to do on defense if I get lost or something, they help me to get back.”
Jakucionis’s experience with the pro team helped him lead the U18 team in Belgrade.
“We completed the objective for now, but we still have another goal to go in Berlin,” Jakucionis said referring to Barcelona booking its ticket to the ANGT Finals in Berlin in late May. “We will celebrate a little for now but then work again hard in practices.”
Jakucionis and Barcelona will be returning to the ANGT Finals and looking for the big prize - to win the continental trophy.
“We want to win. That’s it.”