By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The first round of Euroleague’s regular season ended with a bang. Big games all around Europe, five road defeats, many upsets and Unicaja Malaga being the only team left at a perfect 5-0 record after winning CSKA in Moscow.
As you can see in the standings, the race for the Top16 is still very open and everything can happen until December. After all who expected that CSKA will be in trouble at home even against Unicaja Malaga? Well, probably the guy who is our MVP and his teamates…
MVP
He had amazing numbers and he closed the game in style, leading Unicaja Malaga to the big road win over CSKA Moscow. The Lithuanian was just amazing with 22 points on 9/12 shots, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and no turnovers in 32 minutes of action. He is more mature than ever, playing his best basketball and leading Unicaja to one of its best ever starts in Euroleague.
Best Five
- Stefan Jovic: He had just 4 points on 1/6 field goals, but he dished 19 assists in the road win of Crvena Zvezda over FC Bayern Munich ! This is an unexpected new Euroleague record from a player who now averages 9 assists per game.
- Manuchar Markoishvili: In the big road win over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv for Dogus Darussafaka he had 22 points on 7/12 field goals and 5/8 free throws. It was a big win for the Turks, their biggest so far in the Euroleague.
- Mindaugas Kuzminskas: He is a having an amazing season so far…
- Nicolo Melli: Simply put, Melli in Brose Baskets is a different player than the one we used to know. He proved it in the win over Dinamo Sassari in which he had his best Euroleague night with 26 ponts, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a 37 PIR.
- Ante Tomic: In the close win against Lokomotiv Kuban, not only he had 16 points on 5/8 shots and 6/8 free throws, but he also dished 7 assists, reminding to every one that he is the best passing big man in Europe. Add also 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 turnovers for FC Barcelona Lassa.
Βest losing performance
Jayson Granger couldn’t save Anadolu Efes from the overtime defeat to Olympiacos, but his game was phenomenal. He had 26 points on 9/15 shots, 5/7 free throws, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers in 38 minutes of action. In a loaded roster, Granger emerges as one of the most important pieces.
Coach of the week
Vincent Collet has nothing to prove at this point, considering his achievements with the French national team. Still the win over Real Madrid, the Euroleague defending champions, is a very special moment for him and also for French basketball. The way Strasbourg approached the game and control the tempo almost the whole time is a proof that his plan worked.
Biggest win
In a week with many unexpected results, twists and turns, finally the win of Strasbourg over Real Madrid is what will be remembered the most. In a classic case of David versus Goliath, Strasbourg beat the champs and now can make Top16 dreams. It will not be ease but the four way tie on the third place of Group A demonstrates that nothing can be excluded. And we have to make a special mention to Louis Campbell and his 23 points who just missed the cut for being a member of our best five.
The upset
Crvena Zvezda still is a work in progress, was missing injured Gal Mekel and Marcus Williams is not yet eligible to play. However the Serbs prevailed in Munich against a solid and well coached team like Bayern Munich by closing the game the right way. It’s not that Zvezda is not capable to win on the road, but given the conditions, this result was unexpected.
The dissapointments
Maccabi and EA7 Milano are at 1-4. The Israelis are in search of a head coach and were defeated at home by Euroleague new comer Dogus Darussafaka, while the Italians one more season and despite the changes in their roster they are underachieving. A gifted offensive team struggled in order to score 65 points against Limoges. Both are big clubs, have an A license, but they are not playing like they are expected to.
Last word: Istanbul
Two big games were held on Thursday and Friday in Istanbul with Olympiacos getting the overtime win against Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce prevailed over Khimki as both winners finished the first round of the regular season on top of their group standings. It’s still too early, but those games had a play off vibe on them and it was a preview for things to come. So stay tuned…