By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Euroleague Basketball is pleased to announce that Aleksander Balcerowski of Gran Canaria has been chosen as the 7DAYS EuroCup Rising Star for the 2022-23 season. Voted on by the EuroCup’s head coaches, the EuroCup Rising Star Trophy recognizes the most outstanding player in the competition who was younger than 22 years of age on July 1 of the summer before the season started.
For Balcerowski, who turned 22 in November, this is the second EuroCup Rising Star award after he also won it in 2021. It also marks the third consecutive year a Gran Canaria player is awarded this trophy. Juhann Begarin of Paris Basketball came in second in the voting.
The Rising Star Trophy is among the awards given in recognition of the EuroCup’s finest each season for their efforts on the basketball court. The head coaches will also choose one of their peers as the EuroCup Coach of the Year. The All-7DAYS EuroCup teams and the season’s MVP, for whom fans, team captains and media also voted, will be announced before Turk Telekom Ankara visits Gran Canaria in the 7DAYS EuroCup Final on Wednesday, May 3.
Balcerowski helped Gran Canaria reach the EuroCup Finals for the second time in club history by averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks for an average PIR of 10.8 in 21 appearances this season, despite playing fewer than 17 minutes per game. He ranked third in the competition in two-point accuracy at 72.9% and also knocked down 40.9% of his three-pointers. Balcerowski was the only player in the EuroCup averaging at least 1 three-point attempt per game to shoot better than 64.0% on twos and 40.0% on threes this season. Among Rising Star eligible players, Balcerowski ranked second in scoring (20.9), PIR (25.6) and blocks (2.4) on a per 40 minutes basis.
Born in Swidnica, Poland, Balcerowski joined Gran Canaria’s youth system in 2015 at the age of 14. On December 3, 2017, Balcerowski became the youngest Gran Canaria player to make his first-team debut; he was 17 years and 14 days old. He made his EuroCup debut against Tofas Bursa three days later. This is his fourth season in the competition and he played in the 2018-19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, too.
Balcerowski joins Bojan Dubljevic as the only two players to be chosen EuroCup Rising Star twice. Dubljevic received the award with Valencia Basket in 2013 and 2014. The list of Rising Star trophy winners also includes Milan Macvan of Hemofarm Vrsac in 2009, Victor Claver of Power Electronics Valencia in 2010, Donatas Motiejunas of Benetton Treviso in 2011, Jonas Valanciunas of Lietuvos Rytas in 2012, Kristaps Porzingis of Baloncesto Seville in 2015, Mateusz Ponitka of Stelmet Zielona Gora in 2016, Rolands Smits of Montakit Fuenlabrada in 2017, Dzanan Musa of Cedevita Zagreb in 2018, Martynas Echodas of Rytas Vilnius in 2019 and Khalifa Diop of Gran Canaria last season.