By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Taking his talents overseas, Darius Brown II secured the Round 1 MVP honors in the 2026–27 BKT EuroCup Regular Season.
Posting a Performance Index Rating of 29, the 27-year-old combo guard lifted Dolomiti Energia Trento to a victory over Neptunas at the Svyturio Arena.
Euroleague Basketball announced additional details on Thursday.
Per the press release: “Darius Brown could hardly have asked for a better introduction to the BKT EuroCup. Playing his first game in the competition, Brown delivered a sizzling performance to lead Dolomiti Energia Trento to a 73-76 road victory over Neptunas Klaipeda and claim MVP of the Round honors for Round 1.
Brown scored 19 points on 6-of-7 two-point shooting, 1-of-3 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. He added 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 29, the highest by any player on a winning team in Round 1.
Javante McKoy of Balkan Botevgrad posted the round’s top PIR overall, though it came in a 98-84 road loss to ratiopharm ulm. McKoy poured in 32 points on 13-of-17 two-pointers, 1-of-3 three-pointers and 3-of-4 free throws, and added 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, a block and 7 fouls drawn.
Benjamin Shungu of Riga Zelli followed with a PIR of 28, posting 23 points, which included the game-winning basket in an 86-84 win over Baglietto Derthona Tortona, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 2 fouls drawn.
Kenny Lofton Jr. of Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem, E.J. Liddell of Aris Thessaloniki and Cedric Henderson of Siauliai Basketball each finished with a PIR of 27.
Individual highs: Javante McKoy, Balkan, 32 points
McKoy led all scorers in Round 1 with 32 points against Ulm.
Henderson topped the rebounding charts with 11 boards against the London Lions.
Kristupas Zemaitis of Neptunas handed out a round-high 9 assists against Trento.
Tyson Walker of Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse and Bryce Jones of Tofas Bursa shared the steals lead with 6 apiece in the competition’s opening round.
Amedeo Tessitori of Umana Reyer Venice blocked a round-high 4 shots in his team’s 104-72 home win over Skyliners Frankfurt.”
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